Abstract
Boundary layer separation on the upper surface of a NACA0012 airfoil at low Reynolds number is numerically investigated. The governing equations are discretized with finite volume method. Second-order Adam-Bashforth and central difference schemes are used for time and space discretization. The boundary layer separation is examined through the velocity profiles, the skin friction distribution, and the flow structure. Beyond an angle of attack of 8°, a small separation region is detected near the trailing edge of the airfoil. As the angle of attack increases, the separation region grows up and moves toward the leading edge. The negative effect of separation on the aerodynamic performance can be seen clearly on the lift and drag distribution as function of the angle of attack. As the separation grows up, the rate of the lift coefficient decreases and the drag coefficient exhibits a substantial increase.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Alam, M., Sandham, N.D.: Direct numerical simulation of short laminar separation bubbles with turbulent reattachment. J. Fluid Mech. 410, 1–28 (2000)
Anderson, J.D.: Fundamentals of Aerodynamics, 3rd edn. McGraw-Hill, New York (2007)
Anderson, A., Tannehill, C., Pletcher, H.: Computational Fluid Mechanics and Heat Transfer. Hemisphere Publishing Corporation, New York (1984)
Catalano, P.: Aerodynamic Analysis of Low Reynolds Number Flows, Ph.D. Thesis, Aerospatiale Engineering, Napoli University (2009)
Chawla, J.S., Suryanarayanan, S., Falzon, B.: Low Reynolds number flow over airfoils, Seminar report, Mechanical Engineering, Indian institute of technology, Bombay (2009)
Delafin, P.L., Deniset, F., Asotolfi, J.A.: Effect of the laminar separation bubble induced transition on the hydrodynamic performance of a hydrofoil. Eur. J. Mech. B/Fluids. 46, 190–200 (2014)
Grager, T., Rothmayer, A., Hu, H.: Stall suppression of a low-Reynolds-number airfoil with a dynamic burst control plate, 49th AIAA Aerospace science meeting including the new horizons forum and aerospace exposition, Orlando, Florida (2011)
Günaydinoglu, E., Kurtulus, D.F.: Effect of vertical translation on unsteady aerodynamics of hovering airfoil, Fifth European Conference on Computational Fluid Dynamics ECCOMAS CFD, Lisbon, Portugal (2010)
Hafez, M., Shatalov, A., Wahba, E.: Numerical simulations of incompressible aerodynamic flows using viscous/inviscid interaction procedures. Comput. Methods Appl. Mech. Eng. 195, 3110–3127 (2006)
Hazra, S.B., Jamson, A.: Aerodynamic Shape Optimization of Airfoils in Ultra-low Reynolds Number Flow Using Simultaneous Pseudo-Time Stepping, Aerospace Computing Lab (ACL) Report 2007–4. Stanford University, USA (2007)
Kitsios, V., Rodriguez, D., Theofilis, V., Ooi, A., Soria, J.: BiGlobal stability analysis in curvilinear coordinates of massively separated lifting bodies. J. Comput. Phys. 228, 7181–7196 (2009)
Koshizuka, S., Oka, Y., Kondo, S.: A staggered differencing technique on boundary curvilinear grids for incompressible flows along curvilinear or slant walls. J. Comput. Mech. 7, 123–136 (1990)
Kunz, P.: Aerodynamics and Design for Ultra-Low Reynolds Number Flight, Ph.D. Thesis, Stanford university (2003)
Mahbub, M.D., Zhou, Y., Yang, H.V.: The ultra-low Reynolds number airfoil wake. Exp. Fluids. 48, 81–103 (2010)
Neel, R.E.: Advances in Computational Fluid Dynamic Turbulent Separated Flows and Transonic Potential Flows, Ph.D. Thesis, Mechanical Department, Univ. of state (1997)
Patankar, V.: Numerical Heat Transfer and Fluid Flow. Hemisphere Publishing Corporation, New York, USA (1980)
Rajakumar, S., Ravindran, D.: Computational fluid dynamics of wind turbine blade at various angles of attack and low Reynolds number. Int. J. Eng. Sci. Technol. 2(11), 6474–6484 (2010)
Sathaye, S.S.: Lift Distribution on Low Aspect Ratio Wings at Low Reynolds Numbers, Master’s Thesis, Worcester Polytechnic Institute (2004)
Shan, H., Jiang, L., Liu, C.: Direct numerical simulation of flow separation around a NACA0012 airfoil. Comput. Fluids. 34, 1096–1114 (2005)
Shyy, W., et al.: Computational Aerodynamics of low Reynolds number Plunging, Pitching and Flexible Wings for MAV Applications, 46th AIAA Aerospace science meeting and exhibit, 7–10 January 2008, Reo, NEVADA (2008)
Versteeg, K., Malalasekera, W.: An Introduction to Computational Fluid Dynamics: the Finite Volume Method. Longman Group Ltd, Harlow, England (1995)
Yarusevych, S., Kawall, J.G., Sullivan, P.E.: Separated-Shear-Layer development on an airfoil at low Reynolds numbers. AIAA J. 46(12), 3060–3069 (2008)
Yuan, W., Khalid, M., Windte, J., Scholz, U., Radespiel, R.: Computational and experimental investigations of low-Reynolds-number flows past an airfoil. Aeronaut. J. 111(1115), 17–29 (2007)
Zhou, Y., Alam, M., Yang, X., Guo, H., Wood, H.: Fluid forces on a very low Reynolds number airfoil and their prediction. Int. J. Heat Fluid Flow. 32, 329–339 (2011)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2018 Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Bounecer, A., Bahi, L. (2018). Boundary Layer Separation on an Airfoil at a Low Reynolds Number. In: Aloui, F., Dincer, I. (eds) Exergy for A Better Environment and Improved Sustainability 1. Green Energy and Technology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-62572-0_36
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-62572-0_36
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-62571-3
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-62572-0
eBook Packages: EnergyEnergy (R0)