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Aerodynamic features of a two-airfoil arrangement

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Abstract

The interaction between two foils occurs in many aerodynamic or hydrodynamic applications. Although the characteristics of many airfoils are well documented, there is a limited amount of data for multiple airfoils in interaction and for large values of the angle of attack. This paper presents measurements of the turbulent flow around a two-airfoil T-tail type arrangement and the aerodynamic coefficients, for an incompressible flow at moderate Reynolds number. The study focuses mainly on large angles of attack, corresponding to detached flows on the airfoils, large wakes and involving vortex shedding. Phase averages of velocity fields are made building the flow time development relative to the vortex shedding. The understanding of the change in the tail lift coefficient versus angle of attack, between a two-airfoil arrangement and a single airfoil, is discussed in relation with the position and width of the wing wake and the pathlines of the shedding vortices.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre de Recherche de l’Armée de l’air, École de l’Air, 13661, Salon-de-Provence, France

    Thierry M. Faure, Laurent Hétru & Olivier Montagnier

  2. Laboratoire de Mécanique et d’Acoustique, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Aix-Marseille Université, Unité Propre de Recherche 7051, Centrale Marseille, 13453, Marseille Cedex 13, France

    Olivier Montagnier

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  1. Thierry M. Faure
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  2. Laurent Hétru
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  3. Olivier Montagnier
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Correspondence to Thierry M. Faure.

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Faure, T.M., Hétru, L. & Montagnier, O. Aerodynamic features of a two-airfoil arrangement. Exp Fluids 58, 146 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00348-017-2429-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00348-017-2429-4

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