Determination of Aerodynamic Characteristics for Leading-Edge Tubercle NACA 0015 Airfoil at Low Reynolds Number

An experimental study is carried out to investigate the effects of leading-edge tubercle NACA 0015 airfoil at a suction type of wind tunnel. Three different leading-edge tubercles and a baseline NACA 0015 airfoil are utilized. These airfoil dimensions are a mean chord (c) of 150 mm and spanwise length of 450 mm. The Reynolds number based on the mean chord is 5 × 104. The force measurements experiment is performed by using a six-axis load cell at the angle of attack changing from 0° to 30° with an increment of 1°. This study aims to provide important insights about leading-edge tubercle airfoil at low Reynolds number and reveal the aerodynamic performance of these airfoils. Force measurement results reveal that tubercle form at the leading edge is significantly changed common stall characteristic as compared to the baseline airfoil.