Aerodynamic Characteristics Of A Flat Plate Delta Wing With Deflected Wing Tips

Abstract

The low-speed aerodynamic characteristics of a novel flat plate delta wing with deflected wing tips is the focus of this study. The motivation for this project is to explore the high maneuverability capabilities of delta wings for autonomous unmanned aerial vehicle systems. The novel flat plate delta wing has a leading-edge sweep of 60-degrees, a rounded leading-edge, and interchangeable wing tip inserts that vary in deflection angle. The wing tips have deflection angles of 0, 45, and 90-degrees, and are mounted at 2/3rds half-span. Three different wing tip deflection configurations have been analyzed: positive, negative, and asymmetric. The positive configuration is when the wing tip is deflected upward, towards the vertical tail. Negative configuration is when the wing tip is deflected downward, away from the vertical tail. The asymmetric configuration is a combination of the previous two, with one wing tip up and one down. Wind tunnel testing of the model was performed at the 3'x5' subsonic open circuit wind tunnel at the Aerospace Research Center of The Ohio State University. Aerodynamic forces were measured using a six-component internal force balance. Tests were run at a Reynolds number of 5x105, based on the mean aerodynamic chord. The deflected wing tips are found to be effective in controlling the stability of the vehicle model without negatively affecting its aerodynamic characteristics. At a high enough deflection angle, the wing tips can even change the static longitudinal stability characteristics of the vehicle model from statically stable to statically unstable.

Department(s)

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

International Standard Book Number (ISBN)

978-162410635-4

Document Type

Article - Conference proceedings

Document Version

Citation

File Type

text

Language(s)

English

Rights

© 2023 American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, All rights reserved.

Publication Date

01 Jan 2022

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