MBB2063

Title
Aerofoil test in wind tunnel at different angles of attack.

January 2012

Introduction
Aerofoil is a shape of a body that is mainly placed in a stream of air flow or water flow in order to produce useful aerodynamic effect depending on the usage and need. This shape of aerofoil can be found in many applications and among those include on the airplane wing which helps to produce lift force. In cars, spoilers help to produce down force to ensure the car is connected to ground firmly at high speeds. We can also see the effects of lift and drag forces in a centrifugal compressor blade to produce effective high pressure. This experiment is carried out to review the drag and lift characteristic towards an aerofoil body shape, and how these characteristic can give effect on the body that moves in the air flow. These drag and lift force can give either advantages or disadvantage in our daily life. For example, on the cars surface, drag force can form at places where it will lead to damages to the car surface when moving at high speeds. In this experiment, we are going to learn how the angle of attack of air against an aerofoil shape can give effect towards the forces acting on the aerofoil and thus allow us to improve the efficiency of a system like to reduce the drag effect on the surface. Theoretically, the air that moves or hit the surface will resolve into normal stress and tangential stress. These stresses will cause pressure and shear stress towards the surface. In this experiment, we will find out how these pressures will help affect the lift and drag an aerofoil shape will experience.

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Figure 1

January 2012

Objective(s)
attack.

To measure the drag and lift forces applied on a symmetrical aerofoil at different angles of

Theory
Any theory that moves in the air (or vice versa) is subjected to stresses.

Figure 2

The normal stress is pressure (Fn) The tangential stress is shear (Ft)

On an aerofoil: Part of the pressure and part of the shear becomes lift force. And also part of the pressure and part of the shear becomes drag force. The aerofoil is designed as a streamlined body to minimize the drag and maximize the lift. In the formula, the drag is characterized as,

While the lift is characterized as,

Where, A = C x L

Figure 3

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January 2012

Apparatus
WT04 sub-sonic wind tunnel, Pitot tube, digital micromanometer & tubing 6mm Diameter OD, symmetric aerofoil with angle adjustment model & 3 components balance.

Figure 4 : The WT04 sub-sonic wind tunnel

Figure 5 : Aerofoil with Angle Adjustment model and The 3 Component Balance

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January 2012

Procedure
1. The fan was switched off for safety precaution. 2. The aerofoil angle adjustment model was installed into the test section, with bottom shaft was inserted into the 3 components of balance. 3. The aerofoil models angle of attack was adjusted to +0 o. 4. The test section glass frame is ensured it is fully closed and it is made sure that it is screwed tightly and no lost part is left in the test section 5. The lift and drag strain gauge amplifier reading is adjusted to zero. 6. A small screw driver is placed to adjust the zero potentiometer until the indicator showing zero. 7. The PC is booted up, select the Main Menu screen to visualize the balance reading. 8. The air speed is set at 20 m/s via the computer interface. 9. 1 minute is waited for the fan speed to reach stable condition. 10. The lift and drag reading is obtained and the table below is filled in. 11. The above steps is repeated with different angle of attack, i.e. +10, +20, +30, and +40 12. The above steps is repeated with negative angle of attack, i.e. -10, -20, -30, and -40

Figure 6

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Results

Angle 40 30 20 10 0 -10 -20 -30 -40

Lift Force, FL (N) -19.48 -16.30 -19.11 -18.54 -4.32 -12.81 21.20 -3.75 -2.19

Drag Force, FD (N) 9.13 8.15 -0.96 -1.74 0.64 10.11 11.57 5.13 3.96

CL 2.6499 2.2173 2.5996 2.5220 0.5877 1.7426 2.8839 0.5101 0.2979

CD 1.2420 1.1087 0.1306 0.2367 0.0871 1.3753 1.5739 0.6978 0.5387

Area of the aerofoil, A =CxL = (0.1m)(0.3m) = 0.03m2 Temperature of the surroundings, T = 300C Density of the air at 300C, = 1.22521 kg/m3 Velocity of the free stream, U = 20 m/s Coefficient of drag, CD (take value for 00 angle of attack) = drag force / (dynamic head x area) = FD/ (1/2)U2A = -0.64 / ( (1/2) x 1.22521 x 202 x (0.1m)(0.3m) ) = -0.019 Coefficient of drag, CL (take value for 00 angle of attack) = drag force / (dynamic head x area) = FL/ (1/2)U2A = -4.32 / ( (1/2) x 1.22521 x 202 x (0.1m)(0.3m) ) = 0.477
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Lift vs. Angle of Attack

