Research on flowfield around the NACA0012 airfoil-based morphing trailing edge wing

Abstract

The trailing edge morphing technique was applied to NACA0012 airfoil and its aerodynamic characteristics were investigated with the aim of improving the nonlinear characteristics of NACA0012 in low-Reynolds-number and low-angle-of-attack conditions. The morphing airfoil model consists of 3D-printed parts, polyvinyl chloride resin skin, servo motor, and link rods. To investigate the flowfield around the morphing trailing edge, we conducted smoke visualization and static pressure measurement at Re = 5.0 × 104 . In this experiment, the lift coefficient was almost constant with the small changes of the morphing angle at low angles of attack. According to the particle image velocimetry tests and the static pressure measurements, it was observed that the separation point on the upper surface moved forward without flow reattachment as the morphing angle increased. It seems that it is preferable to use the dead zone inverse function or a feedback compensator for the control input to improve this characteristic.