Improving aircraft fuel efficiency by using the adaptive wing and winglets

Viktor Popov,Vasiliy Loginov,Petro Steshenko,Yevgen Ukrainets,Volodymyr Shmyrov,Pavlo Hlushchenko

doi:10.15587/1729-4061.2020.200664

Viktor Popov, Vasiliy Loginov + Show 4 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.15587/1729-4061.2020.200664

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Abstract

Improving the aircraft’s fuel efficiency is one of the main requirements for prospective and modernized aircraft. This paper reports the assessment of change in aerodynamic quality resulting in the improved fuel efficiency of a long-range aircraft when using promising means to enhance aerodynamic quality. These means include the abandonment of the mechanization of wing edges and conventional controls through the use of an adaptive wing, the artificial laminarization of the flow around the elements of a glider, the application of winglets. The abandonment of conventional wing controls and wing mechanization is predetermined by the need to ensure a seamless surface of the glider elements to prevent the premature turbulization of the flow that consequently leads to a decrease in the profile drag of an aircraft. The use of winglets is aimed at reducing inductive drag. Determining a change in the aircraft’s fuel efficiency would make it possible to estimate a change in the operating costs during its life cycle.The study employed the known modular software complex «Integration 2.1». The engineering and navigational calculation was performed for a typical flight profile of a long-range aircraft. The possibility of reducing fuel consumption by up to 20 % has been shown. The largest impact on the decrease in fuel consumption is exerted by the flow laminarization on the surface of the glider elements; the reduction in fuel consumption was 17.1 %. The abandonment of mechanization and ailerons decreases fuel consumption by 3.9 %, while the abandonment of ailerons, slats, and flaps reduces fuel consumption by 0.4, 1.5, and 0.4 %, respectively. The use of spiroid winglets made it possible to reduce fuel consumption by 1.95 %

Highlights

Improving the aircraft’s (AC) flight and economic cha racteristics is achieved by improving its aerodynamic charac teristics (ACH), the characteristics of its propulsion unit, and by improving the design of the glider using new structural materials and their production technologies [1,2,3]
Based on the results of our study, obtained by employing the «Integration-2.1» software complex, we derived the dependences (Fig. 5) of the gain in aerodynamic quality on the aircraft’s lift force coefficient ΔK(Cya) using the adaptive wing concept when compared to the original aircraft
It has been shown that the application of the adaptive wing technology improves aerodynamic quality by eliminating the local sources of drag

Summary

Introduction

Improving the aircraft’s (AC) flight and economic cha racteristics is achieved by improving its aerodynamic charac teristics (ACH), the characteristics of its propulsion unit, and by improving the design of the glider using new structural materials and their production technologies [1,2,3]. The use of energy-efficient electric drives of appropriate dimensions to control adaptive wings would reduce flight weight and optimize the aircraft’s characteristics. A wide range of airfoils is used to control the flight of a modern aircraft. The most promising are electric drives, due to their simplicity of design and efficient mass- size indicators. It should be noted that the bulk of the aircraft’s carrier system and steering surfaces is concentrated in power drives. It is a relevant scientific and technical task to design simple electromechanical drives with efficient mass-size indicators, which could replace the hydraulic systems. Electric drives are used in systems that control aircraft position and wing mechanization. It is a relevant task to study the possibilities for improving the AC aerodynamic quality

Literature review and problem statement

The aim and objectives of the study a b

Findings

Conclusions