Experimental Analysis of Aerodynamic Characteristics of NACA 0012 Wing Model with Multiple Winglets

Abstract

Downwash in the wing causes a reduction of lift and generates an additional drag, known as the lift-induced drag or the vortex drag for the finite wing. This induced drag ultimately deteriorates the aerodynamic performance of the aircraft. The technical potentiality of multi-winglets is examined in this work to reduce the induced drag without enlarging the wing’s span. Aerodynamic characteristics of the NACA 0012 airfoil section-built wing model with gradual increase of winglets have been studied using a subsonic wind tunnel of 1 m × 1 m × 1 m rectangular test section. An untwisted wing model tapered towered tip was constructed using the NACA 0012 airfoil sections for the wind tunnel experiments. Airfoil-shaped wooden plates of the same airfoil profile were used to make the winglets. Experiments were carried out on the wing with the winglets at 0°, 5°, 10° and 15° incidence angles. The results show that the wing with a gradual increase from one winglet to three winglets can reduce the induced drag and improve the aerodynamic performance. The lift coefficient increases up to 21.2%, and the drag coefficient decreases up to 27.2% when multiple winglets are attached with wing mode compared to single winglet. Enhancing lift performance, reducing vortex drag, and improving overall aerodynamic efficiency in multi-winglet configuration can improve fuel efficiency, leading to better aircraft performance.