Airfoil Camber Research Articles

Study of Eppler 423 Airfoil with Gurney Flap and Vortex Generators

In the past extensive research has been carried out, to study the effect of Gurney flap (GF) on symmetric and cambered airfoil for its usage in low Reynolds number regime. Use of GF at the trailing edge of the airfoil enhances the lift due to increase in the effective camber of the airfoil, which in turn improves the aerodynamic efficiency i.e. Cl/Cd. In the present study, Eppler 423 airfoil is used to first understand the aerodynamics of such a highly cambered airfoil and later GF of various sizes were added on it to understand the change in flow dynamics achieved by adding the GF and their impact on aerodynamic parameters such as Cl, Cd and Cl/Cd. Eppler 423 being a highly cambered airfoil produces high lift coefficient and smoother stall and by adding the GF of various sizes the performance of Eppler 423 improves tremendously and reason for this enhanced performance and effect of size of GF are presented in this paper. Vortex Generators (VG) generate counter rotating vortices that allow the flow to remain attached even at high angles of attack. Also, effect of adding VG at the leading edge of Eppler 423 aerofoil is presented in this paper. At last, results obtained from combination of VG at leading edge and GF at trailing edge on Eppler 423 aerofoil are discussed at length.

Geometry effect on the airfoil-gust interaction noise in transonic flows

Numerical simulations are conducted to investigate the impacts of airfoil thickness, the angle of attack and camber on the airfoil-gust interaction noise in transonic flows where locally supersonic regimes and terminating shocks are present. The conclusions about the geometry effects based on the extensively studied subsonic cases are revisited. With the increase of airfoil thickness, the sound generation is reduced in the downstream direction as in subsonic flows. More sound is produced in the upstream direction for thicker airfoils due to the non-uniform mean flow and shocks in the near field. The compensative effect makes the overall sound reduction by the airfoil thickness less than the subsonic cases despite the significant difference in the radiation patterns. The acoustic responses to the single frequency gusts are sensitive to the airfoil angle of attack in transonic flows. However, the overall differences are reduced when multiple wavenumber components are superposed in isotropic turbulence, and the sound pressure levels are therefore close as in subsonic flows. Similarly, the significant variations in single frequency acoustic responses by airfoil camber are averaged by the superposition of various wavenumber components. However, apparent variations are still found in the upstream direction, especially for the turbulences with small integral length scales.

Parametric exploration on the airfoil design space by numerical design of experiment methodology and multiple regression model

Robust airfoil design is crucial to efficient, stable, and safe operation for modern wind turbines. However, even for deterministic wind turbine airfoil design, the problem is complex regarding to aerodynamic, acoustic, and structural requirements of wind turbine blades. Therefore, this study aims to assess the design variable impact, identify significant variables, and obtain the correlation with the airfoil responses, to reduce the cost of the airfoil robust optimization. In this paper, the optimal hypercube design method was applied to an airfoil designed by the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, NACA 63-421, which is commonly employed in the outboard modern wind turbine blade, to perform the numerical design of experiments. Then, a parametric exploration on the characteristics of airfoil design space by the multiple regression model and statistical analysis method were conducted. It was identified that in regular design space, the variations of aerodynamic and structural parameters are dominated by the airfoil camber and radius of leading edge. Meanwhile, the chord-wise position of the maximum thickness also has strong impacts on the airfoil performance. In further, the overall design spaces are explored to be highly nonlinear in aerodynamic and acoustic responses because of the nonlinear effects of the airfoil chord-wise position of the maximum camber and radius of leading edge. Strong but undesirable correlations were demonstrated between the maximum lift-to-drag ratio and the total sound pressure level. These findings could serve as a valuable guidance for wind turbine airfoil robust design to screen the stochastic design variables, simplify the design space, and reduce the cost.

Analysis on the Aerodynamic Characteristics of a Continuous Whole Variable Camber Airfoil

In this paper, based on the genetic algorithm, a 4-section optimization airfoil structure is designed, which can change entire camber of the airfoil. For this new type of integral changeable camber airfoil, its first structure cam be deflected downward by 30 degrees, the second section is fixed, the third stage be capable of deflect downward by 30 degrees, and the fourth section be able to bend up and down by 30 degrees. In addition, the computational fluid dynamics method is adopted to numerically simulate the aerodynamic performance of variable camber airfoils. The numerical results observe that the used of varying camber airfoil has better been stalling characteristics and larger lift coefficient comparison with the Clark Y airfoil and NACA114 airfoil.