25.00 20.00 15.00 10.00 5.00 0.00 -60 -40 -20 -5.00 -10.00 -15.00 -20.00 -25.00 0 20 40 60 Lift vs. Angle of Attack

Graph 1: Lift Vs. Angle of Attack

Drag and Lift Coefficients vs. Angle of Attack

3.5000 3.0000 2.5000 2.0000 1.5000 1.0000 0.5000 -60 -40 0.0000 -20 0 20 40 60 Coefficient of Drag Coefficient of Lift

Graph 2: Drag Coefficient Vs. Angle of Attack

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Discussion

January 2012

In this experiment, the main objective was to measure the drag and lift forces applied on the symmetrical aerofoil at different angles of attack. The objective is achieved and the drag and lift forces was measured in different positions; from the horizontal position to a 40 degrees angle clockwise and anti-clockwise with 10 degrees step. Different values was obtained for the drag and lift forces. At first, we need to explain briefly what is meant by drag and lift forces. Lift is the force generated on an object moving through a fluid and its direction is perpendicular to the direction of motion, while drag is the force generated parallel and opposite to the direction of motion. The same effect occurs if the object were stationary while the fluid is flowing over it, and this is the same as our experiment; an airfoil in a wind tunnel. The lift force generated depends on the density of the air, the velocity of the airflow, the viscosity and compressibility, the surface area of the airfoil, the shape of the airfoil, and the angle of attack. In this experiment, the velocity of airflow is held constant at 20 m/s and the angle of attack is changed, while the other independent variables are assumed to be constant throughout the experiment. From the results it is clear that the lift force increases as the angle of attack increases up till one point, known as critical angle of attack, after which the dependence becomes quite complex. The critical angle is estimated in some cases to be 17 degrees and it depends on the fluid and the flow. In our experiment, it is clear that starting from the 20 degree angle, the lift force is not really consistent and it is not clearly decreasing or increasing. Exceeding the critical angle will create what is known as stall. Stall is a reduction in the lift coefficients generated by the airfoil as angle of attack increases. It can be experienced by the pilots as a sudden reduction in lift. Coefficient of lift follows the same pattern as the lift force. As the angle increases, the coefficient of lift increases until reaching the critical angle, the coefficient does not follow a consistent pattern. Drag force is another thing we are interested in. Same as lift force, drag depends on the density of the air, the velocity of the airflow, the viscosity and compressibility, the surface area of the airfoil, the shape of the airfoil, and the angle of attack. It is clear from the results that drag increases as the angle increases in the positive direction. This is due to the increase in frontal area and boundary layer thickness. The same behavior can be found for the coefficient of drag. It is of minimum value when the angle of attack is small, and starts to increase as the angle increases. However there are some values that do not follow this increase due to some errors. In our experiment, some errors could have taken place that affected the results obtained. For example the parallax error occurred when we were taking the reading of lift force and drag force values. Since the measuring instruments used in the experiment were digital,
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the readings were changing rapidly from time to time because digital measuring instruments are very sensitive and the air flow is hard to be maintained at constant velocity. So it was difficult to record the accurate and exact readings from the monitor. Also another error could be done during the adjustment of aerofoil angle. The model could not be tightened enough or the angle is not adjusted accurately before starting the experiment. All of these errors should have affected the results. There are several ways to overcome these types of errors and obtain more accurate results. The most important modification is to make the flow velocity more constant. This could be done by conducting the experiment in a closed tube, which means that the wind tunnel is not open to the air. This could make the flow constant as the fan speed is constant and the amount of air inside the tunnel is constant as well. Another modification is to use any type of software to capture the readings directly when the velocity is exactly 20 m/s. Before starting the experiments, the model should be tightened very well. Also for us to obtain more accurate results, the values of drag and lift forces should be obtained for every 1 degree step angle instead of 10 degrees. This could make the data obtained more accurate and precise.

Conclusion
The shape of aerofoil is designed in such a way to increase the lift force while decreasing the drag force At this experiment, the aerofoil was studied and it was found that the lift force is much more higher than the drag force at small angles of attack. It is very common shape for the airplanes wings as it is one of the most efficient shapes that can minimize the drag while generating lift at the same time. This is critical for airplanes as it is necessary to minimize drag extremely as possible in order to reduce fuel consumption. It was clear from the data we obtained and data calculated that the lift and drag force consistently increase as the angle of attack increases until one point, known as critical angle of attack, at which the relation is not consistent or clear.