The present investigation has been carried out as part of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization/Science and Technology Organization Applied Vehicle Technology 201 Task Group on extended assessment of reliable stability and control prediction methods for North Atlantic Treaty Organization air vehicles. The stability and control configuration is considered. Its geometry as well as the low-speed aerodynamics and the corresponding flow physics are well known from the literature: For medium angles of attack, the flow around the leading edge is governed by three sections: namely, an apex vortex in the front part, a region of attached flow in the middle portion, and a tip vortex in the outer part of the leading edge. The size of these regions varies with the angle of attack. In the present study, the compressible flow around this configuration has been calculated using the computational fluid dynamics DLR TAU code in the Mach number range of and angles of attack of for a constant Reynolds number of corresponding to the cruise condition of the unmanned combat aerial vehicle. With an increasing Mach number, the flow in the central region of the leading edge becomes supersonic and the upstream movement of the tip vortex with an increasing angle of attack is hindered. However, at the rear end of the supersonic zone, shock-induced separation takes place, forming an additional vortex. This shock-induced vortex joins the tip vortex. Thus, the onset of the tip vortex would move upstream again, with an increasing angle of attack passing the rear end of the supersonic zone. The corresponding, very complex vortex formation is analyzed by means of the Mach number and angle-of-attack variation. The effects of these flow phenomena on the aerodynamic characteristics are demonstrated.
Analysis of the Transonic Flow Around a Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle Configuration
Journal of Aircraft ; 55 , 2 ; 571-586
01.03.2018
Aufsatz (Konferenz) , Aufsatz (Zeitschrift)
Elektronische Ressource
Englisch
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