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Nowadays flaps and winglets are one of the main mechanisms to increase airfoil efficiency. This study aims to investigate the power performance of vertical axis wind turbines (VAWT) that are equipped with diverse gurney flaps. This study could play a crucial role in the design of the VAWT in the future.

In this paper, the two-dimensional computational fluid dynamics simulation is used. The second-order finite volume method is used for the discretization of the governing equations.

The results show that the gurney flap enhances the power coefficient at the low range of tip speed ratio (TSR). When an angled and standard gurney flap case has the same aerodynamic performance, an angled gurney flap case has a lower hinge moment on the junction of airfoil and gurney flap which shows the structural excellence of this case. In all gurney flap cases, the power coefficient increases by an average of 20% at the TSR range of 0.6 to 1.8. The gurney flap cases do not perform well at the high TSR range and the results show a lower amount of power coefficient compare to the clean airfoil.

The angled gurney flap which has the structural advantage and is deployed to the pressure side of the airfoil improves the efficiency of VAWT at the low and medium range of TSR. This study recommends using a controllable gurney flap which could be deployed at a certain amount of TSR.

One of the best methods to improve wind turbine aerodynamic performance is modification of the blade’s airfoil. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of gurney flap geometry and its oscillation parameters on the pitching NACA0012 airfoil.

This numerical solution has been carried out for different cases of gurney flap mounting angles, heights, reduced frequencies and oscillation amplitudes, then the results were compared to each other. The finite volume method was used for the discretization of the governing equations, and the PISO algorithm was used to solve the equations. Also, the “SST” was adopted as the turbulence model in the simulation.

In this paper, the different parameters of gurney flap were investigated. The results showed that the best range of gurney flap height are between 1 and 3.2% of chord and the best ratio of lifting to drag coefficient is achieved in gurney flap with an angle of 90° relative to the chord direction. The dynamic stall angle of the airfoil with gurney flap decreases were compared to without gurney flap. Earlier LEV formation can be one of the main reasons for decreasing the dynamic stall angle of the airfoil with gurney flap. Increasing the reduced frequency and oscillation amplitude causes rising of maximum lift coefficient and consequently lift curve slope. Moreover, gurney flap with mounting angle has a lower hinge moment than the gurney flap without mounting angle but with the same vertical axis length. So, there is more complexity in structural design concerning the gurney flap without mounting angle.

Improving aerodynamic efficiency of airfoils is vital for obtaining more output power in VAWTs. Gurney flaps are one of the best mechanisms to increase the aerodynamic performance of the airfoil and increases the efficiency of VAWTs.

Investigating the hinge moment on the connection point of the airfoil, gurney flap and try to compare the gurney flap with and without angle.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze experimentally subsonic wake of a supercritical airfoil undergoing a pitch–hold–return motion. The focus of the investigation has been narrowed to concentrate on the steadiness of the flow field in the wake of the airfoil and the role of reduced frequency, amplitude and the hold phase duration.

All experiments were conducted in a low sub-sonic closed-circuit wind tunnel, at a Reynolds number of approximately 600,000. The model was a supercritical airfoil having 10% thickness and wall-to-wall in ground test facilities. To calculate the velocity distribution in the wake of the airfoil, total and static pressures were recorded at a distance of one chord far from the trailing edge, using pressure devices. The reduced frequency was set at 0.012, 0.03 and the motion pivot was selected at c/4.

Analysis of the steadiness of the wake flow field ascertains that an increase in reduced frequency leads to further flow time lag in the hold phase whereas decreases the time that the wake remains steady after the start of the return portion. Also, the roles of amplitude and stall condition are examined.

Examination of a pitch–hold–return motion is substantial in assessment of aerodynamics of maneuvers with a rapid increase in angle of attack. Moreover, study of aerodynamic behavior of downstream flow field and its steadiness in the wake of the airfoil is vital in drag reduction and control of flapping wings, dynamic stability and control of aircrafts.

In the present study, to discuss the steadiness of the flow field behind the airfoil some statistical methods and concept of histogram using an automatic algorithm were used and a specific criterion to characterize the steadiness of flow field was achieved.

This paper aims to investigate numerical solution of transonic flow around NACA0012 airfoil under sinusoidal pitch oscillation. Accordingly, effects of the amplitude and frequency of oscillations on aerodynamic coefficients are evaluated and the efficiency of the turbulent models, K-ω shear-stress transport (SST), scale adaptive simulation (SAS) and delayed detached eddy simulation (DDES), in simulation of the nonlinear phenomena – i.e. the interaction between shock and boundary layer and the shock oscillations – is studied.

K-ω SST, SAS and DDES models are used as turbulence approaches. The numerical results are compared with available experimental and numerical information.

According to the results inside the buffet boundaries, the DDES turbulent model expresses results that are more appropriate; however, SAS and SST models are not efficient enough in evaluating the characteristics of nonlinear flow.

In this research study, hybrid RANS-LES turbulence model is engaged to simulate transonic flow around pitching NACA0012 airfoil, and results are compared to the SAS and Reynolds Average Navier–Stocks simulations as well as available numerical and experimental data. In addition, effects of the amplitude and frequency of oscillations on aerodynamic coefficients are evaluated in buffet regions.

The overall performance of an aerial vehicle strongly depends on the specifics of the propulsion system and its position relative to the other components. The purpose of paper is this factor can be characterized by changing several contributing parameters, such as distance from the ground, fuselage and wing as well as the nacelle outlet velocity and analyzing the aerodynamic performance.

Navier–Stokes equations are discretized in space using finite volume method. A KW-SST model is implemented to model the turbulence. The flow is assumed steady, single-phase, viscous, Newtonian and compressible. Accordingly, after validation and verification against experimental and numerical results of DLRF6 configuration, the location of the propulsion system relative to configuration body is examined.