The influence of oscillating trailing-edge flap on the dynamic stall control of a pitching wind turbine airfoil

Unsteady operating environment of a horizontal axis wind turbine can induce excessive loads on the blades, originating from rapid variations in angle of attack and consequently dynamic stall (DS) occurrence. Therefore, it is of utmost importance to control the flow around a blade by which fatigue damage is likely to happen. Using two-dimensional incompressible unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes equations in OpenFOAM package, a series of simulations are carried out to assess the viability of an oscillating deformable trailing-edge flap (DTEF) in load and DS control on a pitching wind turbine airfoil which experiences deep DS at Re = 420,000. Results reveal whether or not the airfoil is equipped with an oscillating DTEF, DS vortex forms at high angles of attack. The size, strength and traveling of the DS vortex, however, can be influenced by out-of-phase deflection of the DTEF. More effectively, the change in the airfoil camber line during flap oscillation can remarkably affect the pressure distribution around the airfoil, and hence, significant load alleviation and mean lift enhancement are achievable, all of which help the wind turbine performance and enhance the life span of the components. Moreover, a parametric study on flap size and amplitude of deflection together with a comparison between a discrete flap and a DTEF suggests an out-of-phase oscillation of a large gently curved DTEF, up to 30% of the total chord, with similar amplitude and frequency with respect to the airfoil is the best condition under which fatigue load control as well as enhancement in resultant load for a blade rotation can take place.

Synthesis, Analysis, and Design of a Novel Mechanism for the Trailing Edge of a Morphing Wing

In the design and analysis of morphing wings, several sciences need to be integrated. This article tries to answer the question, “What is the most appropriate actuation mechanism to morph the wing profile?” by introducing the synthesis, analysis, and design of a novel scissor-structural mechanism (SSM) for the trailing edge of a morphing wing. The SSM, which is deployable, is created via a combination of various scissor-like elements (SLEs). In order to provide mobility requirements, a four-bar linkage (FBL) is assembled with the proposed SSM. The SSM is designed with a novel kinematic synthesis concept, so it follows the airfoil camber with minimum design error. In this concept, assuming a fully-compliant wing skin, various types of SLEs are assembled together, and emergent SSM provide the desired airfoil geometries. In order to provide the required aerodynamic efficiency of newly-created airfoil geometries and obtain pressure distribution over the airfoil, two-dimensional (2D) aerodynamic analyses have been conducted. The analyses show similar aerodynamic behavior with the desired NACA airfoils. By assigning the approximate link masses and mass centers, the dynamic force analysis of the mechanism has also been performed, and the required torque to drive the newly-developed SSM is estimated as feasible.

Numerical and experimental investigation of an airfoil design for a Martian micro rotorcraft

The present paper aims at investigating the impact of an airfoil design on the propulsion system for a Martian rotary wing micro air vehicle. The main challenge for flying on Mars is the atmosphere’s density and speed of sound that are significantly lower than on Earth. It leads to compressible ultra-low Reynolds number ([Formula: see text]) flows for a coaxial rotorcraft with a 30 cm diameter . Since those flows are unknown in the biosphere, numerical tools have not been validated yet. Therefore, the test section from a known depressurized experiment is simulated in 3D for solver assessment. XFoil, a program for the analysis of subsonic airfoil, is also evaluated in the Martian flow conditions for evaluating its ability to be used in an optimization process. Based on the XFoil’s performance evaluations, both the camber line and thickness distribution are optimized in 2D incompressible and compressible flows. Optimal shape is a highly cambered airfoil shifting the boundary layer separation downstream. For optimization assessment, airfoils from each optimization step are numerically evaluated with the validated solver showing that small variations in the airfoil design has little impact on the 2D aerodynamic performance. A compressible optimal airfoil is also proven to be more aerodynamically effective than the experimentally effective airfoils from literature. Finally, the impact of airfoil shapes on the 3D rotor performance is evaluated with a depressurized experimental campaign recreating the Martian atmosphere in terms of kinematic viscosity. The impact of gas composition is also assessed in subsonic flows.

Investigation of performances and flow characteristics of two bi-directional pumps with different airfoil blades

Today, the most commonly used bi-directional airfoil in hydraulic machinery is the S-shaped airfoil (SA). A new bi-directional airfoil, obtained by lowering the bent airfoil camber and thickening the bone line bi-directionally, is proposed. Two bi-directional axial flow pumps, with the SA blades and the arc airfoil (AA) blades, respectively, were designed to verify the applicability of this airfoil. By comparing the hydraulic performances of the two pumps obtained from the experiments, and the cavitation performance and flow field of the two pumps obtained from numerical simulations, it was found that AA blades can improve both the hydraulic and cavitation performances under a low flow rate and near the best efficiency flow point (BEP), whether in forward or reverse operation for the bi-directional axial-flow pump. Furthermore, the hydraulic performance of the AA blade pump declines sharply in a large flow rate compared to that of the SA blade pump. The location and composition of the inhomogeneous flows inside the impellers of the two pumps are similar. However, the SA blades work on fluid, mainly at the front half of the blades, which is a distinctive feature from the AA blades and may be a universal phenomenon in all SA-type blades.

