Airfoil dynamic stall at constant pitch rate and high Reynolds number

Abstract

An experiment has been performed to study the aerodynamics of dynamic stall penetration at constant pitch rate and high Reynolds number, in an attempt to model more accurately conditions during aircraft poststall maneuvers and during helicopter high-speed forward flight. An airfoil was oscillated at pitch rates, A = ac/2U between 0.001 and 0.020, Mach numbers between 0.2 and 0.4, and Reynolds numbers between 2-4 x 10. Surface pressures were measured using 72 miniature transducers, and the locations of transition and separation were determined using 8 surface hot-film gages. The results demonstrate the influence of the leading-edge vorticity on the unsteady aerodynamic response during and after stall. The vortex is strengthened by increasing the pitch rate and is weakened by increasing the Mach number and by starting the motion close to the steady-state stall angle. A periodic pressure oscillation occurred after stall at high pitch angle and moderate Reynolds number; the oscillation frequency was close to that predicted for a von Karman vortex street. A small supersonic zone near the leading edge at M = 0.4 was found to reduce significantly the peak suction pressures and the unsteady increments to the airloads. These results provide the first known data base of constant-pitch-rate aerodynamic information at realistic combinations of Reynolds and Mach numbers.