Biomimetic spiroid winglets for lift and drag control

作者：Joel E. Guerrero, Dario Maestro, Alessandro Bottaro · 发表于：Comptes Rendus Mécanique · 年份：2011 · DOI：10.1016/j.crme.2011.11.007 · 被引用次数：89 · 研究领域：Fluid Dynamics and Turbulent Flows、Biomimetic flight and propulsion mechanisms、Plasma and Flow Control in Aerodynamics

In aeronautical engineering, drag reduction constitutes a challenge and there is room for improvement and innovative developments. The drag breakdown of a typical transport aircraft shows that the lift-induced drag can amount to as much as 40% of the total drag at cruise conditions and 80–90% of the total drag in take-off configuration. One way of reducing lift-induced drag is by using wingtip devices. By applying biomimetic abstraction of the principle behind a birdʼs wingtip feathers, we study spiroid wingtips, which look like an extended blended wingtip that bends upward by 360 degrees to form a large rigid ribbon. The numerical investigation of such a wingtip device is described and preliminary indications of its aerodynamic performance are provided.