A qualitative study of vortex trapping capability for lift enhancement on unconventional wing

International Conference on Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering 2017

航空航天工程;机械制造

Salleh, M.B.^1 ; Kamaruddin, N.M.^1 ; Mohamed-Kassim, Z.^1

School of Aerospace Engineering, Engineering Campus, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang, Nibong Tebal

14300, Malaysia^1

关键词: Aerodynamics performance;    Lift enhancement;    Low Reynolds number;    Qualitative study;    Rotating vortex;    Small aircraft;    Trapping capability;    Trapping techniques;   

Others  :  https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1757-899X/370/1/012054/pdf
DOI  :  10.1088/1757-899X/370/1/012054

学科分类：航空航天科学

来源: IOP

【 摘 要 】

Lift enhancement by using passive vortex trapping technique offers great advantage in small aircraft design as it can improve aerodynamics performance and reduce weight of the wing. To achieve this aim, a qualitative study on the flow structures across wing models with cavities has been performed using smoke wire visualisation technique. An experiment has been conducted at low Reynolds number of 26,000 with angle of attack (α) = 0°, 5°, 10° and 15° to investigate the vortex trapping capability of semi-circular leading edge (SCLE) flat-plate wing model and elliptical leading edge (ELE) flat-plate wing model with cavities, respectively. Results from the qualitative study indicated unique characteristics in the flow structures between the tested wing models. The SCLE wing models were able to trap stable rotating vortices for α ≤ 10° whereas the ability of ELE wing models to suppress flow separation allowed stable clockwise vortices to be trapped inside the cavities even at α > 10°. The trapped vortices found to have the potential to increase lift on the unconventional wing models.