Lift performance enhancement for flapping airfoils by considering surging motion

The flapping motion has a great impact on the aerodynamic performance of flapping wings. In this paper, a surging motion is added to an airfoil performing pitching-plunging combined motion to figure out how it influences the lift performance and flow pattern of flapping airfoils. Firstly, the numerical methods are validated by a NACA0012 airfoil pitching case and a NACA0012 airfoil plunging case. Then, the E377m airfoil which has typical geometric characteristics of the bird-like airfoil is selected as the calculation model to study how phase differences φ₁ between surging motion and plunging motion affect the aerodynamic performance of flapping airfoils. The results show that the airfoil with surging motion has comprehensively better lift performance and thrust performance than the airfoil without surging motion when 15°< φ₁ < 90°. It is demonstrated that surging motion has a powerful ability to improve the aerodynamic performance of flapping airfoil by adjusting φ₁. Finally, to further explore how flapping airfoil improves lift performance by considering surging motion, the flapping motions of E377m airfoil with the highest lift coefficient and lift efficiency are obtained through trajectory optimization. The surging motion is removed in the highest lift case and highest lift efficiency case respectively, and the mechanism that surging motion adjusts the aerodynamic force is analyzed in detail by comparing the vortex structure and kinematic parameters. The results of this paper help reveal the aerodynamic mechanism of bird flight and guide the design of Flapping wing Micro Air Vehicles (FMAV).     

Optimization for aerodynamic performance of double serpentine nozzles with spanwise offsets using Taguchi-based CFD analysis

Serpentine nozzles are widely used in combat aircraft to realize strong stealth characteristics. Based on the layout characteristics within a confined space, a series of double serpentine nozzles with spanwise offsets are established. Using computational fluid dynamics and Taguchi method, the influence mechanisms of the Distribution of Area (DA), Distributions of Centerline for the first and second ‘S’ sections in the Vertical direction (DCV1 and DCV2), and Distribution of Centerline in the Spanwise direction (DCS) are analyzed. The impact of these factors on the total pressure recovery coefficient can be ranked as DA > DCV2 > DCS > DCV1, whereas their impacts on the discharge coefficient and axial thrust coefficient can be ranked as DCV2 > DCS > DA > DCV1. Considering the statistical significance of these factors, a nozzle in which DA changes rapidly at the exit and DCV1, DCV2, and DCS change rapidly at the entrance gives the best aerodynamic performance. Compared to the worst configuration, the total pressure recovery coefficient, discharge coefficient, and axial thrust coefficient are improved by 1.6%,3.5% and 3.6%, respectively. DA influences the gas flow acceleration in the entire serpentine channel, resulting in different wall shear stress and friction losses. The various centerline distributions influence the gas flow acceleration effects and form complex wave structures in the constant-area extension section, resulting in different local and friction losses.