Journal of Technology in Aerospace Engineering

Journal of Technology in Aerospace Engineering

Design and Fabrication of Smart Small Airfoil Using Surface Deformation and Experimental Study of Aerodynamic Properties

Document Type : Research Article

Author
Ramin Zakeri
Assistant Professor, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Shahrood University of Technology, Shahrood. Iran
10.22034/jtae.2024.8.1.2
Abstract
In this article, the case of deformable structures in order to change the curvature of a symmetrical airfoil in a Smart way and also the investigation of the aerodynamic forces inside the wind tunnel in miniature dimensions have been discussed experimentally. The innovation and problem in this article are to investigate the effect of surface deformation in a micro airfoil in a miniature wind tunnel with the ability to measure the total lift and drag force intelligently and the ability to decide on the degree of curvature. In this study, how to measure the amount of available drag and change the shape by the amount of curvature, the ability to keep the drag force constant even in the condition of stalling of a simple airfoil has been investigated. In order to validate the tunnel, a flat plate as well as a simple airfoil has been investigated in the miniature wind tunnel test chamber, and the experimental results are reported with the existing results with an error of less than 10%. The example of selected airfoils is micro airfoils, simple (non-morphing) and another example is smart (morphing). The selected structure material for both micro airfoil samples is balsa wood and thermal coating is used for the shell. In the smart micro airfoil design, the structure is divided into two parts: the fixed part (the beginning part of the structure) and the moving part (the end part of the structure). The function of the smart micro airfoil is through the command that the microcontroller issues to the servo electric motor according to the strain gauge and pressure gauge sensors to move the moving part. By using sensors and electrical circuits, it is possible to change the curvature of the airfoil with the help of a servo motor to change the amount of airfoil, and the amount of airfoil can be kept constant at the desired value (in this article, 16 grams).
Keywords
Morphing Theory
Smart Small Airfoil
Miniature Wind Tunnel
Lift and Drag Force
Strain Gauge Sensors
Subjects
[1] E. J. Abdullah, C. Bil, and S. Watkins, "Application of smart materials for adaptive airfoil control, " in 47th AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting including the New Horizons Forum and Aerospace Exposition, Orlando, Florida, 2009, Paper AIAA 2009-1359, https://doi.org/10.2514/6.2009-1359.
[2] M. Mamou, Y. Mebarki, M. Khalid, and M. Genest, "Aerodynamic performance optimization of a wind tunnel morphing wing model subject to various cruise flow conditions, " in 27th International Congress of the Aeronautical Sciences ICAS, " Nice, France, 2010, pp. 1-25.
[3]           S. Barbarino, O. Bilgen, R. M. Ajaj, M. I. Friswell, and D. J. Inman, "A review of morphing aircraft," Journal of Intelligent Material Systems and Structures, vol. 22, no. 9, pp. 823–877, 2011, https://doi.org/10.1177/1045389X11414084.
[4] R. Zakeri, "Towards bio-inspired artificial muscle: A mechanism based on electro-osmotic flow simulated using dissipative particle dynamics," Scientific Reports, vol. 11, no. 1, 2021, Art. no. 2235, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-81608-7.
[5] R. Zakeri and R. Zakeri, "Bio inspired general artificial muscle using hybrid of mixed electrolysis and fluids chemical reaction (HEFR)," Scientific Reports, vol. 12 no. 1, 2022, Art. no. 3627, 2022, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-07799-9.
[6] R. Zakeri, R. Zakeri, "Deformable airfoil using hybrid of mixed integration electrolysis and fluids chemical reaction (HEFR) artificial muscle technique," Scientific Reports, vol. 11, no. 1, 2021, Art. no. 5497, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-85067-y.
[7] R. Zakeri, "Dissipative particle dynamics simulation of the soft micro actuator using polymer chain displacement in electro-osmotic flow," Molecular Simulation, vol. 45, no. 18, pp. 1488-1497, 2019, https://doi.org/10.1080/08927022.2019.1648810.
[8] R. Zakeri, M. Sabouri, A. Maleki, and Z. Abdelmalek, "Investigation of magneto hydro-dynamics effects on a polymer chain transfer in micro-channel using dissipative particle dynamics method," Symmetry, vol. 12, no. 3, 2020, Art. no. 397, https://doi.org/10.3390/sym12030397.
