Analysis of Owl-like Airfoil Aerodynamics at Low Reynolds Number Flow

Abstract

Aerodynamic characteristics and flow fields around an owl-like airfoil at a chord Reynolds number of 23,000 are investigated using two-dimensional laminar flow computations. Computed results demonstrate that the deeply concaved lower surface of the owl-like airfoil contributes to lift augmenting, and both a round leading edge and a flat upper surface lead to lift enhancement and drag reduction due to the suction peak and the presence of the thin laminar separation bubble near the leading edge. Subsequently, the owl-like airfoil has higher lift-to-drag ratio than the high lift-to-drag Ishii airfoil at low Reynolds number. However, when the minimum drag is presented, the Ishii airfoil gains lift coefficient of zero while lift coefficient of the owl-like airfoil does not becomes zero. Furthermore, a feature of unsteady flow structures around the owl-like airfoil at the maximum lift-to-drag ratio condition is highlighted.