Enhancement of Airfoil Aerodynamic Characteristics by Surface Modifications

Abstract

The enhancement of the aerodynamic characteristics of the NACA0012 airfoil is studied numerically. ANSYS Fluent is used to simulate the airfoil's performance by applying certain surface modifications in the form of dimples and protrusions. Different shapes were used, namely, semicircular, v-shaped and square. Analysis has been done on an airfoil of 1m chord length with these modifications, which were implemented on the upper surface of a two-dimensional airfoil model and placed at 75% of chord length. A comparative study of surface-modified airfoil models was done to investigate lift and drag for a constant at Re = 3.0E6 at various angles of attack and compare them with smooth airfoils. The results reveal that the aerodynamic characteristics were improved by applying surface modifications, and the flow separation on the airfoil can be delayed by using dimples and protrusions on the upper surface. It was found that the semicircular dimples and v-shaped bumps have the best aerodynamic enhancement, where the lift coefficient was improved by 11% and 9% compared to smooth airfoils, respectively, while the drag coefficients were reduced by 3% for both shapes. Also, based on these surface-modified airfoil analyses, the stall angle was increased by two degrees. In comparison, the semicircular dimples are more suitable for enhancing the performance characteristics of airfoils.