Aeroacoustic and aerodynamic characteristics of a morphing airfoil

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to assess the aeroacoustic and aerodynamic performance of a morphing airfoil with a flexible trailing edge (FTE). The objective is to make a comparison of the aerodynamic noise characteristics between the conventional airfoil with a flap and morphing airfoil and analyse the noise reduction mechanisms of the morphing airfoil.

Design/methodology/approach

The computational fluid dynamic method was used to calculate the aerodynamic coefficients of morphing airfoil and the Ffowcs-Williams and Hawking’s acoustic analogy methods were performed to predict the far-field noise of different airfoils.

Findings

Results show that compared with the conventional airfoil, the morphing airfoil can generate higher lift and lower noise, but a greater drag. Additionally, the noise caused by the one-unit lift of the morphing airfoil is significantly lower than that of the conventional airfoil. For the morphing airfoil, the shedding vortex in the trailing edge was the main noise resource. As the angle of attack (AoA) increases, the overall sound pressure level of the morphing airfoil increases significantly. With the increase of the trailing edge deflection angle, the amplitude and the period of sound pressure of the morning airfoil fluctuation increase.

Practical implications

Presented results could be very useful during designing the morphing airfoil with FTE, which has significant advantages in aerodynamic efficiency and aeroacoustic performance.

Originality/value

This paper presents the aerodynamic and aeroacoustic characteristics of the morphing airfoil. The effect of trailing edge deflection angle and AoA on morphing airfoil was investigated. In the future, using a morphing airfoil instead of a traditional flap can reduce the aircraft`s fuel consumption and noise pollution.

Citation

Kan, Z., Li, D., Zhao, S., Xiang, J. and Sha, E. (2021), "Aeroacoustic and aerodynamic characteristics of a morphing airfoil", Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, Vol. 93 No. 5, pp. 888-899. https://doi.org/10.1108/AEAT-11-2020-0263