This study compares the effects of using continuous camber morphing and a hinged flap for the trailing 30% of the airfoil on the aerodynamic performance of two symmetric airfoils: the NACA0012 airfoil and the relatively thin NACA0003 airfoil, for a Reynolds number range of \(10^4\) to \(10^6\) , which represents the flight regime of micro aerial vehicles (MAVs). As a low-to-moderate Reynolds number regime has been considered in this study, numerical simulations were performed in ANSYS Fluent 17.2 with a laminar-turbulent transition model. The results showed that the use of continuous camber morphing in lieu of a hinged flap resulted in a higher lift generation for both airfoils at a fixed trailing edge deflection. Furthermore, although the use of continuous camber morphing increases drag compared to the use of hinged flap, the aerodynamic efficiency at the same lift is mostly higher with the continuous camber morphing, especially at the higher lift values. Investigations of the surface pressure coefficient revealed that the delay in pressure recovery on both the suction and pressure surfaces near the trailing edge is primarily responsible for the production of higher lift with the continuous camber morphing than with the hinged flap. Although both airfoils showed better aerodynamic performance with continuous camber morphing across the range of Reynolds number considered, the thicker NACA0012 airfoil showed a sharper decline in aerodynamic performance with a drop in Reynolds number compared to the thinner NACA0003 airfoil.
