Aerodynamic Characteristics Study of Deformable Airfoil with Flexible Trailing Edge

Abstract

The intelligent deformable wing has a strong ability of self-adaptability and has become a research hotspot in the future of aircraft design. Considering that the wing's trailing edge active bendability technology can significantly improve the aerodynamic performance of the aircraft, the performance of the trailing edge deformable binary wing is investigated in this paper. The deformation behaviors of the rigid trailing edge and the flexible trailing edge were compared and investigated in terms of lift resistance characteristics, pressure distribution and flow field structure respectively. The numerical simulation results show that the maximum lift coefficient of both the rigid and flexible trailing edge airfoil is significantly higher than the standard airfoil with no deflection at the trailing edge. At the same trailing edge deflection angle, the coefficient of lift and the lift-drag ratio of the flexible trailing edge airfoil are larger than those of the rigid trailing edge airfoil; In particular, at the same angle of attack, the flexible trailing edge airfoil can slow the flow separation and achieve better aerodynamic characteristics.