• Advances in aircraft and spacecraft science
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• 제8권1호
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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.

• International Journal of Aeronautical and Space Sciences
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• 제13권1호
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• pp.58-63
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• 2012

In general, a conventional flap on an aircraft wing can reduce the aerodynamic efficiency due to geometric discontinuity. On the other hand, the aerodynamic performance can be improved by using a shape-morphing wing instead of a separate flap. In this research, a new flap morphing mechanism that can change the wing shape smoothly was devised to prevent aerodynamic losses. Moreover, a prototype wing was fabricated to demonstrate the morphing mechanism. A shape memory alloy (SMA) wire actuator was used for the morphing wing. The specific current range was measured to control the SMA actuator. The deflection angles at the trailing edge were also measured while various currents were applied to the SMA actuator. The trailing edge of the wing changed smoothly when the current was applied. Moreover, the deflection angle also increased as the current increased. The maximum frequency level was around 0.1 Hz. The aerodynamic performance of the deformed airfoil by the SMA wire was analyzed by using the commercial program GAMBIT and FLUENT. The results were compared with the results of an undeformed wing. It was demonstrated that the morphing mechanism changes the wing shape smoothly without the extension of the wing skin.

• Advances in aircraft and spacecraft science
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• 제2권1호
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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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• 제4권5호
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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.

• 한국전산유체공학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국전산유체공학회 2000년도 추계 학술대회논문집
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• pp.32-38
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• 2000

Wing flap deflection angles of a supersonic transport are optimized to improve transonic cruise performance. For this end, a numerical optimization method is adopted using a three-dimensional unstructured Euler code and a discrete adjoint code. Deflection angles of ten flaps; five for leading edge and five fur railing edge, are employed as design variables. The elliptic equation method is adopted for the interior grid modification during the design process. Interior grid sensitivities are neglected for efficiency. Also tested is the validity of the approximate gradient evaluation method for the present design problem and found that it is applicable for loading edge flap design in cases of no shock waves on the wing surface. The BFGS method is used to minimize the drag with constraints on the lift and upper surface Mach numbers. Two design examples are conducted; one is leading edge flap design, and the other is simultaneous design of leading edge and trailing edge flaps. The latter gave a smaller drag than the former by about two counts.

• International Journal of Aeronautical and Space Sciences
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• 제7권2호
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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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• 제1권1호
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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.

• 한국항공우주학회지
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• 제35권10호
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• pp.899-904
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• 2007

전투기급 항공기 개념설계 기간 중 항공기 초음속 순항성능에 미치는 앞전플랩 굽힘 효과를 분석하기 위하여 1/20 축척 날개-동체-꼬리 형상 모형을 사용한 고속 풍동시험을 수행하였다. 풍동시험을 위한 적절한 앞전플랩 각도를 선정하기 위하여 보정된 초음속 패널 방법을 사용하여 다양한 앞전플랩 굽힘 각도에 따른 공력특성을 분석하였다. 실험 및 수치해석적 접근 결과 분석을 기초로, 앞전플랩 굽힘 효과는 전투기급 항공기의 초음속 순항 성능 증대에 유용한 것으로 확인되었다.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• 제42권4호
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• pp.293-301
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• 2020

Blades of tidal stream turbines have to sustain many different loads during operation in the underwater environment, so securing their structural safety is a key issue. In this study, we focused on periodic loads due to wave orbital motion and propose a load reduction method with a blade design. The flap of an airplane wing is a well-known structure designed to increase lift, and it can also change the load distribution on the wing through deflection. For this reason, we adopted a passive flap structure for the load reduction and investigated its effectiveness by an analytical method based on the blade element moment theory. Flap torsional stiffness required for the design of the passive flap can be obtained by calculating the flap moment based on the analytic method. Comparison between a flapped and a fixed blade showed the effect of the flap on load reduction in a high amplitude wave condition.

• International Journal of Aeronautical and Space Sciences
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• 제13권2호
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• pp.210-220
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• 2012

The model-free control of aeroelastic vibrations of a non-linear 2-D wing-flap system operating in supersonic flight speed regimes is discussed in this paper. A novel continuous robust controller design yields asymptotically stable vibration suppression in both the pitching and plunging degrees of freedom using the flap deflection as a control input. The controller also ensures that all system states remain bounded at all times during closed-loop operation. A Lyapunov method is used to obtain the global asymptotic stability result. The unsteady aerodynamic load is considered by resourcing to the non-linear Piston Theory Aerodynamics (PTA) modified to account for the effect of the flap deflection. Simulation results demonstrate the performance of the robust control strategy in suppressing dynamic aeroelastic instabilities, such as non-linear flutter and limit cycle oscillations.