Experimental study on instantaneous thrust and lift of two plunging wings in tandem

Abstract

Two tandem wings undergoing a two-dimensional sinusoidal plunging motion are studied in a low Reynolds number water tunnel. The influence of the phase angle and leading-edge vortex (LEV) on the peak value of the instantaneous thrust and lift is studied. The instantaneous lift and thrust are measured by a force sensor; the velocity and vorticity fields are captured by digital particle image velocimetry. For the forewing, noticeable differences at various phase angles are found in the peak value of the instantaneous lift and thrust rather than in their minimum value. The LEV of the hindwing increased the maximum effective angle of attack of the forewing and enhanced the jet-like flow behind the forewing, which accounts for the increase in peak value. For the hindwing, the phase angle determines the sign of the forewing-shed LEV when the hindwing encounters this LEV. If the forewing-shed LEV before the leading edge of the hindwing has the opposite sense of rotation as the LEV of the hindwing, the velocity of the flow on the windward side of the hindwing increases, resulting in high instantaneous thrust and lift. If the two LEVs have the same sense of rotation, the forewing-shed LEV hinders the growth of the hindwing LEV because of the small effective angle of attack, leading to low instantaneous thrust and lift. Non-circulatory forces on the wings are calculated according to a potential flow model. Results show that the non-circulatory force has important effects on the peak value and symmetry of the instantaneous lift and thrust curves.