Aerodynamic Interference and Reynolds Number Effects of Low-Speed Close-Coupled Biplanes
Publication: Journal of Aerospace Engineering
Volume 33, Issue 4
Abstract
Modern aircraft design, given the trend to achieve smaller sizes and higher altitudes, urgently needs to introduce new configurations to achieve higher aerodynamic efficiency within a range of moderate Reynolds numbers (Re). The present study, which focuses on low-speed close-coupled biplanes, discovers a new mechanism that could increase the overall maximum lift-to-drag ratio of the configuration. This paper proposes a combination of geometrical parameters that achieves good aerodynamic performance through a set of constructive wing interferences of close-coupled NACA4412 biplanes. With this combination of parameters, the maximum lift-to-drag ratio of a biplane is improved by 3.69% relative to the maximum summative lift-to-drag ratio of two independent monoplanes at . Moreover, the maximum lift-to-drag ratio of a biplane is enhanced by 3.99% relative to that of a single monoplane and is 10.26% higher than the maximum summative lift-to-drag ratio of two independent monoplanes at . This paper studies three effects of the close-coupled wing interference. First, the upward wash effect on the upper wing induced by the lower wing is investigated. Second, the forward and upward pushing effects on the upper wing at the high pressure zone around the stagnation point of the lower wing is studied. Third, the pressure distribution melioration along the upper surfaces of both wings contributed by the positive pressure gradient zone near the narrow flow path between the upper and lower wings is examined. These effects collectively guarantee a high lift-to-drag ratio of a close-coupled biplane. The concept of the total pressure boundary layer is proposed to analyze the effects of the Reynolds number. The enhancement of the third effect is found to lead to a biplane’s better performance over that of a monoplane when Re decreases.
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Data Availability Statement
Some or all data, models, or code generated or used during the study are available from the corresponding author by request, including data for Fig. 3 and Figs. 5–23.
Acknowledgments
This work was supported by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 11972061, 11372028, 11721202) and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities.
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Published In
Journal of Aerospace Engineering
Volume 33 • Issue 4 • July 2020
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©2020 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jan 25, 2019
Accepted: Jan 2, 2020
Published online: Mar 30, 2020
Published in print: Jul 1, 2020
Discussion open until: Aug 30, 2020
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