Nonlinear characteristics of a thin wing in a shock-free flow around the nose

An effective means of controlling wing leading-edge stall at high angles of attack is deflection of the nose in order to assure shock-free entrance of the stream. A numerical method of computing the angles of nose deflection and the aerodynamic characteristics of a thin wing of arbitrary planform for a shock-free entrance of the steady ideal incompressible fluid stream is elucidated in this paper on the basis of nonlinear wing theory [1]. The problem is solved by the method of discrete vortices. In the computations, the wing and its wake, replaced by a vortex sheet, are modeled by a system of discrete vortices which are nonlinear segments with constant circulation along the length. The angles of deflection of the nose and the aerodynamic characteristics of the wing, including shunting of the free vortices shed from the side and trailing edges, are determined during the computation. Examples of an electronic digital computer are presented.     

Calculation of the flow of an ideal fluid past a wing of finite thickness

The problem of irrotational flow past a wing of finite thickness and finite span can be reduced by Green's formula to the solution of a system of Fredholm equations of the second kind on the surface of the wing [1]. The wake vortex sheet is represented by a free vortex surface. Besides panel methods (see, for example, [2]) there are also methods of approximate solution of this problem based on a preliminary discretization of the solution along the span of the wing in which the two-dimensional integral equations are reduced to a system of one-dimensional integral equations [1], for which numerical methods of solution have already been developed [3–6]. At the same time, a discretization is also realized for the wake vortex sheet along the span of the wing. In the present paper, this idea of numerical solution of the problem of irrotational flow past a wing of finite span is realized on the basis of an approximation of the unknown functions which is piecewise linear along the span. The wake vortex sheet is represented by vortex filaments [7] in the nonlinear problem. In the linear problem, the sheet is represented both by vortex filaments and by a vortex surface. Examples are given of an aerodynamic calculation for sweptback wings of finite thickness with a constriction, and the results of the calculation are also compared with experimental results.Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 6, pp. 124–131, October–December, 1981.     

On the nonlinear theory of the wing in a plane unsteady flow

The main aspects of the nonlinear theory of the wing in a plane unsteady fluid flow are generalized on the basis of the author’s previous results. An initial-boundary problem for complex velocity is formulated. A system of differential equations with conditions at points of vortex wake shedding is presented, which allows a large class of problems to be solved correctly. The Cauchy problem is solved by using a standard discretization procedure. The boundary-value problem is reduced at each time step to singular integral equations of the first and second kind. The accuracy of solving these equations by the method of discrete vortices and by the method of panels is compared. Specific features of pressure calculations in the case of a separated flow around the airfoil contour are discussed     

Mathematical simulation of unsteady flow past a wing with jets

The various approximate approaches to the investigation of the unsteady aerodynamic characteristics of an airfoil with jet flap [1–3] are applicable only for an airfoil, low jet intensity, and low oscillation frequencies. In the present paper, the method of discrete vortices [4] is generalized to the case of unsteady flow past a wing with jets and arbitrary shape in plan. The problem is solved in the linear formulation; the conditions used are standard: no flow through the wing and jet, finite velocities at the trailing edges where there is no jet, and also a dynamical condition on the jet. The wing and jet are assumed to be thin and the medium inviscid and incompressible.Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 3, pp. 139–144, May–June, 1982.     

The influence of the wake of a flapping wing on the production of aerodynamic forces

The effect of the wake of previous strokes on the aerodynamic forces of a flapping model insect wing is studied using the method of computational fluid dynamics. The wake effect is isolated by comparing the forces and flows of the starting stroke (when the wake has not developed) with those of a later stroke (when the wake has developed). The following has been shown. (1) The wake effect may increase or decrease the lift and drag at the beginning of a half-stroke (downstroke or upstroke), depending on the wing kinematics at stroke reversal. The reason for this is that at the beginning of the half-stroke, the wing ``impinges' on the spanwise vorticity generated by the wing during stroke reversal and the distribution of the vorticity is sensitive to the wing kinematics at stroke reversal. (2) The wake effect decreases the lift and increases the drag in the rest part of the half-stroke. This is because the wing moves in a downwash field induced by previous half-stroke's starting vortex, tip vortices and attached leading edge vortex (these vortices form a downwash producing vortex ring). (3) The wake effect decreases the mean lift by 6%–18% (depending on wing kinematics at stroke reversal) and slightly increases the mean drag. Therefore, it is detrimental to the aerodynamic performance of the flapping wing. The project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (10232010) and the National Aeronautic Science Fund of China(03A51049) The English text was polished by Xing Zhang     

Calculation of the flow around wings of arbitrary planform over a wide range of angles of attack

