To investigate and compare the wing planform’s effect on the aerodynamic parameters of aircraft wings using computational fluid dynamics (CFD)

Abstract A high lift wing’s design is a critical aerodynamic parameter of aircraft. Research has been performed to enhance the wing performance by altering the wing planform, out-of-plan transformation, and airfoil modification. Herein, the wing planforms, airflow velocity (5 – 35 m/s), and their effect on aerodynamic parameters as a function of an angle of attack (-20° - +50°) are investigated numerically. The NACA 0012 profile 3D wing with varying aspects, taper ratios, and sweptback angles is investigated using computational fluid dynamics (CFD). The study exposed that, a rectangular wing has a high lift and drag coefficient among all the wing planforms. It also reveals that there will be no lift generation for symmetric airfoil at an angle of attack (AoA) of 0°. Furthermore, the effect of changing the leading-edge sweptback angle (LESA) on the lift and drag is prominent at higher AoA. It changes airflow from wing root to wing tip however, it also increases the tip vortices. The lift and drag increase with the increase of flow velocity and taper ratio (TR) and becomes more prominent after an AoA of 9°. Similarly, with the increase of aspect ratio (AR), lift and drag decrease to a certain limit (in this case AR 10), beyond this limit, it starts increasing with an increase in AR and its effect is more visible at an AoA of 15°. The TR and LESA are the best parameters for the aircraft wing to get better flight conditions depending upon the applications.