Influence of the trailing edge shape on the aerodynamic characteristics of an airfoil at low Re number using RANS

Abstract

Recent studies have demonstrated that periodic spanwise modifications of the Trailing Edge of an airfoil can significantly reduce the noise produced and can also increase its aerodynamic performances. This study aims to analyse the effects of such modifications on the aerodynamic performances of a profile by numerical simulation, with a particular emphasis on low Reynolds numbers typical of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, Micro Aerial Vehicle, and/or small wind turbines. In the range of Re numbers considered here, the flow presents laminar separation eventually followed by transition and reattachment (depending on Reynolds number, Angle of Attack and Free Stream Turbulence). As the standard for industrial applications is still the RANS approach, thanks to its moderate computational cost, this approach is considered here and a first step consists in evaluating the ability of recently proposed transition models (Menter, 2015; Ge, 2014; Kubacki, 2016) to predict the characteristics of the flow for such geometries. A baseline NACA0012 profile is considered, together with modified Trailing Edges (blunt and serrated). Simulations are performed using Code_Saturne (2nd order finite volume), and the influence of the Free Stream Turbulence, Angle of Attack, and Reynolds number on the aerodynamics performances is examined. The results are compared with data from the literature.

Analysis of Influence of Different Parameters on Numerical Simulation of NACA0012 Incompressible External Flow Field under High Reynolds Numbers

“…In this paper, based on the experimental data of Ref. [22], the effects of trailing edge shape and the corresponding modeling method, far-field distance, and turbulence model on the force coefficients under high Reynolds numbers are discussed. Section 2 introduces the applied modeling methods, grid divisions, turbulence models, and the numerical procedure.…”

“…Ref. [22] investigates the influence of the trailing edge shape on the force coefficients applying R e from 0.05 million to 0.1 million with the SST k-omega turbulence model. The result illustrates that the chosen shape of the trailing edge depends on the values of R e and the AOA.…”

Influence Analysis of Simulation Parameters on Numerical Prediction of Compressible External Flow Field Based on NACA0012 Airfoil under Hypersonic Speed

“…According to the reference data of Ref [17], under hypersonic speed, a detailed parameters influence of trailing edge shapes, far-field distances, turbulence models, and flux types on the simulation prediction accuracy of the compressible external flow field characterized by NACA0012 airfoil is discussed in this paper. The appropriate grid strategy and number method are confirmed in Section 2.…”

“…Ref. [17] analyzes he trailing edge shape influence on the force coefficients and the conclusions show that the angle of attack (AOA) and the Reynolds number (R e ) affect the trailing edge shape selection. Ref.…”