[9] R. Zakeri and E. S. Lee, "Simulation of nano polymer chain sensor in electroosmotic flow using dissipative particle dynamics (DPD) method," in ASME 2014 International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition, vol. 7:  Fluids Engineering Systems and Technologies, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, 2014, Art. no.  MECE2014-37840, V007T09A070; 5 pages, https://doi.org/10.1115/IMECE2014-37840.
[10] M. Chen, J. Liu, and R. E. Skelton, "Design and control of tensegrity morphing airfoils, " Mechanics Research Communication, vol. 103, 2020, Art. no. 103480, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mechrescom.2020.103480.
[11] Z. Kan, D. Li, T. Shen, J. Xiang, and L. Zhang, "Aerodynamic characteristics of morphing wing with flexible leading-edge," Chinese Journal of Aeronautics, vol. 33, no. 10, pp. 2610–2619, 2020, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cja.2020.03.012.
[12] M. Bashir, P. Rajendran, C. Sharma, and D. Smrutiranjan, "Investigation of smart material actuators and aerodynamic optimization of morphing wing," Materials Today: Proceedings,  vol. 5, no. 1, pp. 21069-21075, 2018, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2018.06.501.
[13] X. GU, K. Yang, M. Wu, Y. Zhang , J. ZHU, and W. Zhang, "Integrated optimization design of smart morphing wing for accurate shape control," Chinese Journal of Aeronautics, vol. 34, no. 1, pp. 135-147, 2021, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cja.2020.08.048.
[14]  M. Yadgari, M. H. Abdulahi Jahdi, "Shock capturing method by numerical dissipation control on symmetric airfoil," Journal of Solid and Fluid Mechanics, vol. 6, no. 1, pp. 285-304, 2016, (in Persion), https://doi.org/10.22044/jsfm.2016.705.
 [15] C. Leonard, E. E. Prasetiyo, and I. R. Putra, "Design and implementation of electrical system morphing wing flight control on prototype light aircraft," International Journal of Power Electronics and Drive Systems (IJPEDS), vol. 14, no. 2, pp. 781-788, 2023, https://doi.org/10.11591/ijpeds.v14.i2.pp781-788.
[16] M. Kazemi,  A. Fardi, and M. J. Maghrebi, " Improvement of aerodynamic coefficients of the airfoil with free form deformation with the aid of artificial neural networks and genetic algorithm," Amirkabir journal of mechnical engineering, vol. 53, no. 7, pp. 4113-4132, 2021, (in Persion), https://doi.org/10.22060/mej.2021.18982.6932.
[17] A. Zhao, Z. Hui, H. Jin, and D. Wen, "Analysis on the Aerodynamic Characteristics of a Continuous Whole Variable Camber Airfoil," Journal of Physics: Conference Series, vol. 1215, no. 1, 2019, Art. no. 012005. https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1742-6596/1215/1/012005/meta.
[18] L. F. Campanile and D. Sachau, "Belt-rib concept: A structronic approach to variable camber," Journal of Intelligent Material Systems and Structures, vol. 11, no. 3, pp. 215–224, 2000, https://doi.org/10.1106/6H4B-HBW3-VDJ8-NB8A.
[19] K. Taguchi et al., "Experimental study about the deformation and aerodynamic characteristics of the passive morphing airfoil," Transactions of the Japan Society for Aeronautical and Space Sciences, vol. 63, no. 1, pp. 18–23, 2020, (in Japan), https://doi.org/10.2322/tjsass.63.18
[20] I. Dayyani, H. H. Khodaparast, B. KSWoods, and M. L. Friswell, "The design of a coated composite corrugated skin for the camber morphing airfoil," Journal of Intelligent Material Systems and Structures, vol. 26, no. 13, pp. 1592-1608, 2015, https://doi.org/10.1177/1045389X14544151.
[21] B. K. S. Woods, L. Parsons, A. B. Coles, J. H. S. Fincham, and M. I. Friswell, "Morphing elastically lofted transition for active camber control surfaces," Aerospace Science and Technology, vol. 55, pp. 439–448, 2016, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ast.2016.06.017.
[22] A. E. Rivero, P. M. Weaver, and J. E. Cooper, "Parametric structural modelling of fish bone active camber morphing aerofoils," Journal of Intelligent Material Systems and Structures, vol. 29. no. 9, pp. 2008-2026, 2018, https://doi.org/10.1177/1045389X18758182.
 [23] G. K. Ananda, P. P. Sukumar, and M. S. Selig, "Measured aerodynamic characteristics of wings at low Reynolds numbers," Aerospace Science and Technology, vol. 42, pp. 392–406, 2015, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ast.2014.11.016.
[24] S. M. Aranda, A. L. García-González, L. Parras, J. F. Velázquez-Navarro, and C. del Pino,  "Comparison of the aerodynamic characteristics of the naca0012 airfoil at low-to-moderate reynolds numbers for any aspect ratio," International Journal of Aerospace Sciences, vol. 4, no. 1, pp. 1-8, 2016, https://doi.org/10.5923/j.aerospace.20160401.01.

  • Receive Date 22 November 2022
  • Revise Date 04 May 2023
  • Accept Date 06 May 2023
  • First Publish Date 06 May 2023