An investigation on the lift force of a wing pitching in dynamic stall for a comfort control vessel

On the basis of a comfort control system for ocean vessels, the control forces and moments in the form of lift forces from active wings are of important interest. In an ocean vessel comfort control system, active wings or fins are commonly used and constantly adjust their angles of attack to produce optimal sea-keeping conditions. The unsteady nature of the flow field around a wing, and the behaviour of the generated lift force must be understood in order to optimize the comfort control system. This paper presents experimental data on the flow past a pitching wing, paying particular attention to the lagging effects between the fluid dynamic lift force and the motion of the wing at large angles of attack as a function of peak angle of attack and reduced frequency of oscillation. The range of motion investigated has been chosen according to the applicability of a comfort control wing surface. Numerical data is also included to aid explanation on some of the witnessed phenomena. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.