SKILLS REQUIRED
Aerodynamics
MatLab
Data Visualization
SUMMARY: Analysis of an airfoil design using Matlab to calculate different Pressure Coefficients
An Airfoil is a cross section/profile of a wing at a specified location
DESCRIPTION:
An airfoil is the basic shape a given wing can have without having any attachments or accessories. In order to make an airplane fly, a difference in air pressure between the bottom and the top of the wing must be present. More specifically, there must be more pressure underneath the wing than on top. Once that condition is satisfied, controlling and optimizing the flow around the airfoil becomes the main concern. The ratio that tracks the behavior of pressure on the airfoil is called the “Pressure Coefficient” and is measured at each point along the airfoil geometry. The purpose of this project is to study how the Pressure Coefficient changes for a selected airfoil design and visualize its behavior through a program called Matlab.
Coefficient of Pressure is a key factor to determine if a wing stalls
If the Pressure Coefficient has a value of zero at a point, that part of the airfoil experiences “stall”, where the airstream detaches from the airfoil and the airfoil experiences a loss in Lift. On an actual airplane, stall can potentially be devastating for all aboard. Therefore, it is paramount to understand how the Pressure Coefficient behaves for each airfoil design. Throughout each resolution, it was found that the Pressure Coefficient reached a value of zero near the rear of the airfoil - a desired result since only the rear will stall. For contrast, if the value hit zero near the center of the airfoil, the ENTIRE airfoil would stall most likely instead of just part of it.
For full details, please see the embedded file.
RESULTS