Abstract
Natural flight has consistently been the wellspring of many creative minds, yet recreating the propulsive systems of natural flyers is quite hard and challenging. Regarding propulsive systems design, biomimetics offers a wide variety of solutions that can be applied at low Reynolds numbers, achieving high performance and maneuverability systems. The main goal of the current work is to computationally investigate the thrust-power intricacies while operating at different Reynolds numbers, reduced frequencies, nondimensional amplitudes, and mean angles of attack of the oscillatory motion of a NACA0012 airfoil. Simulations are performed utilizing a RANS (Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes) approach for a Reynolds number between 8.5×103 and 3.4×104, reduced frequencies within 1 and 5, and Strouhal numbers from 0.1 to 0.4. The influence of the mean angle-of-attack is also studied in the range of 0∘ to 10∘. The outcomes show ideal operational conditions for the diverse Reynolds numbers, and results regarding thrust-power correlations and the influence of the mean angle-of-attack on the aerodynamic coefficients and the propulsive efficiency are widely explored.
Highlights
LAETA-Aeronautics and Astronautics Research Center, University of Beira Interior, 6201-001 Covilhã, Portugal; Abstract: Natural flight has consistently been the wellspring of many creative minds, yet recreating the propulsive systems of natural flyers is quite hard and challenging
Traditional propulsive systems have their performance deteriorated at small length scales, which makes flapping airfoils an attractive propulsive system at this regime, yet, there is still a lack of understanding regarding the parameters that govern the aerodynamics of living beings
A deeper analysis regarding the influence of the mean angle-of-attack on mean thrust, lift, and power coefficients, as well as propulsive efficiency, presented for a Reynolds number of 1.7 × 104
Summary
LAETA-Aeronautics and Astronautics Research Center, University of Beira Interior, 6201-001 Covilhã, Portugal; Abstract: Natural flight has consistently been the wellspring of many creative minds, yet recreating the propulsive systems of natural flyers is quite hard and challenging. The main goal of the current work is to computationally investigate the thrust-power intricacies while operating at different Reynolds numbers, reduced frequencies, nondimensional amplitudes, and mean angles of attack of the oscillatory motion of a NACA0012 airfoil. Results regarding thrust-power correlations and the influence of the mean angle-of-attack on the aerodynamic coefficients and the propulsive efficiency are widely explored. The main reason to study the flapping airfoil problem emerges from biomimetics Animals such as birds [6], insects [7], small fishes, and even the big blue whale are equipped with a spectacular propulsion system, and what makes these systems so interestingly efficient is that they offer an advantage over conventional propulsion systems
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