Aerodynamics of unconventional airfoils - actuation force of variable cambered airfoil

• Main Author: Chan, Adil Arif.
• Other Authors: Jorg Uwe Schluter
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2010
• Subjects: DRNTU::Engineering::Aeronautical engineering::Aerodynamics
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/40456
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

In the design of a morphing wing mechanism, actuation costs need to be taken into consideration. The energy required for the morphing can be reduced or increased depending on the nature of the morphing and also the speed at which the morphing occurs. A theoretical actuation cost model was developed to provide an estimate for the forces required for a particular flight configuration in the transonic regime. Transonic airfoils RAE 5213 and RAE 5215 were considered for the morphing and validations of prior wind tunnel test results from research journals was done by comparing with flow simulation results from FLUENT. Simulations were done for three angle of attacks of 0.350, 0.850 and 1.350, and at Mach number between 0.60 and 0.85. Simulation results showed similar trends to the experimental results, however at a higher magnitude. A mechanism for the morphing wing was designed for future manufacture and wind tunnel testing. Dimensions were considered carefully based on the wind tunnel facility in NTU. However, due to the limitations of NTU’s wind tunnel facility, which could run only at a maximum speed of 90m/s (Mach 0.30), the transonic morphing wing, could not be tested. The theoretical actuation costs were calculated for Mach 0.80 at an angle of attack of 0.850. Results showed that the strong aerodynamic force due to the high flow speed causes an upward camber detrimental to the airfoil morphing.