Numerical bifurcation analysis of static stall of airfoil and dynamic stall under unsteady perturbation

By the finite element method combined with Arbitrary-Lagrangian-Eulerian (ALE) frame and explicit Characteristic Based Split Scheme (CBS), the complex flows around stationary and sinusoidal pitching airfoil are studied numerically. In particular, the static and dynamic stalls are analyzed in detail, and the natures of the static stall of NACA0012 airfoil are given from viewpoint of bifurcations. Following the bifurcation in Map, the static stall is proved to be the result from saddle-node bifurcation which involves both the hysteresis and jumping phenomena, by introducing a Map and its Floquet multiplier, which is constructed in the numerical simulation of flow field and related to the lift of the airfoil. Further, because the saddle-node bifurcation is sensitive to imperfection or perturbation, the airfoil is then subjected to a perturbation which is a kind of sinusoidal pitching oscillation, and the flow structure and aerodynamic performance are studied numerically. The results show that the large-scale flow separation at the static stall on the airfoil surface can be removed or delayed feasibly, and the ensuing lift could be enhanced significantly and also the stalling incidence could be delayed effectively. As a conclusion, it can be drawn that the proper external excitation can be considered as a powerful control strategy for the stall. As an unsteady aerodynamic behavior of high angle of attack, the dynamic stall can be investigated from viewpoint of nonlinear dynamics, and there exists a rich variety of nonlinear phenomena, which are related to the lift enhancement and drag reduction. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.