Control of vortical structures on a flapping wing via a sinusoidal leading-edge

The flow structure generated by a flapping wing in the form of a plate is fundamentally altered if the leading-edge has a sinusoidal shape. It is possible to attenuate both the positive and negative spanwise flows along the plate surface, as well as the onset and development of large-scale concentrations of positive and negative streamwise vorticities at inboard locations. These alterations of the inboard flow structure have an insignificant influence on the structure of the tip vortex. (C) 2010 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3304539]