• Advances in aircraft and spacecraft science
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.53-67
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• 2021

The increasing interest in the exploration of Mars stimulated the authors to study aerodynamic problems linked to space vehicles. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the aerodynamic effects of a flapped wing in collaborating with parachutes and retro-rockets to reduce velocity and with thrusters to control the spacecraft attitude. 3-D computations on a preliminary configuration of a blunt-cylinder, provided with flapped fins, quantified the beneficial influence of the fins. The present paper is focused on Aerodynamics of a wing section (NACA-0010) provided with a trailing edge flap. The influence of the flap deflection was evaluated by the increments of aerodynamic force and leading edge pitching moment coefficients with respect to the coefficients in clean configuration. The study was carried out by means of two Direct Simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) codes (DS2V/3V solving 2-D/3-D flow fields, respectively). A DSMC code is indispensable to simulate complex flow fields on a wing generated by Shock Wave-Shock Wave Interaction (SWSWI) due to the flap deflection. The flap angle has to be a compromise between the aerodynamic effectiveness and the increases of aerodynamic load and heat flux on the wing section lower surface.

• Advances in aircraft and spacecraft science
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.45-56
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• 2015

The attitude aerodynamic control is an important subject in the design of an aerospace plane. Usually, at high altitudes, this control is fulfilled by thrusters so that the implementation of an aerodynamic control of the vehicle has the advantage of reducing the amount of thrusters fuel to be loaded on board. In the present paper, the efficiency of a wing-flap has been evaluated considering a NACA 0010 airfoil with a trailing edge flap of length equal to 35% of the chord. Computational tests have been carried out in hypersonic, rarefied flow by a direct simulation Monte Carlo code at the altitudes of 65 and 85 km, in the range of angle of attack 0-40 deg. and with flap deflection equal to 0, 15 and 30 deg.. Effects of the flap deflection have been quantified by the variations of the aerodynamic force and of the longitudinal moment. The shock wave-boundary layer interaction and the shock wave-shock wave interaction have been also considered. A possible interaction of the leading edge shock wave and of the shock wave arising from the vertex of the convex corner, produced on the lower surface of the airfoil when the flap is deflected, generates a shock wave whose intensity is stronger than those of the two interacting shock waves. This produces a consistent increment of pressure and heat flux on the lower surface of the flap, where a thermal protection system is required.

• Advances in aircraft and spacecraft science
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• v.4 no.5
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• pp.503-514
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• 2017

The attitude control of an aircraft is usually fulfilled by means of thrusters at high altitudes. Therefore, the possibility of using also aerodynamic surfaces would produce the advantage of reducing the amount of fuel for the thrusters to be loaded on board. For this purpose, Zuppardi already considered some aerodynamic problems linked to the use of a wing flap in a previous paper. A NACA 0010 airfoil with a trailing edge flap of 35% of the chord, in the range of angle of attack 0-40 deg and flap deflections up to 30 deg was investigated. Computer tests were carried out in hypersonic, rarefied flow by a direct simulation Monte Carlo code at the altitudes of 65 and 85 km of Earth Atmosphere. The present work continues this subject, considering the same airfoil and free stream conditions but two flap extensions of 45% and 25% of the chord and two flap deflections of 15 and 30 deg. The main purpose is to compare the influence of the flap dimension with that of the flap deflection. The present analysis is carried out in terms of: 1) percentage variation of the global aerodynamic coefficients with respect to the no-flap configuration, 2) increment of pressure and heat flux on the airfoil lower surface due to the Shock Wave-Shock Wave Interaction (SWSWI) with respect to the same quantities with no SWSWI or in no-flap configuration, 3) flap hinge moment. Issues 2) and 3) are important for the design of the mechanical and thermal protection system and of the flap actuator, respectively. Under the above mentioned test and geometrical conditions, the flap deflection is aerodynamically more effective than the flap extension, because it involves higher variation of the aerodynamic coefficients. However, tests verify that a smaller deflection angle involves the advantage of a smaller increment of pressure and heat flux on the airfoil lower surface, due to SWSWI, as well as a smaller hinge moment.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Aeronautical & Space Sciences
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• v.35 no.10
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• pp.899-904
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• 2007

During the conceptual design phase of fighter class aircraft, the high speed wind tunnel test with 1/20 scale wing-body-tail model has been conducted to investigate the effects of leading edge flap deflection on the supersonic cruise performance of the aircraft. To select the proper leading edge flap deflection for the wind tunnel test, the aerodynamic characteristics due to various leading edge flap deflections have been analyzed by using corrected supersonic panel method. Based on the results obtained from the experimental and numerical approaches, the effects of leading edge flap deflection have shown to be useful to enhance the supersonic cruise performance of fighter class aircraft.

• International Journal of Aeronautical and Space Sciences
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.128-136
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• 2006

The present study examined the effects of micro leading-edge flaps on the vortex characteristic changes of a double-delta wing through pressure measurements of the wing upper surface and PIV measurements of the wing-leeward flow region. The experimental data were collected and analyzed while changing the deflection angle of the leading-edge flaps to investigate the feasibility of using micro leading-edge flaps as flow control devices. The test results revealed that the leading edge modification could greatly alter the vortex flow pattern and the wing surface pressure of the delta wing, which suggested that the leading-edge flaps could be used as an effective device for the control of delta-wing vortex flow.

• International Journal of Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.1-12
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• 2009

Wing-in-Ground vehicles and aerodynamically assisted boats take advantage of increased lift and reduced drag of wing sections in the ground proximity. At relatively low speeds or heavy payloads of these craft, a flap at the wing trailing-edge can be applied to boost the aerodynamic lift. The influence of a flap on the two-dimensional NACA 4412 airfoil in viscous ground-effect flow is numerically investigated in this study. The computational method consists of a steady-state, incompressible, finite volume method utilizing the Spalart-Allmaras turbulence model. Grid generation and solution of the Navier-Stokes equations are completed using computer program Fluent. The code is validated against published experimental and numerical results of unbounded flow with a flap, as well as ground-effect motion without a flap. Aerodynamic forces are calculated, and the effects of angle of attack, Reynolds number, ground height, and flap deflection are presented for a split and plain flap. Changes in the flow introduced with the flap addition are also discussed. Overall, the use of a flap on wings with small attack angles is found to be beneficial for small flap deflections up to 5% of the chord, where the contribution of lift augmentation exceeds the drag increase, yielding an augmented lift-to-drag ratio.

• International Journal of Aeronautical and Space Sciences
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.110-120
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• 2006

There have been developed many structural and fluid rotorcraft analysis models in rotorcraft community, and also lots of investigations have been conducted to combine these two models. These investigations turn out to be good at predicting the airloads precisely, but they have not taken the blade nonlinear deflection into account. For this reason, the present paper adopts a sophisticated structural model which can describe three-dimensional nonlinear deflection of the blade. And it is combined with two types of aerodynamic model. First one is generalized Greenberg type of finite-time aerodynamic model, which is originally established for a fixed wing, but later modified to be suitable for coupled flap-lag-torsional aeroelastic analysis of the rotor blade. Second aerodynamic model is based on the unsteady source-doublet panel method coupled with a free wake model. The advantages of the present method are capabilities to consider thickness of the blade and more precise wake effects. Transient responses of the airloads and structural deflections in time domain are mainly analyzed in this paper.