At the nacelle outlet velocity of V/V_inf = 4, the optimal location identified in this study delivers 16% larger lift to drag ratio compared to the baseline configuration.

Altering the position of the propulsion system along the longitudinal direction does not have a noticeable effect on the vehicle performance.

Aerial vehicles including wing-in-ground effect vehicles require thrust to fly. Generating this necessary thrust for motion and acceleration is thoroughly affected by the vehicle aerodynamics. There is a lack of rigorous understanding of such topics owing to the immaturity of science in this area. Complexity and diversity of performance variables for a numerical solution and finding a logical connection between these parameters are among the related challenges.

In this paper, the applicability of shear stress transport k-ω model along with the intermittency concept has been investigated over pitching airfoils to capture the laminar separation bubble (LSB) position and the boundary layer transition movement. The effect of reduced frequency of oscillations on boundary layer response is also examined.

A two-dimensional computational fluid dynamic code was developed to compute the effects of unsteadiness on LSB formation, transition point movement, pressure distribution and lift force over an oscillating airfoil using transport equation of intermittency accompanied by the k-ω model.

The results indicate that increasing the angle of attack over the stationary airfoil causes the LSB size to shorten, leading to a rise in wall shear stress and pressure suction peak. In unsteady cases, both three- and four-equation models are capable of capturing the experimentally measured transition point well. The transition is delayed for an unsteady boundary layer in comparison with that for a static airfoil at the same angle of attack. Increasing the unsteadiness of flow, i.e. reduced frequency, moves the transition point toward the trailing edge of the airfoil. This increment also results in lower static pressure suction peak and hence lower lift produced by the airfoil. It was also found that the fully turbulent k-ω shear–stress transport (SST) model cannot capture the so-called figure-of-eight region in lift coefficient and the employment of intermittency transport equation is essential.

Boundary layer transition and unsteady flow characteristics owing to airfoil motion are both important for many engineering applications including micro air vehicles as well as helicopter blade, wind turbine and aircraft maneuvers. In this paper, the accuracy of transition modeling based on intermittency transport concept and the response of boundary layer to unsteadiness are investigated.

As a conclusion, the contribution of this paper is to assess the ability of intermittency transport models to predict LSB and transition point movements, static pressure distribution and aerodynamic lift variations and boundary layer flow pattern over dynamic pitching airfoils with regard to oscillation frequency effects for engineering problems.

This paper aims to investigate the aerodynamic characteristics as well as static stability of wing-in-ground effect aircraft. The effect of geometrical characteristics, namely, twist angle, dihedral angle, sweep angle and taper ratio are examined.

A three-dimensional computational fluid dynamic code is developed to investigate the aerodynamic characteristics of the effect. The turbulent model is utilized for characterization of flow over wing surface.

The numerical results show that the maximum change of the drag coefficient depends on the angle of attack, twist angle and ground clearance, in a decreasing order. Also, it is found that the lift coefficient increases as the ground clearance, twist angle and dihedral angle decrease. On the other hand, the sweep angle does not have a significant effect on the lift coefficient for the considered wing section and Reynolds number. Also, as the aerodynamic characteristics increase, the taper ratio befits in trailing state.

To design an aircraft, the effect of each design parameter needs to be estimated. For this purpose, the sensitivity analysis is used. In this paper, the influence of all parameter against each other including ground clearance, angle of attack, twist angle, dihedral angle and sweep angle for the NACA 6409 are investigated.

As a summary, the contribution of this paper is to predict the aerodynamic performance for the cruise condition. In this study, the sensitivity of the design parameter on aerodynamic performance can be estimated and the effect of geometrical characteristics has been investigated in detail. Also, the best lift to drag coefficient for the NACA 6409 wing section specifies and two types of taper ratios in ground effect are compared.

In this paper, experimental and numerical results of a lambda wing have been compared. The purpose of this paper is to study the behaviour of lambda wings using a CFD tool and to consider different numerical models to obtain the most accurate results. As far as the consideration of numerical methods is concerned, the main focus is on the evaluation of computational methods for an accurate prediction of contingent leading edge vortices’ path and the flow separation occurring because of the burst of these vortices on the wing.

Experimental tests are performed in a closed-circuit wind tunnel at the Reynolds number of 6 × 105 and angles of attack (AOA) ranging from 0 to 10 degrees. Investigated turbulence models in this study are Reynolds Averaged Navior–Stokes (RANS) models in a steady state. To compare the accuracy of the turbulence models with respect to experimental results, sensitivity study of these models has been plotted in bar charts.

The results illustrate that the leading edge vortex on this lambda wing is unstable and disappears soon. The effect of this disappearance is obvious by an increase in local drag coefficient in the junction of inner and outer wings. Streamlines on the upper surface of the wing show that at AOA higher than 8 degrees, the absence of an intense leading edge vortex leads to a local flow separation on the outer wing and a reverse in the flow.

Results obtained from the behaviour study of transition (TSS) turbulence model are more compatible with experimental findings. This model predicts the drag coefficient of the wing with the highest accuracy. Of all considered turbulence models, the Spalart model was not able to accurately predict the non-linearity of drag and pitching moment coefficients. Except for the TSS turbulence model, all other models are unable to predict the aerodynamic coefficients corresponding to AOA higher than 10 degrees.

The presented results in this paper include lift, drag and pitching moment coefficients in various AOA and also the distribution of aerodynamic coefficients along the span.

The presented results include lift, drag and pitching moment coefficients in various AOA and also aerodynamic coefficients distribution along the span.