Flexible Leading Edge Flap on an Impulsively Started Flat Plate at Low Reynolds Number

Author(s):  
Charles Pitt Ford ◽  
Robbie Stevens ◽  
Holger Babinsky
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bastav Borah ◽  
Anand Verma ◽  
Vinayak Kulkarni ◽  
Ujjwal K. Saha

Abstract Vortex shedding phenomenon leads to a number of different features such as flow induced vibrations, fluid mixing, heat transfer and noise generation. With respect to aerodynamic application, the intensity of vortex shedding and the size of vortices play an essential role in the generation of lift and drag forces on an airfoil. The flat plates are known to have a better lift-to-drag ratio than conventional airfoils at low Reynolds number (Re). A better understanding of the shedding behavior will help aerodynamicists to implement flat plates at low Re specific applications such as fixed-wing micro air vehicle (MAV). In the present study, the shedding of vortices in the wake of a flat plate at low incidence has been studied experimentally in a low-speed subsonic wind tunnel at a Re of 5 × 104. The velocity field in the wake of the plate is measured using a hot wire anemometer. These measurements are taken at specific points in the wake across the flow direction and above the suction side of the flat plate. The velocity field is found to oscillate with one dominant frequency of fluctuation. The Strouhal number (St), calculated from this frequency, is computed for different angles of attack (AoA). The shedding frequency of vortices from the trailing edge of the flat plate has a general tendency to increase with AoA. In this paper, the generation and subsequent shedding of leading edge and trailing edge vortices in the wake of a flat plate are discussed.


2016 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 273-285
Author(s):  
Katsuya Hirata ◽  
◽  
Ryo Nozawa ◽  
Shogo Kondo ◽  
Kazuki Onishi ◽  
...  

[abstFig src='/00280003/02.jpg' width=""300"" text='Iso-Q surfaces of very-slow flow past an iNACA0015' ] The airfoil is often used as the elemental device for flying/swimming robots, determining its basic performances. However, most of the aerodynamic characteristics of the airfoil have been investigated at Reynolds numbers Re’s more than 106. On the other hand, our knowledge is not enough in low Reynolds-number ranges, in spite of the recent miniaturisation of robots. In the present study, referring to our previous findings (Hirata et al., 2011), we numerically examine three kinds of high-performance airfoils proposed for very-low Reynolds numbers; namely, an iNACA0015 (the NACA0015 placed back to front), an FPBi (a flat plate blended with iNACA0015 as its upper half) and an FPBN (a flat plate blended with the NACA0015 as its upper half), in comparison with such basic airfoils as a NACA0015 and an FP (a flat plate), at a Reynolds number Re = 1.0 × 102 using two- and three-dimensional computations. As a result, the FPBi shows the best performance among the five kinds of airfoils.


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