Investigation of two dimensional flow past multi element airfoils for general transport aircraft

Abstract

Purpose

Air connectivity network is an important part of the overall connectivity network of any country. This becomes even more crucial for the interior regions, which have no access to sea routes and have inadequate road and rail connectivity. In India there is uniform distribution of airports throughout the country but only a few of them are currently used because of poor infrastructure availability at these airports. Any aircraft operating from these airports, having minimal infrastructure, need to have efficient high‐lift systems for short takeoff and landing ability as one of the key requirements. The purpose of this paper is look at the performance of a new high‐lift airfoil configuration for application to a general transport aircraft.

Design/methodology/approach

The present study deals with two‐dimensional analyses of a high‐lift system for general transport aircraft. The JUMBO2D, a multi‐block structured viscous code has been used to make preliminary analysis of the proposed high‐lift system. The configuration consists of three elements, namely, the main airfoil with nose droop, a vane and a flap.

Findings

In the present work the code has been revalidated by computing for NLF (1) 0416 airfoil (clean) and NACA 1410 airfoil with double‐slotted flap. The computed results compare very well with the experimental data. The proposed high‐lift configuration of general transport aircraft has then been analyzed in detail for both takeoff and landing conditions with and without nose droop. The effect of gap between main element and vane on the aerodynamic performance has also been investigated.

Originality/value

This computational study looks at the performance of a new high‐lift airfoil configuration for application to a general transport aircraft.

Citation

Singh, M., Dhanalakshmi, K. and Mathur, J. (2011), "Investigation of two dimensional flow past multi element airfoils for general transport aircraft", International Journal of Numerical Methods for Heat & Fluid Flow, Vol. 21 No. 8, pp. 1026-1049. https://doi.org/10.1108/09615531111177778