• Journal of the Korea Institute of Military Science and Technology
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.575-581
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• 2013

In this paper, we experimentally investigated the effects of attached cylindrical tripwires on the aerodynamic performance. The research was carried out with a simple two-dimensional (2-D) rectangular airfoil fabricated from thin flat-plate aluminium, with elliptical leading and trailing edges. Tripwires of varying widths and thicknesses, and attack angles of $-5^{\circ}{\sim}20^{\circ}$ were used to investigate the aerodynamic characteristics (e.g. lift and drag forces) of the airfoil. We found that attaching the tripwires to the lower surface of the airfoil enhanced the lift force and increased the lift-to-drag ratio for low attack angles. However, attaching the tripwires to the upper surface tended to have the opposite effects. Moreover, we found that attaching the tripwires to the trailing edge had similar effects as a Gurney flap. The aerodynamic characteristics of the flat-plate airfoil with tripwires can be used to develop passive control devices for aircraft wings in order to increase their aerodynamic performance when gliding at low attack angles.

• Advances in aircraft and spacecraft science
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• v.2 no.3
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• pp.329-343
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• 2015

This study aimed to observe the effect of a novel concept (referred to as the flap extension) implemented on the leading edge of the flap of a three element high lift device. The high lift device, consisting of a flap, main element and slat is designed around an Airbus research profile for sufficient take off and landing performance of a large commercial aircraft. The concept is realised on the profile and numerically optimised to achieve an optimum geometry. Two different optimisation approaches based on Genetic Algorithm optimisations are used: a zero order approach which makes simplifying assumptions to achieve an optimised solution: as well as a direct approach which employs an optimisation in ANSYS DesignXplorer using RANS calculations. Both methods converge to different optimised solutions due to simplifying assumptions. The solution to the zero order optimisation showed a decreased stall angle and decreased maximum lift coefficient against angle of attack due to early stall onset at the flap. The DesignXplorer optimised solution matched that of the baseline solution very closely. The concept was seen to increase lift locally at the flap for both optimisation methods.

• Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.674-681
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• 2005

The unsteady evolution of trailing vortex sheets behind wings in close formation flight near the ground is simulated using a discrete vortex method. The ground effect is included by an image method. The method is validated by comparing computed results with other numerical results. For a lifting line with an elliptic loading, the ground has an effect of moving wingtip vortices laterally outward and suppressing the development of vortex evolution. The gap between wings in close formation flight has an effect of moving up wingtip vortices facing each other. For wings flying in parallel, the ground effect causes the wingtip vortices facing each other to move up, and it makes the opposite wing tip vortices to move laterally outward. When there is a relative height between the wings in ground effect, right-hand side wingtip vortices from a mothership move laterally inward.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.15 no.6
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• pp.1393-1410
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• 2015

An original sensor system based on Fiber Bragg Gratings (FBG) for the strain monitoring of an adaptive wing element is presented in this paper. One of the main aims of the SARISTU project is in fact to measure the shape of a deformable wing for performance optimization. In detail, an Adaptive Trailing Edge (ATE) is monitored chord- and span-wise in order to estimate the deviation between the actual and the desired shape and, then, to allow attaining a prediction of the real aerodynamic behavior with respect to the expected one. The integration of a sensor system is not trivial: it has to fit inside the available room and to comply with the primary issue of the FBG protection. Moreover, dealing with morphing structures, large deformations are expected and a certain modulation is necessary to keep the measured strain inside the permissible measure range. In what follows, the mathematical model of an original FBG-based structural sensor system is presented, designed to evaluate the chord-wise strain of an Adaptive Trailing Edge device. Numerical and experimental results are compared, using a proof-of-concept setup. Further investigations aimed at improving the sensor capabilities, were finally addressed. The elasticity of the sensor structure was exploited to enlarge both the measurement and the linearity range. An optimisation process was then implemented to find out an optimal thickness distribution of the sensor system in order to alleviate the strain level within the referred component.

• Advances in aircraft and spacecraft science
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• v.4 no.5
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• pp.503-514
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• 2017

The attitude control of an aircraft is usually fulfilled by means of thrusters at high altitudes. Therefore, the possibility of using also aerodynamic surfaces would produce the advantage of reducing the amount of fuel for the thrusters to be loaded on board. For this purpose, Zuppardi already considered some aerodynamic problems linked to the use of a wing flap in a previous paper. A NACA 0010 airfoil with a trailing edge flap of 35% of the chord, in the range of angle of attack 0-40 deg and flap deflections up to 30 deg was investigated. Computer tests were carried out in hypersonic, rarefied flow by a direct simulation Monte Carlo code at the altitudes of 65 and 85 km of Earth Atmosphere. The present work continues this subject, considering the same airfoil and free stream conditions but two flap extensions of 45% and 25% of the chord and two flap deflections of 15 and 30 deg. The main purpose is to compare the influence of the flap dimension with that of the flap deflection. The present analysis is carried out in terms of: 1) percentage variation of the global aerodynamic coefficients with respect to the no-flap configuration, 2) increment of pressure and heat flux on the airfoil lower surface due to the Shock Wave-Shock Wave Interaction (SWSWI) with respect to the same quantities with no SWSWI or in no-flap configuration, 3) flap hinge moment. Issues 2) and 3) are important for the design of the mechanical and thermal protection system and of the flap actuator, respectively. Under the above mentioned test and geometrical conditions, the flap deflection is aerodynamically more effective than the flap extension, because it involves higher variation of the aerodynamic coefficients. However, tests verify that a smaller deflection angle involves the advantage of a smaller increment of pressure and heat flux on the airfoil lower surface, due to SWSWI, as well as a smaller hinge moment.