A numerical method is described for the calculation of the distributed and total aerodynamic characteristics of a thin wing of any planform. We use only the generally accepted hypotheses-smoothness of flow around the wing and the Chaplygin-Zhukovskii condition of finite velocity at the trailing edges. The medium is considered ideal and incompressible.The development of a nonlinear theory for the wing of small aspect ratio in a compressible medium is one of the most important and difficult problems of wing theory. It has long attracted the attention of the aerodynamiscists. Chaplygin touched on this question in his 1913 report On the vortex theory of the finite span wing, presented to the Moscow Mathematical Society. Several interesting ideas and schemes were proposed by Golubev (see, for example, [2]). The first adequately correct and effective attempt to determine theoretically the nonlinear variation of wing normal force with angle of attack was that of Bollay [3]. In this work he studied rectangular wings of very small aspect ratio. The circulation variation law along the span was taken to be constant, and along the chord it was taken the same as for a flat plate of infinite span. It was also assumed that the centerlines of the free vortices trailing from the wing tips are straight lines and form the same angle with the plane of the wing. The magnitude of this angle was calculated from the average value of the relative velocity. The boundary condition at the wing was satisfied at a single point.In several later studies [4–8] attempts have been made to extend this approach somewhat. In [7] the circulation variation law along the wing chord is calculated, and the boundary conditions are satisfied more exactly. However, attempts to convert to the study of wings of more complex planform, when the circulation can no longer be considered constant along the span, are hydrodynamically incorrect [5, 6, 8]. In these studies schemes are used in which with smooth flow around the wing the free vortices stand off from the wing surface. The angles which the vortex centerlines form with the wing surface are assumed or are calculated on the basis of very arbitrary hypotheses.In the present paper the vortex layer which simulates the wing surface, just as in the linear theory [9, 10], is replaced by a system of discrete vortices. The free vortices away from the wing then are discrete curvilinear vortex filaments. Each of them is replaced by a series of rectilinear vortex segments. The number of bound and free discrete vortices may be increased without limit. The position of the free vortex segments is determined in the computation process, which is carried out sequentially for a series of angles of attack , beginning with 0 when the linear theory scheme holds. We note that the question of accounting for the effect of the leading-edge free vortex sheet is not considered here, although the method described may also be used to obtain results for this problem.The proposed method turned out to be very general, flexible and convenient for the digital computer. It permits studying the practical convergence of the solution, and also permits obtaining not only the total and distributed characteristics of the wing of arbitrary planform, but also studying such delicate questions as the rollup of the vortex sheet behind the wing.The author wishes to thank O. N. Sokolov and T. M. Muzychenko for the example calculations.     

Evolution of vortices in the wake of an ARJ21 airplane: Application of the lift-drag model

Wake separation is crucial to aircraft landing safety and is an important factor in airport operational efficiency. The near-ground evolution characteristics of wake vortices form the foundation of the wake separation system design. In this study, we analysed the near-ground evolution of vortices in the wake of a domestic aircraft ARJ21 initialised by the lift-drag model using large eddy simulations based on an adaptive mesh. Evolution of wake vortices formed by the main wing, flap and horizontal tail was discussed in detail. The horizontal tail vortices are the weakest and dissipate rapidly, whereas the flap vortices are the strongest and induce the tip vortex to merge with them. The horizontal tail and flap of an ARJ21 do not significantly influence the circulation evolution, height change and movement trajectory of the wake vortices. The far-field evolution of wake vortices can therefore be analysed using the conventional wake vortex model.     

Application of a vortex lattice numerical model in the calculation of inviscid incompressible flow around delta wings

The flow over a flat plate delta wing at incidence and in sideslip is studied using vortex lattice models based on streamwise penelling. For the attached flow problem the effect of sideslip is simulated by modifying the standard vortex lattice model for zero sideslip by aligning the trailing vortices aft of the wing along the resultant flow direction. For the separated flow problem a non-linear vortex lattice model is developed for both zero and non-zero sideslip angles in which the shape and position of the leading edge separation vortices are calculated by an iterative procedure starting from an assumed initial shape. The theoretical values are compared with available theoretical and experimental results.     

Method of contour dynamics for plane flows of an ideal fluid

The method of contour dynamics is generalized for plane flows of a general form when, apart from vortices, distributed mass sources (or sinks) are present in the fluid. The laws of variation of the vorticity and divergence of the fluid particles with time are obtained for this case which makes it possible to use the method of contour dynamics for piecewise-constant vortex sink distributions.Translated from Izvestiya Rossiiskoi Akademii Nauk, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 5, pp. 16–19, September–October, 1993.     