Comparative Study of Dynamic Stall under Pitch Oscillation and Oscillating Freestream on Wind Turbine Airfoil and Blade

This study aims to assess the dynamic stall of the wind turbine blade undergoing pitch oscillation (PO) and oscillating freestream (OF), respectively. Firstly, a thin-airfoil theoretical analysis was performed to differentiate between these two dynamic effects. During upstroke, PO results in a positive effective airfoil camber, while OF has an additional negative effective airfoil camber, and yet in contrast during downstroke, PO decreases the effective camber, while OF increases the effective camber. Secondly, the equivalence relation between PO and OF is investigated by numerically solving the unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations. The difference between PO and OF mainly exists in the linear part of the aerodynamic loads. Because the difference is great at high reduced frequencies or angle of attack (AOA) amplitudes, PO and OF should be treated separately for dynamic stall from different aerodynamic sources. Thirdly, the Beddoes-Leishman dynamic model coupled with Bak’s rotational stall delay model was used to predict the yawed responses of the blade section. The obtained results show different aerodynamic responses between PO and OF, although consideration of rotational augmentation can greatly improve the accuracy of the lift and drag coefficients. To improve the understanding and coupling modeling of rotational augmentation and dynamic stall, an extended analysis of the coupled effect was performed as well.

High speed PIV measurements of an adaptive camber airfoil under highly gusty inflow conditions

Studies of the impact of gusty inflow on an adaptive camber airfoil were performed. The adaptive camber airfoil was developed at the TU Darmstadt and uses a mechanically coupled leading and trailing edge for passive load reduction.In the present study wind tunnel experiments were performed with tailored inflow generated by means of an active grid. The main goal is the investigation of dynamic loads on such a wind turbine blade and the resulting aerodynamics around it. Therefore, temporal highly resolved PIV measurements at the suction side of the airfoil were performed. To link the local measured aerodynamics to global forces, force balances were used.

The Adaptive Camber Concept—A passive approach for gust load alleviation on wind turbines

AbstractA new passive sectional approach to alleviate gust loads on wind turbines—the Adaptive Camber Concept— is introduced. The concept entails fluid‐structure interaction, where flow conditions at the leading edge affect the airfoil shape and vice versa. A two‐dimensional airfoil equipped with the Adaptive Camber Concept is experimentally investigated under steady and unsteady conditions in a wind tunnel. Under steady conditions, the adaptive camber airfoil de‐cambers gradually with increasing angle of attack, yielding a lift curve with declined slope. Unsteady angle of attack fluctuations of various reduced frequencies are generated by means of an active grid. Under unsteady conditions, the adaptive camber airfoil is found to alleviate up to 60% of the fluctuating loads, while generating higher mean lift compared to a rigid reference airfoil.

Effect of Blade Cambering on Dynamic Stall in View of Designing Vertical Axis Turbines

This paper presents large eddy simulations (LESs) of symmetric and asymmetric (cambered) airfoils forced to undergo deep dynamic stall due to a prescribed pitching motion. Experimental data in terms of lift, drag, and moment coefficients are available for the symmetric NACA 0012 airfoil and these are used to validate the LESs. Good agreement between computed and experimentally observed coefficients is found confirming the accuracy of the method. The influence of foil asymmetry on the aerodynamic coefficients is analyzed by subjecting a NACA 4412 airfoil to the same flow and pitching motion conditions. Flow visualizations and analysis of aerodynamic forces allow an understanding and quantification of dynamic stall on both straight and cambered foils. The results confirm that cambered airfoils provide an increased lift-to-drag ratio and a decreased force hysteresis cycle in comparison to their symmetric counterparts. This may translate into increased performance and lower fatigue loads when using cambered airfoils in the design of vertical axis turbines (VATs) operating at low tip-speed ratios.

A parametric study on leading-edge slots used on wind turbine airfoils at various angles of attack

In the present work, a narrow span-wise rectangular channel (referred to as a slot) is introduced and drilled near the leading edge of a finite-span cambered airfoil to study its impact on the overall aerodynamic performance. This slot starts from the vicinity of the leading edge and exits from the pressure-side of the airfoil after making a slight turn. NACA 4412 is used as the baseline airfoil profile, and the influence of several geometrical parameters of the slot at the chord-based Reynolds number of 1.6 M, and different angles of attack (AoAs) ranging from 0 to 16° on the lift and drag coefficients are investigated. The effect of slot's width (thickness), inlet angle, and vertical position are studied, and the appropriate range of values for each variable is determined. For one of the best cases examined, a lift coefficient improvement as large as 30% is observed, while the drag penalty is insignificant. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) method is used for modeling and analysis, and the results are validated against both published data and the data from a set of wind-tunnel experiments.

