Airfoil

About: Airfoil is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 24696 publications have been published within this topic receiving 337709 citations. The topic is also known as: aerofoil & wing section.

Camrad - a comprehensive analytical model of rotorcraft aerodynamics and dynamics

Abstract: The Comprehensive Analytical Model of Rotorcraft Aerodynamics, CAMRAD, program is designed to calculate rotor performance, loads, and noise; helicopter vibration and gust response; flight dynamics and handling qualities; and system aeroelastic stability. The analysis is a consistent combination of structural, inertial, and aerodynamic models applicable to a wide range of problems and a wide class of vehicles. The CAMRAD analysis can be applied to articulated, hingeless, gimballed, and teetering rotors with an arbitrary number of blades. The rotor degrees of freedom included are blade/flap bending, rigid pitch and elastic torsion, and optionally gimbal or teeter motion. General two-rotor aircrafts can be modeled. Single main-rotor and tandem helicopter and sideby-side tilting proprotor aircraft configurations can be considered. The case of a rotor or helicopter in a wind tunnel can also be modeled. The aircraft degrees of freedom included are the six rigid body motion, elastic airframe motions, and the rotor/engine speed perturbations. CAMRAD calculates the load and motion of helicopters and airframes in two stages. First the trim solution is obtained; then the flutter, flight dynamics, and/or transient behavior can be calculated. The trim operating conditions considered include level flight, steady climb or descent, and steady turns. The analysis of the rotor includes nonlinear inertial and aerodynamic models, applicable to large blade angles and a high inflow ratio, The rotor aerodynamic model is based on two-dimensional steady airfoil characteristics with corrections for three-dimensional and unsteady flow effects, including a dynamic stall model. In the flutter analysis, the matrices are constructed that describe the linear differential equations of motion, and the equations are analyzed. In the flight dynamics analysis, the stability derivatives are calculated and the matrices are constructed that describe the linear differential equations of motion. These equations are analyzed. In the transient analysis, the rigid body equations of motion are numerically integrated, for a prescribed transient gust or control input. The CAMRAD program product is available by license for a period of ten years to domestic U.S. licensees. The licensed program product includes the CAMRAD source code, command procedures, sample applications, and one set of supporting documentation. Copies of the documentation may be purchased separately at the price indicated below. CAMRAD is written in FORTRAN 77 for the DEC VAX under VMS 4.6 with a recommended core memory of 4.04 megabytes. The DISSPLA package is necessary for graphical output. CAMRAD was developed in 1980.

Computation of Unsteady Transonic Flows by the Indicial Method

Abstract: The indicial method is investigated for the computation of unsteady transonic force and moment coefficients for use in flutter analyses. This approach has the advantage that solutions for all reduced frequencies for a given mode of motion can be obtained from a single finite-difference flowfield computation. Comparisons of indicial and time-integration computations for oscillating airfoil and flap motions help define limits on the motion amplitude for the applicability of the indicial method to transonic flows. Within these limits, solutions for various motion modes can be superposed to obtain solutions for multiple-degree-of-freedom aeroelastic systems. Also, a simple aeroelastic problem is solved by an alternative approach in which the structural motion and flowfield equations are integrated simultaneously using a time-integration finite-difference procedure.

Experimental Evaluation of Sinusoidal Leading Edges

Abstract: P REVIOUS studies on increasing airfoil lift and improving stall characteristics have addressed various passive and active approaches to modifying the leading and trailing edge shapes. The passive approaches have covered such methods as rippling the trailing edge, applying serrated-edge Gurney flaps, or modifying the leading-edge (LE) profile [1,2]. Other efforts have effectively eliminated the dynamic stall of an NACA 0012 airfoil by perturbing the LE contour as little as 0.5–0.9%of the chord [3]. Levshin et al. [4] demonstrated that sinusoidal LE planforms on an NACA 63-021 airfoil section decreased maximum lift, but extended the stall angle by almost 9 deg. The larger amplitude sinusoids created “softer” stall characteristics by maintaining attached flow at the peaks despite separated flow in the troughs. These tests were performed to simulate the effects of LE tubercles on humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) flippers. Prior work by the authors also reported wind tunnel measurements for idealized scale models of humpback whale flippers [5]. One model had a smooth leading edge and a secondmodel had sinusoidal bumps (tubercles) along the leading edge for the outer 2 3 of the span. It was found that the addition of tubercles to a 3-D idealized flipper increased the maximum lift coefficient while reducing the drag coefficient over a portion of the operational envelope. It is thought that the tubercles on the flipper leading-edge enhance the whale’s ability to maneuver to catch prey [6]. Though the work to date regarding sinusoidal or serrated leading-edge planforms is largely motivated by marine mammal locomotion, the effects of extending the stall point for lifting surfaces at similar Reynolds numbers (Re) may have application to small-UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) design and the inevitable laminar stall problems [7]. However other relevant applications might benefit from the effects of simulated tubercles such as stall alleviation/separation control on sailboat centerboards or wind turbines, where an expanded operating envelope could improve the overall effectiveness of the blade [8,9]. In the present work, a better understanding is sought of the mechanism of the improvements measured in previous experiments, with a greater applicability in mind. The authors seek to determine whether the performance improvements resulted from enhancements to the sectional characteristics of wings with tubercles (i.e., essentially 2-D effects), or from Reynolds number effects on a tapered planform, or from other 3-D effects such as spanwise stall progression.

Two-dimensional aerodynamic characteristics of the NACA 0012 airfoil in the Langley 8 foot transonic pressure tunnel

Abstract: Data are presented for lift coefficients from near zero through maximum values at Mach numbers from 0.30 to 0.86 and Reynolds numbers of 3.0 x 10 to the sixth power with transition fixed. A limited amount of data is presented near zero and maximum lift for a Reynolds number of 6.0 x 10 to the sixth power with transition fixed. In addition, transition free data is presented through the Mach number range from 0.30 to 0.86 for near zero lift and a Reynolds number of 3.0 x 10 to the sixth power.