Generation of thrust and lift with airfoils in plunging and pitching motion

Abstract

We present fully resolved Direct Numerical Simulations of 2D flow over a moving airfoil, using an in-house code that solves the Navier-Stokes equations of the incompressible flow with an Immersed Boundary Method. A combination of sinusoidal plunging and pitching motions is imposed to the airfoil. Starting from a thrust producing case (Reynolds number, Re = 1000, reduced frequency, k = 1.41, plunging amplitude h0/c = 1, pitching amplitude θ0 = 30°, phase shift ϕ = 90°), we increase the mean pitching angle (in order to produce lift) and vary the phase shift between pitching and plunging (to optimize the direction and magnitude of the net force on the airfoil). These cases are discussed in terms of their lift coefficient, thrust coefficient and propulsive efficiency.