Development of active composite aerofoil for assessment of novel flow control concepts
Roman Koschichow, Klaudiusz Holeczek, Denis Koschichow, Frank Rüdiger, Pawel Kostka, Albert Langkamp, Jochen Fröhlich, Niels Modler
Quarterly No. 3, 2015 pages 146-151
DOI:
keywords: lightweight structures, polymer technology, polymer-matrix composites, multifunctional composites, active flow control, composite aerofoil, flow separation
abstract In this paper, an investigation of the dynamic effects of the low-amplitude, high-frequency excitation of a composite aerofoil by means of integrated actuators on the flow is presented. For this purpose, a well-established elastic NACA 64-418 profile was manufactured from a glass fibre reinforced epoxy resin with integrated active elements. The modal properties of the profile were optimized during the design process in such a way that the spatial distribution of nodes and antinodes of the profile is potentially advantageous for the influence of the flow behaviour around the profile. Additionally, the respective eigenfrequency of the profile should be high enough to efficiently influence the flow. The first numerical and experimental results confirm that the aimed modal properties could be obtained. The optimized profile design has been implemented in the resin transfer moulding manufacturing process and selected low-profile actuating elements were applied after fibre-reinforced plastics consolidation on the inner surface of the NACA profile. The applicability of the proposed flow control approach will be evaluated in detail in a specially developed flow channel in further investigations.