Design of airfoil with flap simulated by a point vortex

The method of quasisolutions of inverse boundary-value problems (see [4]) is used to solve the problem of designing an airfoil with a flap, replaced by a fixed vortex, from given velocity distribution along the contour of the wing main part. Profiles are constructed and the effect of the flap (vortex) on the shape and aerodynamic properties of the mechanized wing is examined.Translated from Izvestiya Rossiiskoi Akademii Nauk, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 1, pp. 3–9, January–February, 1992.     

Spatial perturbation of a wing-tip vortex using pulsed span-wise jets

The separation distance required between transport aircraft to avoid wake vortices remains a limiting factor on airport capacity. The dissipation of the wake can be accelerated by perturbing co-operative instabilities between multiple pairs of vortices. This paper presents the results of a preliminary experimental investigation into the use of pulsed span-wise air jets in the wing tip to perturb a single tip vortex in the very near field. Velocity measurements were made using PIV and hot-wire anemometry. The results demonstrate that the vortex position can be modulated at frequencies up to 50 Hz and, as such, the method shows promise for forcing instability in multiple vortex wakes.     

Calculation of the aerodynamic characteristics of a helicopter lifting rotor subjected to air gusts

A numerical method of calculating the unsteady aerodynamic characteristics of a helicopter lifting rotor smoothly enveloped by an air gust arriving from an arbitrary direction is proposed. The problem is solved in the non-linear formulation for an incompressible medium. The flow over each blade is simulated by a system of discrete vortices. The deformation of the vortex trail from the blades under the influence of the gust is taken into account. The results of the calculations are reported.Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 2, pp. 153–158, March–April, 1987.     

Investigation of the influence of the transverse sweepback of delta wings on their vortex structures and aerodynamic characteristics in the case of flow separation at low subsonic velocities

The results are given of theoretical and experimental investigations into the influence of transverse sweepback of delta wings of small aspect ratio on their lifting properties and the stability of the vortex structure in the case of flow separation. Theoretical investigations have been made using the method of discrete vortices. The physical experiment included weight tests and also investigations on the breakup of vortex filaments by means of aerometric and schlieren methods. The results of the investigations are given and the calculated and experimental data are compared.Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 5, pp. 173–175, September–October, 1982.     

Interaction of helical vortices

A characteristic feature of atmospheric vortices of a convective nature is the powerful radial motions of the medium at their base. In order to take these motions into account in analytical and numerical modeling, it is necessary to use point or distributed vortex sinks (vortex sources), which we will call helical vortices (from the shape of the streamlines of the flows produced) [1]. It seems likely that the interaction of point helical vortices was first considered in the until recently little-known study [2] which was included in the collection [3] and partially overlaps with the more recent studies [4, 5].Moscow. Translated from Izvestiya Rossiiskoi Akademii Nauk, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 4, pp. 183–185, July–August, 1995.     

Effect of wing–wake interaction on aerodynamic force generation on a 2D flapping wing

This paper is motivated by the works of Dickinson et al. (Science 284:1954–1960, 1999) and Sun and Tang (J Exp Biol 205:55–70, 2002) which provided two different perspectives on the influence of wing–wake interaction (or wake capture) on lift generation during flapping motion. Dickinson et al. (Science 284:1954–1960, 1999) hypothesize that wake capture is responsible for the additional lift generated at the early phase of each stroke, while Sun and Tang (J Exp Biol 205:55–70, 2002) believe otherwise. Here, we take a more fundamental approach to study the effect of wing–wake interaction on the aerodynamic force generation by carrying out simultaneous force and flow field measurements on a two-dimensional wing subjected to two different types of motion. In one of the motions, the wing at a fixed angle of attack was made to follow a motion profile described by “acceleration-constant velocity-deceleration”. Here, the wing was first linearly accelerated from rest to a predetermined maximum velocity and remains at that speed for set duration before linearly decelerating to a stop. The acceleration and deceleration phase each accounted for only 10% of the stroke, and the stroke covered a total distance of three chord lengths. In another motion, the wing was subjected to the same above-mentioned movement, but in a back and forth manner over twenty strokes. Results show that there are two possible outcomes of wing–wake interaction. The first outcome occurs when the wing encounters a pair of counter-rotating wake vortices on the reverse stroke, and the induced velocity of these vortices impinges directly on the windward side of the wing, resulting in a higher oncoming flow to the wing, which translates into a higher lift. Another outcome is when the wing encounters one vortex on the reverse stroke, and the close proximity of this vortex to the windward surface of the wing, coupled with the vortex suction effect (caused by low pressure region at the center of the vortex), causes the net force on the wing to decrease momentarily. These results suggest that wing–wake interaction does not always lead to lift enhancement, and it can also cause lift reduction. As to which outcome prevails depend very much on the flapping motion and the timing of the reverse stroke.     

