Aerodynamic Analysis of Stretched Trailing Edge Over NACA 0020 Airfoil at Various Turbulence Intensities

To understand how the stretched trailing edge customizes the airfoil aerodynamics in an experimental approach, the present work studied the symmetrical NACA 0020 airfoil subjects to the incoming airflow at higher intensities of freestream turbulence (i.e. 12%). The Reynolds number was fixed as Re = 2.4 × 105, the airfoil was tested under various turbulence intensities of 0.3, 7 and 12%. The trailing edge of the airfoil has been stretched for the extension (h) of 10%, 20% and 30% of chord (c) and the test carried for the angle of attack varies from 0° to 35°. It has been realized that stretching the airfoil trailing edge can augment the lift with a less significant increment in drag. The stretched trailing edge is simply an add-on thin plate fixed together with the airfoil at the trailing edge without altering the elemental structure of the conventional airfoil benefits to advance the aerodynamic performance. The obtained results direct that revising the airfoil trailing edge revises the flow pattern over the airfoil. The modification in terms of stretching the trailing edge acts as a flow control tool and aids to maintain the performance even operating at higher freestream turbulence.