In this paper, we present a physics-informed approach to tailor the lift profile of an unsteady airfoil through the execution of an appropriate maneuver. In previous research, a low-order aerodynamic model based on the unsteady thin airfoil theory was developed for predicting the flowfield and loads on airfoils undergoing arbitrary motions. The theory was phenomenologically augmented using the concept of leading edge suction parameter (LESP) to incorporate the capability to predict intermittent leading edge vortex (LEV) shedding. The criticality of LESP was used to predict the onset and termination of LEV shedding and thus model the effect of LEVs on the flowfield and loads for a prescribed motion. In the current work, an inverse aerodynamic formulation is developed based on this framework for tackling the inverse problem: to obtain the motion kinematics required for generating a prescribed lift profile for an airfoil operating in the dynamic-stall regime. The LEV-modeling capability of the aerodynamic model enables the motion-design algorithm to take into account the effect of complex phenomena, such as dynamic stall and LEV shedding, which are not taken into account in previous research approaches. Several case studies are presented to demonstrate various scenarios such as lift tracking using pitching and heaving motions, lift cancellation during unsteady motion, and the generation of a given lift profile using two equivalent motions. The kinematic profiles generated by the inverse formulation are also simulated using a high-fidelity unsteady computational fluid dynamics solver to validate the predictions.
Skip Nav Destination
Article navigation
May 2024
Research Article|
May 15 2024
Lift tailoring on unsteady airfoils with leading-edge vortex shedding using an inverse aerodynamic approach
Arun Vishnu Suresh Babu
;
Arun Vishnu Suresh Babu
a)
(Conceptualization, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing)
1
Department of Mechanical Engineering and Engineering Science, University of North Carolina at Charlotte
, Charlotte, North Carolina 28223, USA
a)Author to whom correspondence should be addressed: [email protected]
Search for other works by this author on:
Shreyas Narsipur
;
Shreyas Narsipur
(Conceptualization, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing)
2
Department of Aerospace Engineering, Mississippi State University
, Starkville, Mississippi 39762, USA
Search for other works by this author on:
Ashok Gopalarathnam
Ashok Gopalarathnam
(Conceptualization, Writing – review & editing)
3
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, North Carolina State University
, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695, USA
Search for other works by this author on:
a)Author to whom correspondence should be addressed: [email protected]
Physics of Fluids 36, 053108 (2024)
Article history
Received:
March 15 2024
Accepted:
April 29 2024
Citation
Arun Vishnu Suresh Babu, Shreyas Narsipur, Ashok Gopalarathnam; Lift tailoring on unsteady airfoils with leading-edge vortex shedding using an inverse aerodynamic approach. Physics of Fluids 1 May 2024; 36 (5): 053108. https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0208567
Download citation file:
Pay-Per-View Access
$40.00
Sign In
You could not be signed in. Please check your credentials and make sure you have an active account and try again.
Citing articles via
Chinese Academy of Science Journal Ranking System (2015–2023)
Cruz Y. Li (李雨桐), 李雨桐, et al.
Fall and breakup of miscible magnetic fluid drops in a Hele–Shaw cell
M. S. Krakov (М. С. Краков), М. С. Краков, et al.
Referee acknowledgment for 2024
Alan Jeffrey Giacomin
Related Content
Leading-edge-vortex tailoring on unsteady airfoils using an inverse aerodynamic approach
Physics of Fluids (May 2022)
Leading-edge flow sensing for detection of vortex shedding from airfoils in unsteady flows
Physics of Fluids (August 2021)
High angle-of-attack aerodynamics of a straight wing with finite span using a discrete vortex method
Physics of Fluids (October 2020)
Flapping wing propulsion: Comparison between discrete vortex method and other models
Physics of Fluids (March 2022)