Supersonic flow over a slender wing with subsonic edges

The method of integral equations is generalized to calculate steady flow past wings with an arbitrary shape in plan with subsonic leading and trailing edges. The determination of the velocity potential in the leading part of the wing, where there is no influence of the vortex sheet, is reduced to the solution of a two-dimensional integral equation of the second kind. The trailing part, which is subject to the influence of the vortex sheet, is divided into a number of subregions, in which the calculation of the acceleration potential reduces to the solution of one-dimensional equations of the type of Fredholm equations of the second kind and to quadrature. The unique solvability of the obtained integral equations is investigated; it is shown that they can be solved by successive approximation. As an example, the solution to the problem of flow past a flat delta-shaped wing is found and compared with the exact solution to the problem found by the method of conic flows [4, 6].Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 5, pp. 119–127, September–October, 1981.I thank G. Yu. Stepanov for discussing the paper.     

Calculation of flow around a lifting surface in the case of large deformations

Many studies have been made of the nonstationary flow of an ideal incompressible fluid around a lifting surface. The present state of the numerical methods of solution of this problem is reviewed in [1]. The present paper studies three-dimensional nonstationary flow around a lifting surface which undergoes deformation and behind which a wake vortex surface is formed. The lifting and wake vortex surfaces are represented in parametric form. The metrics of these surfaces are used, and the introduced vortex function is approximated by bicubic splines. For the convenient application of the theory developed here to the flapping flight of insects, for which it is sometimes difficult to distinguish the lateral and trailing edges of the wings, the following terminology is introduced. The part of the edge of the lifting surface from which the wake vortex surface is shed is called the trailing edge. The remaining part is called the leading edge. On the leading edge, the velocity has a singularity. Test calculations have demonstrated the effectiveness of the method.Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 4, pp. 72–79, July–August, 1980.     

Effect of homogeneous stratification of the fluid on the dynamics of a kármán vortex street behind a circular cylinder

The experimental results of studying the effect of homogeneous stratification of the fluid on the conditions of generation of a Kárman vortex street [1] developing in the wake of a cylinder in steady horizontal motion are described. In a homogeneous medium at Reynolds numbers Re >5 two symmetrical regions of vorticity of opposite sign are formed behind the cylinder and move together with the latter. As the speed of the cylinder increases, the link between the vortices and the cylinder grows weaker, the vortices are stretched out along the flow and at Re > 40 begin to separate alternately, forming a vortex street in the wake. At first, the frequency of vortex separation increases sharply with increase in Re, but then levels off. It is found that in a uniformly stratified fluid the onset of vortex separation from the moving cylinder is delayed. The dependence of the critical Reynolds number (onset of vortex separation) on the internal Froude number is obtained. The effect of stratification of the fluid on the frequency of separation of the vortices in the Kármán street is investigated. The effect of the Froude number on the dependence of the Strouhal number on the Reynolds number is established.Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 1, pp. 83–86, January–February, 1986.In conclusion the authors wish to thank A. T. Onufriev for his interest in their work and useful discussions of the results.     

Direct and inverse problems of flow over a wing of finite span in the linear formulation

A correspondence between the solutions of the direct and the inverse problem for wing theory is established for a wing of finite span in the framework of linear theory on the basis of solution of a wave equation in Volterra form for supersonic flow and solution of the Laplace equation in the form of Green's formula for subsonic flow. For the direct problem in the case of supersonic flow an expression is derived for finding the load on the wing with maximal allowance for the wing geometry. In the inverse problem for supersonic and subsonic flows, expressions are derived for finding the wing geometry from given values of the load on the wing and the variation of the load along the span of the wing. The solution of the inverse problem is presented in the form of integrals that converge for interior points of the wing surface in the sense of the Cauchy principal value, the wing surface being represented as a vortex surface of mutually orthogonal vortex lines. The conditions of finiteness of the velocities on the edges are discussed.Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 5, pp. 114–125, September–October, 1979.     

Time-resolved scanning tomography PIV measurements around a flapping wing

The three-dimensional flow that develops around a finite flapping wing is investigated using a tomographic scanning PIV technique. The acquisition and correlation processes employed to achieve such measurements have been carefully validated. Issues regarding the relevant timescales of the flow and the spanwise space-resolution are addressed. Results obtained on a hovering flapping wing whose plunging phase is described by a rectilinear motion highlight the influence of the free end condition and the formation of the tip vortex on the leading edge vortices behavior, wing/wake interactions, and wake stabilization.