Influence of Angle of Attack on the lift and drag characteristics of an aerofoil under turbulent conditions using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) approach

Abstract

In the process of energy saving in aviation industry without compromising on the performance, it is essential to reduce drag forces and increase the lift forces. Hence, the research is focused on designing the different airfoils. However, the fluid flow analysis over the designed airfoil is an important task in assessing the performance. As the experimental investigations are more expensive to perform at higher Reynolds Numbers, an alternative method using computational simulations is adapted in the present work. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) plays an important role in the various engineering fields in providing the accurate solutions with higher order discretization methods. The various angle of attack of an aerofoil has a great impact on the aerodynamic performance. Therefore, the optimization of aerofoil by considering angle of attack is necessary. The distinctive aerofoil shape is characterized by a large leading-edge radius, condensed curvature over the middle region of the upper surface, and substantial aft camber. The present work emphasizes the computational study of flow separation over aerofoil NACA 63-412 at different angle of attack (0º, 7º, 09º, 11º, 13º, 15º) and different Reynolds numbers using CFD (Computational fluid dynamics) simulation. Parameters such as velocity, drag and lift coefficient at Reynolds numbers 2.79 x10⁶, 4.60 x10⁶, 6.13 x10⁶, 7.66 x10⁶ and 9.19 x 10⁶ at various angle of attack ranging from 0º to 15º are studied in the present work. It is observed that lift coefficient is increase with increasing angle of attack up to 15° and the drag coefficient increases with increasing angle of attack upto 15°.