Computational Study on Induced Drag Reduction of Electric Aircraft Wing Using Various Winglet Configurations
摘要
The addition of winglets provides an increased aerodynamic efficiency without any other drastic changes to the structure of the aircraft. Although many modern airliners are equipped with this technology, small electric-powered aircraft has not used this advantage in the wing design. This work focuses on the addition of wingtip devices, also called winglets, to the electric aircraft to increase its aerodynamic efficiency by decreasing the induced drag. The upward sharklet/blended winglet, split-tip winglet and downward sharklet winglet are various winglets considered in this numerical study and it is proven by the reduction of induced drag along with increase in the overall lift produced during flight. The wing with downward winglet configuration shows an increment of lift coefficient by 12% at an angle of attack of 5° at maximum velocity of 55 m/s.