EXPERIMENTAL STUDY ON BIO-INSPIRED WINGS WITH TUBERCLES

Abstract

This work aims to answer some questions about the humpback whale flipper with its ability to delay stall and enhance post stall performance. A series of wind tunnel tests on 14 different wings with NACA 0021 profile and with different leading-edgesare performed. The tests were divided into two groups: one of aspect ratio 7 which is as a convenient representative to a conventional airplane’s wing, and the other group is with aspect ratio 2 as a convenient representative of a control surface aspect ratio or a MAV wing. These experiments led to the discovery of a wing leading-edge geometry constructed with peaks of the sine wave that proved to reduce the drag coefficient up to 28% and increase the lift to drag ratio up to 48% relative to its comparable sinusoidal wing.They also led to suggesting an additional design parameter that should be included in the design process to maximize the aerodynamic gains of the wings with tubercles which is the peak (or trough) width.