Numerical Study of Winglet Cant Angle Effect on Wing Performance at Low Reynolds Number

Abstract

The study on the effect of winglet shape in wing design has been a focus of many researchers. Nevertheless, the effect of cant angle on the wing performances at low Reynolds number has not been fully explored. This paper describes the effect of a single semi-circular shaped winglet attached with a rectangular wing model to lower the drag without increasing the span of the wing. Aerodynamic characteristics for the rectangular wing (NACA 65-3-218) with and without semi-circular winglets have been studied using STAR CCM+ 4.0. This numerical analysis is based on Finite Volume Approach. Simulations were carried out on the rectangular wing model with and without winglet at aspect ratio of 2.73 and Reynolds number of 0.16 x 10 6 for various angles of attack. From the numerical analysis, wing performance characteristics in terms of lift coefficient CL, drag coefficient CD, and lift-to-drag ratio, CL/CD were obtained. It was found that the addition of a semi-circular winglet has resulted in a larger lift curve slope and higher Lift-to-Drag ratio in comparison with the case of a wing without winglet. Further investigation has revealed that a wing with semi-circular winglet with cant angle of 45 degree has produced the best Lift-to-Drag ratio, CL/CD.