Investigation of self-deploying high-lift effectors applied to membrane wings

Abstract

ABSTRACTFlow separation followed by aerodynamic stall limits the operation of aircraft. Expanding the flight envelope of aircraft has been a goal of aerodynamicists for decades. This work presents findings from tests in the Oregon State University wind tunnel investigating the effectiveness of a passively actuated suction-surface flap on membrane wings. Experiments were conducted on a rigid plate and membrane wings with and without a pop-up flap. All wings had an aspect ratio of 2, while membrane pre-strain and Reynolds number were varied. An increase in lift at stall was observed for all testing conditions with flap deployment. The observed average increase in maximum lift varied from 5% to 15% for different test conditions. The variation in flap effectiveness is compared to membrane pre-strain, Reynolds number, and wing camber. A quadratic relationship between modelled camber and flap effectiveness is observed, and an optimal level of membrane camber is found to maximise flap effectiveness.