Numerical Investigation of the Aerodynamic and Structural Characteristics of a Corrugated Airfoil

Previous experimental studies on static, bioinspired corrugated wings have shown that they produce favorable aerodynamic properties such as delayed stall compared with streamlined wings and flat plates at high Reynolds numbers (Re >= 10(4)). The majority of studies have been carried out with scaled models of dragonfly forewings from the Aeshna cyanea in either wind tunnels or water channels. In this paper, the aerodynamics of a corrugated airfoil was investigated using computational fluid dynamics at low Reynolds numbers of 500, 1000, and 2000. A structural analysis was also performed using the commercial software SolidWorks 2009. The complex vortex structures that formed in the corrugated airfoil valleys and around the corrugated airfoil are studied in detail. Comparisons are made with experimental measurements at different Reynolds numbers and with simulations of a flat plate. The study shows that, at low Reynolds numbers, the corrugation does not provide any aerodynamic benefit compared with a flat plate. Instead, the corrugated airfoil generates more drag than the flat plate. Structural analysis shows that the wing corrugation an increase the resistance to bending moments on the wing structure with reduced thickness and weight.