Computational and experimental study on fluid force and flow of basic airfoils at very-low Reynolds numbers

Abstract

In the present study we investigate the relationship between various aerodynamic characteristics and attack angle α for FP (a flat plate), NACA0015 and iNACA0015 (the NACA0015 placed back to front) by numerical analysis and water-tank experiment at Re = 100 – 800. Then, we reveal the effects of α upon various aerodynamic characteristics such as the lift coefficient C_L, drag coefficient C_D and the lift-to-drag ratio C_L/C_D. In order to discuss these revealed α effects, we further visualize the flow around the airfoils in terms of the velocity vector, vorticity and the Q value at α = 0 – 30 deg., based on PIV analyses by water-tank experiment. Such results suggest that FP is similar not with NACA0015 but with iNACA0015 from an aerodynamic point of view.