Experimental and CFD Analysis of Surface Modifiers on Aircraft Wing: A Review

Abstract

This paper elucidates the comparative experimental and CFD analysis study of various roughness (surface modifiers) on the aircraft wing, which thereby shows how the aerodynamic characteristics differ. This roughness generates turbulences and vortices around the cavity. As the vortex’s strength increases, they improve the energy impact of the flow near the wing surface and thus keep the boundary layer attached with decreased wake; this could be achieved by absolute positioning and dimension. These boundary layer separation results in pressure drag reduction, due to decreased wake expansion along with enhancement in lift and stall angle of attack. Improving the stalling characteristics generally improves the aircraft stability and landing efficiency. Study has shown that the airfoil with surface roughness has least drag formation than the baseline beyond certain angle of attack. In this survey, various type of modifiers is discussed, which mainly improves the stalling characteristics and thereby delays the boundary layer separation on the suction side of the aircraft. Each and every modifier has own wake divergence factor according to their roughness parameters. The growth of these wake regions restricts the aircraft to elevate beyond the stall angle.