The leading-edge vortex of swift wing-shaped delta wings
Recent investigations on the aerodynamics of natural fliers have illuminated the significance of the leading-edge vortex (LEV) for lift generation in a variety of flight conditions. A well-documented example of an LEV is that generated by aircraft with highly swept, delta-shaped wings. While the win...
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ftpubmed:oai:pubmedcentral.nih.gov:5579083 2023-05-15T14:17:16+02:00 The leading-edge vortex of swift wing-shaped delta wings Muir, Rowan Eveline Arredondo-Galeana, Abel Viola, Ignazio Maria 2017-08-23 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5579083/ https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.170077 en eng The Royal Society Publishing http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5579083/ http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsos.170077 © 2017 The Authors. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Published by the Royal Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/, which permits unrestricted use, provided the original author and source are credited. CC-BY Physics Text 2017 ftpubmed https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.170077 2017-09-10T00:10:07Z Recent investigations on the aerodynamics of natural fliers have illuminated the significance of the leading-edge vortex (LEV) for lift generation in a variety of flight conditions. A well-documented example of an LEV is that generated by aircraft with highly swept, delta-shaped wings. While the wing aerodynamics of a manoeuvring aircraft, a bird gliding and a bird in flapping flight vary significantly, it is believed that this existing knowledge can serve to add understanding to the complex aerodynamics of natural fliers. In this investigation, a model non-slender delta-shaped wing with a sharp leading edge is tested at low Reynolds number, along with a delta wing of the same design, but with a modified trailing edge inspired by the wing of a common swift Apus apus. The effect of the tapering swift wing on LEV development and stability is compared with the flow structure over the unmodified delta wing model through particle image velocimetry. For the first time, a leading-edge vortex system consisting of a dual or triple LEV is recorded on a swift wing-shaped delta wing, where such a system is found across all tested conditions. It is shown that the spanwise location of LEV breakdown is governed by the local chord rather than Reynolds number or angle of attack. These findings suggest that the trailing-edge geometry of the swift wing alone does not prevent the common swift from generating an LEV system comparable with that of a delta-shaped wing. Text Apus apus PubMed Central (PMC) Royal Society Open Science 4 8 170077 |
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Physics Muir, Rowan Eveline Arredondo-Galeana, Abel Viola, Ignazio Maria The leading-edge vortex of swift wing-shaped delta wings |
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Physics |
description |
Recent investigations on the aerodynamics of natural fliers have illuminated the significance of the leading-edge vortex (LEV) for lift generation in a variety of flight conditions. A well-documented example of an LEV is that generated by aircraft with highly swept, delta-shaped wings. While the wing aerodynamics of a manoeuvring aircraft, a bird gliding and a bird in flapping flight vary significantly, it is believed that this existing knowledge can serve to add understanding to the complex aerodynamics of natural fliers. In this investigation, a model non-slender delta-shaped wing with a sharp leading edge is tested at low Reynolds number, along with a delta wing of the same design, but with a modified trailing edge inspired by the wing of a common swift Apus apus. The effect of the tapering swift wing on LEV development and stability is compared with the flow structure over the unmodified delta wing model through particle image velocimetry. For the first time, a leading-edge vortex system consisting of a dual or triple LEV is recorded on a swift wing-shaped delta wing, where such a system is found across all tested conditions. It is shown that the spanwise location of LEV breakdown is governed by the local chord rather than Reynolds number or angle of attack. These findings suggest that the trailing-edge geometry of the swift wing alone does not prevent the common swift from generating an LEV system comparable with that of a delta-shaped wing. |
format |
Text |
author |
Muir, Rowan Eveline Arredondo-Galeana, Abel Viola, Ignazio Maria |
author_facet |
Muir, Rowan Eveline Arredondo-Galeana, Abel Viola, Ignazio Maria |
author_sort |
Muir, Rowan Eveline |
title |
The leading-edge vortex of swift wing-shaped delta wings |
title_short |
The leading-edge vortex of swift wing-shaped delta wings |
title_full |
The leading-edge vortex of swift wing-shaped delta wings |
title_fullStr |
The leading-edge vortex of swift wing-shaped delta wings |
title_full_unstemmed |
The leading-edge vortex of swift wing-shaped delta wings |
title_sort |
leading-edge vortex of swift wing-shaped delta wings |
publisher |
The Royal Society Publishing |
publishDate |
2017 |
url |
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5579083/ https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.170077 |
genre |
Apus apus |
genre_facet |
Apus apus |
op_relation |
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5579083/ http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsos.170077 |
op_rights |
© 2017 The Authors. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Published by the Royal Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/, which permits unrestricted use, provided the original author and source are credited. |
op_rightsnorm |
CC-BY |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.170077 |
container_title |
Royal Society Open Science |
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4 |
container_issue |
8 |
container_start_page |
170077 |
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1766289149657088000 |