Aerodynamic and aeroelastic analysis of the NACA0012 airfoil using CFD

Resumo

The aerodynamic analysis represents the beginning of the conceptual planning of an aeronautical project.
These analysis result in the establishment of important parameters, such as the maximum weight that the aircraft
is allowed to have, as well as the aerodynamic coefficients, which define geometric and flight aspects. There are
several ways of evaluating the aerodynamic coefficients of a wing, such as, for example, the use of wind tunnels
(database in the laboratory), traditional analytical methods, or even computer modeling, which can be based on
the method of panels, or finite volume method (FVM). In order to develop this work, FVM and the open source
code called OpenFOAM (in C++ programming language) are used. The aim of this experiment is to analyze the
activity of the aerodynamic coefficients with the increase of the angle of attack (AoA) of the airfoil NACA 0012,
through a two-dimensional model, and apply these data to evaluate the aeroelastic phenomenon of divergence of a
conceptual wing. The aerodynamic coefficients of lift and drag were evaluated for a Reynolds number 700000, by
the consideration of a turbulence model of the RANS class of the Reynolds averages called k-omegaSST. For the
computational solution, the implementation of pressure-velocity coupling was used, through the SIMPLE method.
The angle of attack started from 0 degrees to the limit region for the start of the stall. The results were consistent
with those established as a reference, which was obtained for data validation of the NACA 0012 airfoil. The
rate of variation of the lift coefficient, as a function of the angle of attack of the airfoil, allows the evolution of
the aerodynamic loading in the structure, an essential factor for the aeroelastic study of a project. The example
discussed in this work does not fail structurally, and presents a divergence velocity value above the limit for the
flight envelope.