Award Number
1950207, NSF-DoD ASSURE, REU
Faculty Supervisor
Mosfequr Rahman
Primary Investigator
Valentin Soloiu
Contributors
Charles Fricks, Evan Cathers, and Eric Pernell
Presentation Type and Release Option
Research Project (Open Access)
Presentation Year
2021
Abstract
The objective of this research is to determine the effect of different cant angle winglet additions to multiple types of aircraft throughout various angles of attack. The winglet design to be studied is the blended winglet. Its cant angle is altered to be 30, 60, and 90 degrees. Three different wings were chosen to be modeled and simulated, each with different geometry to attempt to encompass a wide range of wing types. The three wings were a rectangular wing, a tapered wing, and a swept wing. Those models are represented by the Cessna 172, Piper PA-46, and the Boeing 737-300, respectively. A strain transducer system was built to determine the overall lift and drag generated by a wing in a subsonic wind tunnel. The collected data was used to determine the coefficients of lift and drag of each wing-winglet configuration. Furthermore, a pressure differential system was also implemented in order to determine the average pressure difference acting on each wing. This data allows to calculate the coefficient of lift within a reasonable margin of error. Results from both data acquisition systems were then compared to their respective results from the Computational Fluid Dynamic analysis previously performed. Furthermore, Finite Element Analysis was performed to study the structural consequences caused by the winglet addition and the change of its cant angle.
This report concluded that the addition of the winglets to each wing had a positive effect on the lift coefficient while reducing drag. However, each wing peaked its aerodynamic efficiency with a different cant angle. The Cessna 172 experienced peak results with the 60° winglet. The Piper PA-46 reached maximum performance with the 30° winglet and the best one for the Boeing 737-300 wing was the 90°. Additionally, it was determined that the best winglet addition to each wing results in an increase of total maximum stress on the wing.
Academic Unit
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Analysis of various Blended Winglet Additions to Cessna 172, Piper Malibu, and Boeing 737 wings
Keywords
1950207, NSF-DoD ASSURE, REU, Winglet additions, Cessna 172, Piper Malibu, Boeing 737
Analysis of 30°-90° Blended Winglet Additions to Cessna 172, Piper Malibu, and Boeing 737 Wings
The objective of this research is to determine the effect of different cant angle winglet additions to multiple types of aircraft throughout various angles of attack. The winglet design to be studied is the blended winglet. Its cant angle is altered to be 30, 60, and 90 degrees. Three different wings were chosen to be modeled and simulated, each with different geometry to attempt to encompass a wide range of wing types. The three wings were a rectangular wing, a tapered wing, and a swept wing. Those models are represented by the Cessna 172, Piper PA-46, and the Boeing 737-300, respectively. A strain transducer system was built to determine the overall lift and drag generated by a wing in a subsonic wind tunnel. The collected data was used to determine the coefficients of lift and drag of each wing-winglet configuration. Furthermore, a pressure differential system was also implemented in order to determine the average pressure difference acting on each wing. This data allows to calculate the coefficient of lift within a reasonable margin of error. Results from both data acquisition systems were then compared to their respective results from the Computational Fluid Dynamic analysis previously performed. Furthermore, Finite Element Analysis was performed to study the structural consequences caused by the winglet addition and the change of its cant angle.
This report concluded that the addition of the winglets to each wing had a positive effect on the lift coefficient while reducing drag. However, each wing peaked its aerodynamic efficiency with a different cant angle. The Cessna 172 experienced peak results with the 60° winglet. The Piper PA-46 reached maximum performance with the 30° winglet and the best one for the Boeing 737-300 wing was the 90°. Additionally, it was determined that the best winglet addition to each wing results in an increase of total maximum stress on the wing.
Comments
This research was supported by DoD-NSF Assure REU Site Award: 1950207