Aerodynamic loading for an airfoil with an oscillating gurney flap

A study of aerodynamic loadings on a NACA 0012 airfoil with a static and an oscillating trailing-edge Gurney flap was made. The focus is on the experimental measurement of the static and dynamic-pressure distributions on the airfoil surface. The experimental results are also correlated with theoretical results obtained using the Navier-Stokes code INS2D, developed by NASA. A Reynolds number of 348,000, a flow velocity of 20 m/s (65.6 ft/s), and a reduced frequency from 0 to 0.4 based upon half-chord b and freestream velocity V are used. The experimental results show that the effect of the static and oscillating strips located near the trailing edge of the airfoil is to enhance the maximum lift and pitching-moment coefficients for both unstalled and stalled angles of attack. An increase of the oscillating frequency also enhances the aerodynamic loading. Reasonably good agreement between the experiment and theory is obtained. The experimental results confirm the idea that an oscillating small strip located near the trailing edge can be a useful tool for active aerodynamic flow control for a wing. Copyright © 2007 by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Inc. All rights reserved.

Duke Scholars

Author Earl H. Dowell Thomas Lord Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materia ...