Numerical and statistical analyses of aerodynamic characteristics of low Reynolds number airfoils using Xfoil and JMP

• Main Authors: Chua, John Christian, Lopez, Neil Stephen, Augusto, Gerardo L.
• Format: text
• Published: Animo Repository 2017
• Subjects: Aerofoils; Mechanical Engineering
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/faculty_research/3278
• Institution: De La Salle University

Low Reynolds number aerodynamics has become a promising topic of interest in various commercial utilizations such as wind turbines. Airfoils employed for this type of application usually experience performance degradation due to separation bubble formation. This study intends to investigate the behavior and effect of such phenomena and analyze the interrelationship among the contributive factors affecting its existence using JMP, a statistical analysis tool, with numerical data generated from Xfoil, a collective program applicable for low-speed airfoils. Numerical results were validated against published experimental data and exhibited favorable agreement more specifically within the upper limits of the given Reynolds number range. Surface pressure and skin friction drag coefficient plots show that the bubble length tends to decrease as angle of attack, Reynolds number and turbulence intensity are increased. The abridgement of the bubble extent due to enhancement of flow instabilities is associated with increase lift-to-drag ratio which is more pronounced in the attached flow regions. The statistical technique yielded predictive models for multiple outcome variables and it was learned that the main effects had more significant influence on the aerodynamic properties of airfoils and chordwise extent of separation bubble. © 2017 Author(s).