Abstract
To study the effects of aerodynamic loads on the aerodynamic characteristics of stationary and azimuthally rotating antennas, wind tunnel force tests are conducted using solid and porous plate antennas. The variation of aerodynamic coefficient with azimuth angle is obtained when the antenna is stationary and azimuthal rotation, and the results are compared with those from numerical simulations. The variation in the aerodynamic coefficients with respect to the azimuth angle is found to be sinusoidal for both the solid and porous plate antennas rotating in azimuth. Compared with the antenna stationary, quantitative analysis indicates that the rotational motion increases the maximum value and root mean square of the aerodynamic coefficient. For solid plate antenna, |Cx|_max, |Cmy|_max, and |Cmz|_max increase by 41.6%, 15.0%, and 47.3%, respectively; Cx_rms, Cmy_rms, and Cmz_rms increase by 19.0%, 20.0%, and 19.1%, respectively. For porous plate antenna, |Cx|_max, |Cmy|_max, and |Cmz|_max increase by 30.6%, 71.4%, and 40.9%, respectively; Cx_rms, Cmy_rms, and Cmz_rms increase by 22.9%, 50%, and 20%, respectively. The wind tunnel tests verify the feasibility of using numerical simulations to obtain the flow field results. By analyzing the surface pressure coefficient and vortex core track distribution, the effects of azimuthal rotation on the aerodynamic characteristics of the antenna are further clarified.
Highlights
The aerodynamic characteristics of a solid plate antenna and a porous plate antenna at rest and during azimuthal rotation have been studied by means of wind tunnel force tests. e variation in the aerodynamic coefficients with respect to the azimuth angle during the antenna is stationary and during azimuthal rotation were analyzed
The numerical simulation results corresponding to the working conditions of the wind tunnel test are given. e rationality of the numerical simulation method used in this paper was verified through comparisons with the wind tunnel test results. e pressure and vortex in the flow field are given, the effect of the rotation distribution on the aerodynamic characteristics of the antenna is revealed, and the simulation results provide a reference for analyzing the flow field structure of radar antennas
A comparison of the wind tunnel test data for the aerodynamic coefficients over one rotation period showed that significant differences occur in the aerodynamic characteristics of the antenna relative to the azimuth angle when the antenna is stationary and when the antenna azimuth rotates. e mean, maximum, and root mean square (RMS) values of the aerodynamic coefficients were found to increase to different extents. e mean, maximum, and RMS values of the drag coefficient, azimuth moment coefficient, and pitching moment coefficient all increase by more than 10% when the antenna is a solid plate; when the antenna is a porous plate, they all increase by more than 14.5%
Summary
Us, it is necessary to consider the aerodynamic characteristics of the antenna at rest and the aerodynamic characteristics of rotating radar antennas in terms of the rigidity and strength of the antenna structure and the servo system [1]. Wyatt [8] and Martın et al [9] used wind tunnel static force tests to study the aerodynamic characteristics of radar antennas with different porosity rates and ground clearances. In studies on the aerodynamic characteristics of radar antennas, numerical simulations can provide more flow field details than wind tunnel tests [11].
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