Aerodynamic investigation of a morphing wing for micro air vehicle by means of PIV

Abstract

A wind tunnel tests campaign has been conducted to investigate the aerodynamic flow around a wing morphing to be used in a micro air vehicle. Non-intrusive whole field measurements were obtained by using PIV, in order to compare the velocity and turbulence intensity maps for the modified and the original version of an adaptive wing designed to be used in a micro air vehicle. Four sections and six angles of attack have been tested. Due to the low aspect ratio of the wing and the low Reynold number tested of 6.4 × 104, the influence of the 3D effects has been proved to be important. At high angles of attack, the modified model prevented the detachment of the stream, increased the lift of the wing and reduced the turbulence intensity level on the upper surface of the airfoil and in the wake.