A Study of Multi-Objective Aerodynamic Optimization Design for Variable Camber Airfoils and High Lift Devices

Aiming at the synthetical optimization of the aerodynamic performance between the low-speed condition of two-dimensional high lift devices during take-off and landing phase and the high-speed condition of variable camber airfoil during cruise phase, an aerodynamic optimization design method for high lift device based on Kriging based surrogate model and multi-objective genetic algorithm has been developed. With the application of Adaptive Dropped Hinge Flap mechanism, the low-speed take-off and landing performance and high-speed cruise performance of the aircraft is improved by coupling deflection of the flap and spoiler. The position of flap hinge, deflection angle of spoiler and deflection angle of flap are taken as design variables; The Navier-Stokes equations are used to predict the aerodynamic forces of initial samples; The Kriging based surrogate model is employed to establish the algebraic relation between design variables and aerodynamic forces at take off, landing and cruise, obtaining four efficient prediction models for aerodynamic forces; Multi-objective optimization design with multi-objective genetic algorithm is conducted on the basis of surrogate models. The automatic generation of computational grid is achieved by the mesh deformation method based on RBF (Radial Basis Function) when the design variables change. On the basis of efficient global multi-objective optimization design platform, the synthetical optimization of high-speed and low-speed aerodynamic performance is conducted; The multi-objective solution set of the Pareto frontier is verified and analyzed, and the optimal solution with well matched high and low speed performance is selected.

Design and Analysis of a Novel Mechanism for the Morphing of Trailing Edge of an Aircraft Wing

In this paper, design of a novel deployable scissor-structural mechanism (SSM) for active camber and chord morphing airfoil has been presented. The mechanism is created via combination of one four-bar linkage and various scissor-like elements (SLEs). The theory behind scissor-like elements and hierarchical design procedure are adequately explained. Following that design procedure, a scissor-structural mechanism is created in order to satisfy the desired airfoil shapes, which have different camber lines with minimum structural error. It is also possible to modify the chord length by changing the properties and types of the used SLEs. Modifying the design parameters of used SLEs, without increasing the degree-of-freedom (DOF) of the mechanism, will result in infinite number of results. With the help of error definition and developed computerroutine, the best scissor-structural mechanism which satisfy the required tasks properly can be detected.

Bi-Directional Stiffness for Airfoil Camber Morphing

This paper explores a new design for an airfoil whose chordwise bending stiffness varies with direction of applied load. By designing the region aft of the spar to be very stiff under upward load, uncommanded camber deformation under aerodynamic pressure can be minimized. At the same time, lower stiffness under reversed load reduces actuation requirement to achieve a desired downward camber deformation. Rigid cantilevers extending from the rear of the spar toward the trailing edge, and flush with the lower skin are used to realize this goal. Under upward load the rigid cantilever engages and supplements the chordwise bending stiffness. But under downward load the lower skin breaks contact with the cantilever, and camber deformation can be achieved at low actuation effort. From two-dimensional ABAQUS™ finite element simulations an upward-to-downward stiffness ratio of 13.82 was obtained with a cantilever extending over the entire length of the conformable section, but the maximum downward camber deflection was limited to 10 deg. Reducing the cantilever length reduced the stiffness ratio but allowed higher maximum camber deformations. A three-dimensional prototype was fabricated using “moderate-length” cantilevers and the measured stiffness ratio (under upward-to-downward loading) was determined to be 5.12. The corresponding stiffness ratio from a three-dimensional ABAQUS finite-element simulation was found to be within 6% of experimental results.