• Advances in aircraft and spacecraft science
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.81-91
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• 2017

The performances of lifting surfaces are particularly critical in specific flight conditions like takeoff and landing. Different systems can be used to increase the lift and drag coefficients in such conditions like slat, flap or ailerons. Nevertheless they increase the losses and make difficult the mechanical design of wing structures. Morphing surfaces are a compromise between a right increase in lift and a reduction of parts movements involved in the actuation. Furthermore these systems are suitable for more than one flight condition with low inertia problems. So, flap and slats can be easily substituted by the corresponding morphing shapes. This paper deals with a genetic optimization of an airfoil with morphing flap with an already optimized nose. Indeed, two different codes are used to solve the equations, a finite volume code suitable for structured grids named ZEN and the EulerBoundary Layer Drela's code MSES. First a number of different preliminary design tests were done considering a specific set of design variables in order to restrict the design region. Then a RANS optimization with a single design point related to the take-off flight condition has been carried out in order to refine the previous design. Results are shown using the characteristic curves of the best and of the baseline reported to outline the computed performances enhancements. They reveal how the contemporary use of a morphing acting on the nose of the main component and the trailing edge of the flap drive towards a total not negligible increment in lift.

• Advances in aircraft and spacecraft science
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.45-56
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• 2015

The attitude aerodynamic control is an important subject in the design of an aerospace plane. Usually, at high altitudes, this control is fulfilled by thrusters so that the implementation of an aerodynamic control of the vehicle has the advantage of reducing the amount of thrusters fuel to be loaded on board. In the present paper, the efficiency of a wing-flap has been evaluated considering a NACA 0010 airfoil with a trailing edge flap of length equal to 35% of the chord. Computational tests have been carried out in hypersonic, rarefied flow by a direct simulation Monte Carlo code at the altitudes of 65 and 85 km, in the range of angle of attack 0-40 deg. and with flap deflection equal to 0, 15 and 30 deg.. Effects of the flap deflection have been quantified by the variations of the aerodynamic force and of the longitudinal moment. The shock wave-boundary layer interaction and the shock wave-shock wave interaction have been also considered. A possible interaction of the leading edge shock wave and of the shock wave arising from the vertex of the convex corner, produced on the lower surface of the airfoil when the flap is deflected, generates a shock wave whose intensity is stronger than those of the two interacting shock waves. This produces a consistent increment of pressure and heat flux on the lower surface of the flap, where a thermal protection system is required.

• Advances in aircraft and spacecraft science
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• v.2 no.4
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• pp.445-467
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• 2015

The paper presents some details of the CFD modeling of a novel design where jet ignition devices replace the traditional spark plugs for a faster and more complete combustion. The numerical simulations show how the pre-chamber jet ignition in a Wankel engine differs from reciprocating piston engine applications. The jets issuing from the jet ignition pre-chamber have many different speeds in the different directions as the pressure build-up at the trailing edge of the rotating chamber makes extremely fast the ignition of the chamber mixture in the direction of rotation. Conversely it prevents the jet ignition in the opposite direction. Careful positioning along the periphery and design of the connecting pipes and the prechamber volume with the help of CFD simulations permits to achieve extremely fast and complete combustion as impossible with spark plugs. The paper proposes results of CFD simulations of the combustion evolution within a jet ignited Wankel engine rotor, detailing challenges and opportunities of the application, as well as a first assessment of the impact the faster and more complete combustion permitted by jet ignition may have on the performances of Wankel engines for unmanned aerial vehicles applications.

• Advances in aircraft and spacecraft science
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.53-67
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• 2021

The increasing interest in the exploration of Mars stimulated the authors to study aerodynamic problems linked to space vehicles. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the aerodynamic effects of a flapped wing in collaborating with parachutes and retro-rockets to reduce velocity and with thrusters to control the spacecraft attitude. 3-D computations on a preliminary configuration of a blunt-cylinder, provided with flapped fins, quantified the beneficial influence of the fins. The present paper is focused on Aerodynamics of a wing section (NACA-0010) provided with a trailing edge flap. The influence of the flap deflection was evaluated by the increments of aerodynamic force and leading edge pitching moment coefficients with respect to the coefficients in clean configuration. The study was carried out by means of two Direct Simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) codes (DS2V/3V solving 2-D/3-D flow fields, respectively). A DSMC code is indispensable to simulate complex flow fields on a wing generated by Shock Wave-Shock Wave Interaction (SWSWI) due to the flap deflection. The flap angle has to be a compromise between the aerodynamic effectiveness and the increases of aerodynamic load and heat flux on the wing section lower surface.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Aeronautical & Space Sciences
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• v.39 no.6
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• pp.481-486
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• 2011

The evaluation of supercooled water droplet impingement characteristics of full-scale aircraft components in wind tunnels under icing conditions has been severely limited by the relative size of the component and the test facility. The concept of truncated airfoil sections has been suggested in order to extend the operational range of icing tunnels. With proper deflection of the small trailing-edge flap on the truncated airfoil the local pressure distribution may remain very close to that of the full-scale airfoil. In this study the shape of a truncated flapped airfoil is investigated for various deflection angles. To validate the truncated flapped airfoils, air flow and collection efficiency over the truncated airfoil are compared with the results of the full-scale airfoil obtained from the state-of-the-art icing simulation code.