EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH OF THE CONFIGURATION OF WING－TIP DRAG REDUCTION FOR LIGHT AIRCRAFT

hree kinds of devices of drag reduction are presented swept wingtip,stage by stage swept wingtip and downbend wingtip. The effects of changing geometryparameters of the swept wingtip on the drag reducing are also presented. Wind-tunnelexperiment results indicate that a properly designed swept wingtip results in an incre-ment in induced efficiency of 4%～ 7% and that swept wingtip can increase longitudinalstatic-stability. Water-tunnel experiment results indicate that the reason for drag re-ducing of swept wingtip is that when the angle of attack is not zero, the strong end vor-tex of the wing is weakened by the combined effect of the leading edge and trailing edgevortices of the swept wingtip.

Experimental investigation on tip vortices and aerodynamics of a wing with ground effect

The tip vortices and aerodynamics of a NACA0012 wing in the vicinity of the ground were studied in a wind tunnel.The wing tip vortex structures and lift/drag forces were measured by a seven-hole probe and a force balance,respectively.The evolution of the flow structures and aerodynamics with a ground height were analyzed.The vorticity of tip vortices was found to reduce with the decreasing of the ground height,and the position of vortex-core moved gradually to the outboard of the wing tip.Therefore,the down-wash flow induced by the tip vortices was weakened. However,vortex breakdown occurred as the wing lowered to the ground.From the experimental results of aerodynamics,the maximum lift-to-drag ratio was observed when the angle of attack was 2.5°and the ground clearance was 0.2.

Wing tip vortex structure behind an airfoil with flaps at the tip

In this work, the wing tip vortex structure behind a NACA 0015 airfoil with and without small flaps was studied using a Partical Image Velocimetry （PIV） system. The experiment was carried out in a low speed wind tunnel with a test section of 0.5 m x 0.5 m. The Reynolds number （Re）, defined by the chord length of the wing （C）, was 8.1 x 104. The angle of attack was fixed at 10~. The PIV measurements were made from 0 to 2C, measured from the trailing edge of the model. The dihedral angle of three flaps was -15~, 0~ and 15~, respectively. Compared with the clean airfoil, the one with three flaps significantly changed the wing tip vortex structure, the vorticity and the core of the wing tip vortex. The occurrence of three flaps decreased the gradient of pressure on the two sides of the wing tip, which depressed wing tip vortex formation to some extent. Vortices shed from three flaps influence the evolution of the wingtip vortex generated by the base airfoil. The interaction of those vortices resulted in a weakening of the wing tip vortex.

Morphology, flight performance, and water crossing tendencies of Afro-Palearctic raptors during migration

Raptors primarily use soaring-gliding flight which exploits thermals and ridge lifts over land to reduce energetic costs However during migration, these birds often have to cross water surfaces where thermal currents are weak; during these times, birds mainly use flapping （powered） flight which increases energy consumption and mortality risk. As a result, some species have evolved strategies to reduce the amount of time spent over water by taking extensive detours over land. In this paper, we con- ducted a meta-analysis of water-crossing tendencies in Afro-Palearctic migrating raptors in relation to their morphology, their flight performance, and their phylogenetic relationships. In particular, we considered the aspect ratio （calculated as the wing span squared divided by wing area）, the energetic cost of powered flight, and the maximum water crossing length regularly performed by adult birds. Our results suggest that energy consumption during powered flight predominately affects the ability of raptors to fly over water surfaces