CFD-02_Winglet_CFD_Analysis_KCT

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Performance Analysis of Winglets Using CFD Simulation

Mr.M.Dinesh

Student, Department of Aero. Engg. Student, Department of Aero. Engg. Kumaraguru College of Technology (KCT) Kumaraguru College of Technology (KCT)

Chinnavedampatti, Chinnavedampatti, Coimbatore – 641049 Coimbatore – 641049

Mr.Premkumar P S

Asst. Professor (SRG), Asst. Professor (SRG), Department of Aero. Engg. Department of Aero. Engg. KCT, Chinnavedampatti KCT, Chinnavedampatti ,, Coimbatore – 641049 Coimbatore – 641049

Dr.J.S.Rao

President Academics. President Academics. KCT, KCT, Chinnavedampatti Chinnavedampatti Coimbatore – 641049 Coimbatore – 641049

Dr.C.Senthilkumar

Asst. Professor, Asst. Professor, Dept. of Aero. Engg. Dept. of Aero. Engg.

MIT,Chrompet MIT,Chrompet Chennai-600044 Chennai-600044

Abbreviations

Abbreviations: CFD - Computational Fluid Dynamics.: CFD - Computational Fluid Dynamics. AOA - Angle of attack

AOA - Angle of attack Keywords

Keywords: Winglets, Wind tunnel, Model testing, Simulation, Downwash.: Winglets, Wind tunnel, Model testing, Simulation, Downwash. ABSTRACT

ABSTRACT

The main objective of this study is to simulate the effects of winglet on ONERA M4 model using CFD simulation. This is to be done by The main objective of this study is to simulate the effects of winglet on ONERA M4 model using CFD simulation. This is to be done by comparing the results of both with and without winglet computations of ONERA M4 model. This study is to show the induced drag comparing the results of both with and without winglet computations of ONERA M4 model. This study is to show the induced drag coefficient reduction in existing wing with the use of winglets.

coefficient reduction in existing wing with the use of winglets. CATIA-V5CATIA-V5 is used for Aircraft modeling (with and without winglet). is used for Aircraft modeling (with and without winglet). Discretization and the CFD simulation is done in

Discretization and the CFD simulation is done in AcuSolve.AcuSolve. The objective of this simulation is to investigate the performance of the The objective of this simulation is to investigate the performance of the winglet shape with 28 degree cant angle.

winglet shape with 28 degree cant angle. The simulation is carried out in low subsonic speed of 20m/s for 0°Angle of AttacThe simulation is carried out in low subsonic speed of 20m/s for 0°Angle of Attack (AOA).k (AOA). The comparison of Pressure, Velocity and Vorticity plots are to be utilized from the computational studies to show that the winglet The comparison of Pressure, Velocity and Vorticity plots are to be utilized from the computational studies to show that the winglet reduces the tip vortices which lead to reduction in Induced drag

reduces the tip vortices which lead to reduction in Induced drag..

History & Introduction

In 1979 and 1980, NASA Dryden Flight Research Center was involved with general aviation research with In 1979 and 1980, NASA Dryden Flight Research Center was involved with general aviation research with the KC-135 aircraft. A winglet, developed by Richard Whitcomb of the Langley Research Center, was tested the KC-135 aircraft. A winglet, developed by Richard Whitcomb of the Langley Research Center, was tested on the jet aircraft. This winglet concept was tested on aKC-135A tanker loaned to NASA by the Air Force. on the jet aircraft. This winglet concept was tested on aKC-135A tanker loaned to NASA by the Air Force. The research showed that the winglets could increase an aircraft's range by as much as 7 percent at cruise The research showed that the winglets could increase an aircraft's range by as much as 7 percent at cruise speeds. The first application of NASA's winglet technology in industry was on General Aviation business speeds. The first application of NASA's winglet technology in industry was on General Aviation business jets, but

jets, but winglets are winglets are now being now being incorporated into incorporated into most commost commercial and mercial and military transport military transport jets, including jets, including thethe Gulfstream III, IV

