Analysis of the development of dynamic stall based on oscillating airfoil experiments

The effects of dynamic stall on airfoils oscillating in pitch were investigated by experimentally determining the viscous and inviscid characteristics of the airflow on the NACA 0012 airfoil and on several leading-edge modifications. The test parameters included a wide range of frequencies, Reynolds numbers, and amplitudes-of-oscillation. Three distinct types of separation development were observed within the boundary layer, each leading to classical dynamic stall. The NACA 0012 airfoil is shown to stall by the mechanism of abrupt turbulent leading-edge separation. A detailed step-by-step analysis of the events leading to dynamic stall, and of the results of the stall process, is presented for each of these three types of stall. Techniques for flow analysis in the dynamic stall environment are discussed. A method is presented that reduces most of the oscillating airfoil normal force and pitching-moment data to a single curve, independent of frequency or Reynolds number.