Experimental and numerical study on the effect of swept and taper of wing with leading edge tubercles on aerodynamic characteristics Share

Swept wings at low Reynolds number have potential application in UAV, MAV and even wind turbines. Laminar separation is the major problem at low Reynolds number. Leading edge protuberance, a passive flow control technique inspired by the morphological feature of Humpback Whales called tubercles is used to overcome the problem of laminar separation. Numerous experimental and computational studies focussed on the effect of leading edge tubercles on straight or rectangular wings and airfoils. It shall be noted that the flow
control performance and aerodynamic efficiency could vary with airfoil profiles, Reynolds number, tubercle geometries and even the wing planform. Effect of tubercles on
swept wings is not studied widely. A few studies on tapered swept back wings observed that lift and drag decreased when tubercles were introduced on tapered swept wing. Here we investigate the effect of tubercle on a swept wing at a low Reynolds number of 100 000. It shall be noted that tubercle arrangement of swept wing can be done in two different ways.
Tubercle can be placed either facing the flow or with a relative angle. Investigation will be carried with these two configurations as well as at different swept angle.

Principal Investigator : Dr. (Mrs.) A. Sathyabhama | Contact : bhama72@gmail.com

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Estimated Budget : 25,00,000