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Effects of Leading-Edge Tubercles on Dynamically Pitching Airfoils

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Flow Control Through Bio-inspired Leading-Edge Tubercles

Abstract

The hydrodynamic effects of leading-edge (LE) tubercles, inspired by the flipper of humpback whales, has become a subject of interest for the control of flow over lifting surfaces. The primary focus of these efforts has centered on static cases where the angle-of-attack (AoA) of the flow is held constant. However, given the dynamic nature of the use of these flippers by humpback whales, there may also be benefit in dynamic scenarios as well. The investigation of flow control of dynamically actuated airfoils with LE tubercles is much more limited compared with the static studies. The results to date show that these bio-inspired airfoils expand the operating envelope for dynamic stall by enhancing lift and delaying stall to higher angles. These results indicate that applications such as on helicopter rotors and wind turbines may be able to avoid the detrimental effects of dynamic stall leading to more efficient devices, or to even better utilize its effects.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. US Army Research Lab, Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD, 21005, USA

    John Hrynuk

  2. Department of Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering, Clarkson University, Potsdam, NY, 13699-5725, USA

    Douglas Bohl

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  1. John Hrynuk
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  2. Douglas Bohl
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Correspondence to Douglas Bohl .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore

    Daniel T. H. New

  2. School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore

    Bing Feng Ng

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Hrynuk, J., Bohl, D. (2020). Effects of Leading-Edge Tubercles on Dynamically Pitching Airfoils. In: New, D., Ng, B. (eds) Flow Control Through Bio-inspired Leading-Edge Tubercles. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-23792-9_6

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