Gulfstream III, IV and V (Renamed tand V (Renamed to G550) o G550) business jets, the Bbusiness jets, the Boeing 747-400 and McDonnell oeing 747-400 and McDonnell DouglasDouglas MD-11 airliners, the McDonnell Douglas C-17 military transport, and Embraer aircraft. In recent years, many MD-11 airliners, the McDonnell Douglas C-17 military transport, and Embraer aircraft. In recent years, many aftermarket modification kits have been offered for adding winglets to aircraft, which did not originally have aftermarket modification kits have been offered for adding winglets to aircraft, which did not originally have them. By using CFD tools and wind-tunnel testing Embraer was able to design winglets for several of its them. By using CFD tools and wind-tunnel testing Embraer was able to design winglets for several of its aircraft. Some of these aircraft were designed and certified without winglets, whereas others were conceived aircraft. Some of these aircraft were designed and certified without winglets, whereas others were conceived envisaging the benefits of winglets from the beginning. One of the technical challenges then became how to envisaging the benefits of winglets from the beginning. One of the technical challenges then became how to add winglets to existing wings, achieving significant aerodynamic improvements with minimal structural add winglets to existing wings, achieving significant aerodynamic improvements with minimal structural weight penalty and minimal system changes. The winglet development at Embraer began in 1989, when weight penalty and minimal system changes. The winglet development at Embraer began in 1989, when Embraer conducted subsonic wind-tunnel tests at the Centro Tecnico Aeroespacial (CTA), a Brazilian Embraer conducted subsonic wind-tunnel tests at the Centro Tecnico Aeroespacial (CTA), a Brazilian Research Agency for Aeronautics and Astronautics. A parametric study was then performed and some Research Agency for Aeronautics and Astronautics. A parametric study was then performed and some winglet configurations were selected for further analysis. The tests results also indicated potential benefits of winglet configurations were selected for further analysis. The tests results also indicated potential benefits of fitting winglets with a smooth transition onto the tips of existing aircraft wings. A prototype of the twin-pusher fitting winglets with a smooth transition onto the tips of existing aircraft wings. A prototype of the twin-pusher CBA-123 was flown equipped with a preliminary design in February 1991 to gather flight-tests data. CBA-123 was flown equipped with a preliminary design in February 1991 to gather flight-tests data. Following this early effort, the winglets of the EMB 145 AEW&C (Airborne Early Warning & Control) were Following this early effort, the winglets of the EMB 145 AEW&C (Airborne Early Warning & Control) were

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techniques employing inverse design in the 1989-1991 period. Improvements of the winglet airfoil were performed with both MSES 7, 8 and X FOIL10 codes. The tip of the winglet suffered some redesign in order to displace the vortices outward more efficiently. The final winglet configuration was very effective, allowing Embraer to significantly increase the range of the aircraft, which was conceived to fly at a subsonic condition with a high lift coefficient. In the sequence, a new winglet configuration was designed for the Legacy Business Jet, which cruises at Mach number of 0.80 and higher lift coefficient. Finally, the Embraer 170/175 and the larger 195 were designed with winglets. Both transonic wind tunnel testing at DNW in the Netherlands and at TsAGI facilities in Russia showed significant drag reductions provided by some winglets Configurations under investigation.

Trailing edge vortices

A vortex in general terms is the rotational motion of fluid, often comprising a strong region of low-pressure in its core. Wake vortices are generated whenever an aircraft produces lift. The principal structure of the wake downstream from a wing comprises a trailing vortex pair resulting of the merge of all vortices shed from the wing trailing edge with the tip vortex. Each vortex of the pair is formed in an the vicinity of the wingtip because the tip vortex attracts the remaining weaker vortices. This structure may change if flaps are deflected (Fig.1). In this case, two vortex pairs will be observed.

