Investigations on the effects of trip wires on the performances of a rectangular wing

Abstract

This work investigates the effects of small cylindrical elements (“trip wires”) on the aerodynamic performances of a rectangular wing at Reynolds numbers between 5 × 104 and 2 × 105. The diameter and position of the perturbing cylinders are changed in order to evaluate modifications in drag and lift coefficients in comparison to the unperturbed wing, as also detailed information on the velocity field around the wing itself. Such modified wings can be mounted on small wind turbines and in Micro Air Vehicles.