Influence of Wing Shape on Airfoil Performance: a Comparative Study

Abstract

The aerodynamic performance of an aircraft mainly depends on the lift force, drag force, and the lift to drag ratio. The geometric shapes of aircraft wings are considered crucial for this aerodynamic performance. The purpose of this study is to determine the most efficient wing shape that improves the aerodynamic performance of the airfoil. For that purpose, a numerical comparative study was carried out between the rectangular and tapered wing shapes of the NACA 4412 airfoil for a wide range of angles of attack in the subsonic regime. ANSYS Fluent software, based on the finite volume method, was used for the numerical resolution of the governing equations. The Realizable k-ε model was chosen for the turbulence modeling. The numerical procedure was validated based on experimental results obtained from the literature. The results show an improvement in the lift coefficient and a reduction in the drag coefficient of the Tapered shape compared to the rectangular shape at all angles of attack. However, a gain was achieved in the lift-to-drag coefficient ratio of the Tapered shape.