Research of Measurement Method of Two Dimensional Configuration Drag Test in Wind Tunnel in Case of High Lift

Abstract

Computational fluid dynamics and wind tunnel test are two main technical means to examine the aerodynamic performance of airfoil and two-dimensional(2-D) configuration. Two dimensional wind tunnel tests use commonly wake flow field measurement to integrate for drag of airfoil or two-dimensional configuration, but the integral formulas are based on certain assumptions and of certain bounds of application. In this paper, based on Navier-Stokes equations numerical simulation and two dimensional wind tunnel testing, the drag measuring technique for high lift configuration in low speed wind tunnel is researched. Navier-Stokes equations is solved for the flow around a multi-element airfoil, the wake flow characteristics behind the multi-element airfoil and the assumptions for conventional drag measuring method are analyzed, then a new more precise drag formula for two dimensional wind tunnel test is put forward; Based on the simulation results of multi-element airfoil flow, it’s aerodynamic performance is obtained respectively by integrating the surface pressure and friction drag, and computing with the information of wake flow according to conventional and newly proposed drag calculation formulas, and the three results are compared to verify the accuracy of the new drag formula; The wind tunnel test is carried out to ascertain the accuracy of the new drag formula. It is shown from the results that in the high-lift case the conventional drag formula with the wake information is of many limitations and must be improved, and the new drag formula presented in this paper is more accurate because of consideration of the wake flow characteristics of airfoil or two-dimensional configuration.