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separation distances on densely flown approach routes is closely linked to the hazard caused by wake-generating aircraft and its safety impact on following aircraft. Great efforts have been made in recent years to increase the knowledge base of aircraft-generated wakes. In the light of a new class of high capacity airliners to enter service in the next decade, research must intensify even more to better understand wake physics, so that vortex-related hazards can be quantified and means for hazard reduction implemented. A major role to achieve this goal is seen in utilizing modern visualization techniques that became available in recent years. The strength of the wake vortex is, governed by the weight, speed, and shape of the wing of the generating aircraft. However, as the basic factor is weight, the vortex strength increases proportionately with increase in aircraft operating weight. Peak vortex tangential speeds up to almost 100 meters per second have been recorded. A lifetime of several minutes and a length of 30 km behind large planes have been recorded and are widely, known, though the vortex energy has reached a very low level. Even bigger aircraft can be damaged by wake turbulence. This was the case for a MD-11 airliner during a VFR approach at Runway 24R of an unspecified U.S. airport The airplane was flying 5.6 km behind a Boeing 747 that was landing at Runway 25L. The parallel runways were 168 m apart and staggered; with the threshold of Runway 24L located 1,312m beyond of threshold of Runway 24R. The MD-11 was 31 m above the ground when it rolled left, then right and developed a high sink rate. The captain initiated a go around, but the airplane contacted the runway and bounced-back into the air. The captain discontinued the go-around and landed the airplane on the runway. The MD-11’s aft lower fuselage and aft pressure bulkhead were substantially damaged. The accident was ascribed to improper planning by the MD-11 pilot-in-command. The U.S. Aeronautical Information Manual recommends that when an airplane is following a larger airplane on parallel approaches to runways closer than 763m, the trailing airplane should remain at or above the others airplane flight path, to avoid the others airplane wake turbulence. Evidently, the energy necessary to generate the vortex structures and wing downwash is driven out from the power plant. In other words, a large amount of drag is generated, called drag due-to-lift or induced drag. Induced drag represents 30-40 percent of the total drag of a transport airplane at cruise condition so it has a big impact on fuel consumption. The induced drag is directly proportional to square of the lift coefficient. Therefore, takeoff, climbing, long-range cruise, holding are phases of flight where the induced drag is high because the lift coefficient is also high. Airbus undertook a special effort to keep the A380 wake vortex no stronger than the 747 so other aircraft wouldn't require extra in trail separation from it. Engineers reviewed NASA, European and Russian TsAGI studies. They noticed that the two-engine Airbus A330 and four-engine A340 have different vortex patterns even though they have the same wing, owing to changes in location of the flaps and engines. They also observed that the A320 and A321 have different patterns, apparently because one model has single-slotted and the other, double-slotted flaps. Airbus reports the location of the flaps, ailerons and engines on the A380 was adjusted to minimize the wake vortex, and it is estimated to be a few percent stronger than the 747-400's.

Winglets – Performance Characteristics

Winglets belong to the class of wingtip devices aimed to reduce induced drag. Selection of the wingtip device depends on the specific situation and the airplane model. In the case of winglets, the reduction of the induced drag is accomplished by acting like a small sail whose lift component generates a traction force, draining energy from the tip vortices. The wingtip might be considered a dead zone regarding to the aerodynamic efficiency, because it generates lots of drag and no significant lift. The winglet contributes to accelerate the airflow at the tip in such a way that it generates lift and improves the wing loading distribution, which is related to the induced drag Fitting winglets can provide improvements in the performance of aerodynamic efficiency for a range of lift and Mach Number conditions by decreasing the trailing – vortex drag by amounts that more than compensate for any increases in the profile and wave drag contributions. In addition to their effects on trailing vortex drag. Another potential benefit of winglets is that they reduce the strength of wingtip vortices, which trail behind the plane. When other aircraft pass through these vortices, the turbulent air can cause loss of control, possibly resulting in an accident. Winglets produce an especially good performance boosts for jets by reducing drag and that reduction could translate into marginally higher cruise speed. Figure 2 shows reduction in drag of the Gulfstream III aircraft using winglet.

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Fig. 2 – Drag reduction provided by winglets for the Gulfstream III business jet

Process Methodology

Modeling ONERA M-4 With and Without Winglets using CATIA V5

Using CATIA V5, ONERA M-4 aircraft model is created with following dimensions: DIMENSIONS OF THE MODEL (shown in Fig.3)

 Fuselage length = 511 mm  Fuselage diameter = 60 mm

 Wing Span = 474 mm (Without Winglet)  Wing Sweepback angle = 30 deg

 Horizontal tail span = 170 mm  H.T sweepback angle = 37.5 deg  Dihedral angle = 3 deg

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Fig. 3 - Front view of ONERA M4 model with winglet

The generative shape design module of CATIA V5 is used to construct the both with and without winglet models. Computational domain is also created using CATIA V5. The dimensions of the computational domain as follows:

Far field Top = 2.5L (L = Fuselage length) Far field Bottom = 2.5L

Far field side = 2.5L Upstream = 2.5L Downstream = 5L

Fig. 4

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Meshing And Preprocessing In Acuconsole

The meshing/Discretization are carried out in AcuConsole for both with and without winglet cases.

