Unsteady Aerodynamic Characteristics of an Accelerating or Decelerating Aerofoil

The unsteady aerodynamic characteristics of an aerofoil gradually accelerating or decelerating at subsonic speeds are investigated through two-dimensional, unsteady, compressible Navier-Stokes simulations. An acceleration factor is defined to provide various acceleration or deceleration characters of the time-dependent flow over the aerofoil. The results show that an increase in the absolute value of the non-dimensional acceleration factor leads to a lesser change in the location and range of flow featues such as shockwave and boundary layer separation in a specific time range. Generally, the gradual speed-up and speed-down of the subsonic aerofoil results in different aerodynamic characteristics whose changes are more significant at angles of attack.