Experimental Analysis of the Vorticity and Turbulent Flow Dynamics of a Pitching Airfoil at Realistic Flight Conditions

Abstract

The primary objective of this research proposal was improved understanding of the fundamental vorticity and turbulent flow physics for a dynamically stalling airfoil at realistic helicopter flight conditions. To meet this objective, an experimental program using high-resolution particle image velocimetry was performed. High-resolution planar contours of the instantaneous and mean velocity field on a dynamically pitching NACA 0012 airfoil operating in the Texas A&M University large-scale wind tunnel are planned. For the present study, the Mach number, chord Reynolds number, and reduced frequency were selected as 0.2/0.3, 2.0/2.8x106 and 0.1/0.18, respectively. The test matrix included static attached, static stall, light dynamic stall and deep dynamic stall. The goal of these analyses was improved understanding of the dynamic stall processes at realistic flight conditions. The velocity data was processed to examine the vorticity and turbulent transport near the leading edge during stall. The data from this study are summarized in this report.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Aug 31, 2007
Accession Number
ADA474073

Entities

People

  • Dipankar Sahoo
  • Rodney D. Bowersox

Organizations

  • Texas A&M University

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Aerodynamic Characteristics
  • Aircraft Industry
  • Airframes
  • Boundary Layer
  • Computational Fluid Dynamics
  • Fighter Aircraft
  • Flow Visualization
  • Fluid Dynamics
  • Fluid Flow
  • Geometry
  • Helicopter Rotors
  • Physics Laboratories
  • Pressure Distribution
  • Steady Flow
  • Three Dimensional
  • Turbulent Mixing
  • Two Dimensional

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Acoustical Oceanography.
  • Aerodynamics/Aeronautics.
  • Fluid Mechanics and Fluid Dynamics.