The MEXICO rotor aerodynamic loads prediction: ZigZag tape effects and laminar-turbulent transition modeling in CFD

This paper aims to provide an explanation for the overprediction of aerodynamic loads by CFD compared to experiments for the MEXICO wind turbine rotor and improve the CFD prediction by considering laminar-turbulent transition modeling. Large deviations between CFD results and experimental measurements are observed in terms of sectional normal and tangential forces at the blade tip (r/R=0.82 and 0.92) of the MEXICO rotor operating in axial condition at the design tip speed ratio λ=6.7. The first part of this study identifies the effects of ZigZag tape, which is used in the experiment to trigger boundary layer transition, by analyzing the available experimental data of a single, non-rotating MEXICO rotor blade. The analysis indicates that ZigZag tape has a significant impact on sectional aerodynamic tip loads: it alters the boundary layer thickness and additionally reduces the effective airfoil camber besides the expected tripping. These additional effects most likely also occur in the rotating MEXICO experiment, reducing the sectional loads and hence lead to an overprediction by CFD. To eliminate the ZigZag tape interference, experimental data with an untripped blade is preferred to be used as validation case. In the second part of this study, a transitional flow simulation for the MEXICO rotor is performed by using RANS-based transition model k−kL−ω within OpenFOAM-2.1.1. The numerical results are compared against experimental data obtained from the untripped, new MEXICO experiments. The comparison gives that transitional simulation present a very good tip loads prediction for the untripped blade. The measured data also confirms that the ZigZag tape indeed has a significant influence on the blade tip loads in rotating conditions. The transition onset over 3D MEXICO blade is visualized and transition locations are identified. The results shown in the present study can explain the causes of the large differences between CFD and experiment observed in the MEXICO blind comparisons.

Flow Diagnosis and Optimization Based on Vorticity Dynamics for Transonic Compressor/Fan Rotor

This paper presents two optimized rotors. The first rotor is as part of a 3-blade row optimization (IGV-rotor-stator) of a high-pressure compressor. It is based on modifying blade angles and advanced control of curvature of the airfoil camber line. The effects of these advanced blade techniques on the performance of the transonic 1.5-stage compressor were calculated using a 3D Navier-Stokes solver combined with a vortex/vorticity dynamics diagnosis method. The first optimized rotor produces a 3-blade row efficiency improvement over the baseline of 1.45% while also improving stall margin. The throttling range of the compressor is expanded largely because the shock in the rotor tip area is further downstream than that in the baseline case at the operating point. Additionally, optimizing the 3-blade row block while only adjusting the rotor geometry ensures good matching of flow angles allowing the compressor to have more range. The flow diagnostics of the rotor blade based on vortex/vorticity dynamics indicate that the boundary-layer separation behind the shock is verified by on-wall signatures of vorticity and skin-friction vector lines. In addition, azimuthal vorticity and boundary vorticity flux (BVF) are shown to be two vital flow parameters of compressor aerodynamic performance that directly relate to the improved performance of the optimized transonic compressor blade. A second rotor-only optimization is also presented for a 2.9 pressure ratio transonic fan. The objective function is the axial moment based on the BVF. An 88.5% efficiency rotor is produced.

Aerodynamic/mechanism optimization of a variable camber Fowler flap for general aviation aircraft

A conventional Fowler flap is designed to improve the take-off and landing performances of an aircraft. Because the flight states of general aviation aircraft vary significantly. A Fowler flap with a double-sliding track has been designed, which is capable of changing airfoil camber while cruising and climbing as well as meeting low-speed performance requirements. The aerodynamic characteristics of the variable camber Fowler flap were studied by computational simulation, and cambering was found to be beneficial for improving the lift-to-drag ratio when the lift coefficient was larger than the critical value, below which decambering was more effective; this critical value differed somewhat under different conditions. Taking the mechanism into account, the take-off and landing configurations were optimized on the basis of the GA (W)-1 airfoil with a 30% chord Fowler flap. Compared with reference configuration, the maximum lift coefficient of optimized take-off configuration was increased by 6.6% as well as the stalling angle and the lift-to-drag ratio were increased by 1.3° and 7.58%, respectively. Moreover, the maximum lift coefficient of the optimized landing configuration was increased by 6.3%, and the stalling angle was increased by 1.1°; however, the nose-down pitching moment of both configurations increased. Similar results were attained on a general aviation aircraft wing/body combination. A 3D model of the variable-camber Fowler flap driving mechanism was established in a computer-aided design system, and the results showed that all design configurations could be achieved by the double-sliding track.

Analysis of Different Blade Architectures on small VAWT Performance

The present paper aims at describing and comparing different small Vertical Axis Wind Turbine (VAWT) architectures, in terms of performance and loads. These characteristics can be highlighted by resorting to the Blade Element-Momentum (BE-M) model, commonly adopted for rotor pre-design and controller assessment. After validating the model with experimental data, the paper focuses on the analysis of VAWT loads depending on some relevant rotor features: blade number (2 and 3), airfoil camber line (comparing symmetrical and asymmetrical profiles) and blade inclination (straight versus helical blade). The effect of such characteristics on both power and thrusts (in the streamwise direction and in the crosswise one) as a function of both the blades azimuthal position and their Tip Speed Ratio (TSR) are presented and widely discussed.