Unstructured tetra elements are selected for these computations. As per the boundary layer calculation, boundary layer thickness is calculated as 10.4 mm and Reynolds number as 7, 23,670 (for the Aircraft speed 20m/s). 12 layers are used inside the boundary layer for both the cases. The mesh details of the without winglet case as follows:

Element type : Unstructured Tetra elements Total elements : 2757733

Total nodes : 491323

The following Fig. 5 shows the elements around the aircraft from AcuConsole

Fig. 5 - Mesh from AcuSolve of without winglet case Mesh details of the with winglet case as follows:

Element type : Unstructured Tetra elements Total elements : 4107555

Total nodes : 731088

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Fig 6. Mesh from AcuSolve of with winglet case

After meshing the boundary conditions selection is done in AcuConsole. The selected boundary conditions for both the cases are as follows (from Table 1):

Table 1 - Boundary conditions

Component Boundary type

Inflow Velocity Boundary (20m/s)

Outflow Pressure Outlet

Aircraft Wall

Far field Slip

Symmetry Symmetry option

Turbulence model selected for both the simulations is "spalart – allmaras" with convergence factor of 0.0001. Totally 900 time steps are solved for without winglet simulation and 1000 time steps are solved for with winglet simulation in AcuSolve. Fig. 7 and 8 shows the time step history of the respective cases.

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Fig. 7- Time step history from AcuProbe of without winglet simulation

Fig. 8 - Time step history from AcuProbe of with winglet simulation

Results And Discussion

Post processing of the results is carried out in HyperView. Contours of Pressure, Velocity and Vorticity of both the simulations are generated. Fig. 9 and 10 shows the comparison of pressure contours of both the

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Fig. 9 - Pressure plot from HyperView of without winglet simulation Fig. 10 - Pressure plot from HyperView of with winglet simulation

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Fig. 11 and 12 shows Velocity contour of both the simulations

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Fig. 13 and 14 shows Vorticity contour of both the simulations. It shows that the Vorticity strength is low in the region of winglet in the with winglet simulation case. This gives a clear picture of tip vortices elimination due to winglet, which leads to reduction in Induced drag.

Fig. 13 - Vorticity plot from HyperView of without winglet simulation

Fig 14. Vorticity plot from HyperView of with winglet simulation

Conclusion

This project proposes that winglet will significantly yield a better performance of an aircraft and reduce the fuel consumption. The present work showed that winglets are becoming an important and common instrument to achieve performance improvements in the present highly competitive aircraft market. Various aspects affecting the design of winglets were described and highlighted, ranging from airfoil characteristics to the shape and importance of correctly designing the transition surface between the wing and the winglet. For this task, CFD tools proved to be mandatory for an efficient design of winglets for transonic aircraft configurations. The present simulations of with and without winglet cases promises that winglet installation reduces the tip vortices, which leads to the reduction in induced drag.

Benefits

CFD simulations are now a day's used as a vital analysis tool in many applications to reduce the number of experiments, which leads to savings in both cost and effort. AcuSolve is one of the leading CFD solver gives this benefit.

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Challenges

Meshing process and the pre processing in AcuSolve is user friendly and saves time and cost rapidly.

Future Plans

CFD simulation of different AOA's and speeds are planned to be carried in AcuSolve to get clear view about the winglet effects. As well wind tunnel testing of the model is also planned to carry out for validation purpose.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

We thank our management for providing the better computing facility to solve this huge mesh count problem with in short period of time. We thank Department of Aerospace Engg. , MIT for the modeling support. We thank Altair customer support for their extensive support.

REFERENCES: BOOKS

1. Anderson, J.D., (1985), “Introduction To Flight”, 2nd Edition, Mc-Graw Hill co., New York JOURNALS

2. Considerations about Winglet Design Bento S. de Mattos Antonini P. Macedo Durval H. da Silva Filho Empresa Brasileira de Aeronautica S.A. Av. Brigadeiro Faria Lima, 217012.227-901 Sao Jose dos campos – SP – Brazil

3. CFD Analysis of Winglets at Low Subsonic Flow M. A Azlin, C.F Mat Taib, S. Kasolang and F.H Muhammad 4. Altair user manuals.