Rilland Carl DG.

Agcaoili BS Mechanical Engineering

2019-03388 ME 197-THR

ASSIGNMENT 1
1. Show the effect of Re to airfoil performance NACA 0015 vs NACA 4415.
2. Why does when flow separation increase, drag increases and lift decreases?
3. Show the velocity triangle showing 𝑉𝑟𝑒𝑙 as seen by the airfoil.
Answers:
1. For all plots, 𝑁𝑐𝑟𝑖𝑡 = 9:

Legends:

Plot of Cl vs Alpha for airfoils NACA 0015 and NACA 4415 with Re = 50,000.
Rilland Carl DG. Agcaoili BS Mechanical Engineering
2019-03388 ME 197-THR

Plot of Cd vs Alpha for airfoils NACA 0015 and NACA 4415 with Re = 50,000.

Plot of Cl vs Cd for airfoils NACA 0015 and NACA 4415 with Re = 50,000.
Rilland Carl DG. Agcaoili BS Mechanical Engineering
2019-03388 ME 197-THR

Legends:

Plot of Cl vs Alpha for airfoils NACA 0015 and NACA 4415 with Re = 100,000.

Plot of Cd vs Alpha for airfoils NACA 0015 and NACA 4415 with Re = 100,000.
Rilland Carl DG. Agcaoili BS Mechanical Engineering
2019-03388 ME 197-THR

Plot of Cl vs Cd for airfoils NACA 0015 and NACA 4415 with Re = 100,000.
Rilland Carl DG. Agcaoili BS Mechanical Engineering
2019-03388 ME 197-THR

Legends:

Plot of Cl vs Alpha for airfoils NACA 0015 and NACA 4415 with Re = 200,000.

Plot of Cd vs Alpha for airfoils NACA 0015 and NACA 4415 with Re = 200,000.
Rilland Carl DG. Agcaoili BS Mechanical Engineering
2019-03388 ME 197-THR

Plot of Cl vs Cd for airfoils NACA 0015 and NACA 4415 with Re = 200,000.
Rilland Carl DG. Agcaoili BS Mechanical Engineering
2019-03388 ME 197-THR

Legends:

Plot of Cl vs Alpha for airfoils NACA 0015 and NACA 4415 with Re = 500,000.

Plot of Cd vs Alpha for airfoils NACA 0015 and NACA 4415 with Re = 500,000.
Rilland Carl DG. Agcaoili BS Mechanical Engineering
2019-03388 ME 197-THR

Plot of Cl vs Cd for airfoils NACA 0015 and NACA 4415 with Re = 500,000.
Rilland Carl DG. Agcaoili BS Mechanical Engineering
2019-03388 ME 197-THR

Legends:

Plot of Cl vs Alpha for airfoils NACA 0015 and NACA 4415 with Re = 1,000,000.

Plot of Cd vs Alpha for airfoils NACA 0015 and NACA 4415 with Re = 1,000,000.
Rilland Carl DG. Agcaoili BS Mechanical Engineering
2019-03388 ME 197-THR

Plot of Cl vs Cd for airfoils NACA 0015 and NACA 4415 with Re = 1,000,000.
Rilland Carl DG. Agcaoili BS Mechanical Engineering
2019-03388 ME 197-THR

Legends:

Plot of Cl vs Alpha for airfoil NACA 0015 with Re = [50,000, 100,000, 200,000, 500,000,
1,000,000].
Rilland Carl DG. Agcaoili BS Mechanical Engineering
2019-03388 ME 197-THR

Plot of Cd vs Alpha for airfoil NACA 0015 with Re = [50,000, 100,000, 200,000, 500,000,
1,000,000].

Plot of Cl vs Cd for airfoil NACA 0015 with Re = [50,000, 100,000, 200,000, 500,000,
1,000,000].
Rilland Carl DG. Agcaoili BS Mechanical Engineering
2019-03388 ME 197-THR

Legends:

Plot of Cl vs Alpha for airfoil NACA 4415 with Re = [50,000, 100,000, 200,000, 500,000,
1,000,000].
Rilland Carl DG. Agcaoili BS Mechanical Engineering
2019-03388 ME 197-THR

Plot of Cd vs Alpha for airfoil NACA 4415 with Re = [50,000, 100,000, 200,000, 500,000,
1,000,000].

Plot of Cl vs Cd for airfoil NACA 4415 with Re = [50,000, 100,000, 200,000, 500,000,
1,000,000].
Rilland Carl DG. Agcaoili BS Mechanical Engineering
2019-03388 ME 197-THR

Conclusions:
- For Re = 50,000, NACA 0015 has a higher lift coefficient but lower drag coefficient
than NACA 4415 in almost all angles of attack. Also, NACA 0015 has a higher Cl vs
Cd ratio than NACA 4415.
- For Re = 100,000, 200,000, 500,000 and 1,000,000, NACA 4415 has a higher lift
coefficient than NACA 4415 in all angles of attack. Also, NACA 4415 has a higher
Cl vs Cd ratio than NACA 0015.
- By increasing the Reynolds number, the lift coefficient also increases in both NACA
0015 and NACA 4415 (Note: there is a huge leap between the lift coefficient of
NACA 4415 from Re = 50,000 to Re = 100,000). By decreasing the Reynolds
number, the lift coefficient also decreases in both NACA 0015 and NACA 4415
(Note: there is a huge fall between the lift coefficient of NACA 4415 from Re =
100,000 to Re = 50,000).
- By increasing the Reynolds number, the drag coefficient decreases in both NACA
0015 and NACA 4415 (Note: there is a huge fall between the drag coefficient of
NACA 4415 from Re = 50,000 to Re = 100,000). By decreasing the Reynolds
number, the drag coefficient increases in both NACA 0015 and NACA 4415 (Note:
there is a huge leap between the drag coefficient of NACA 4415 from Re = 100,000
to Re = 50,000).
- By increasing the Reynolds number, the Cl vs Cd ratio increases in both NACA
0015 and NACA 4415 (Note: there is a huge leap between the Cl vs Cd ratio of
NACA 4415 from Re = 50,000 to Re = 100,000). By decreasing the Reynolds
number, the Cl vs Cd ratio decreases in both NACA 0015 and NACA 4415 (Note:
there is a huge fall between the Cl vs Cd ratio of NACA 4415 from Re = 100,000 to
Re = 50,000).

2. Drag increases and lift decreases when flow separation increases because:
- The most basic explanation is by observing the shape of a stalled flow airfoil in a
wind tunnel. The shape of the airfoil creates the lift but as the flow separation
increases, the purpose of the shape of the airfoil negates hence decreasing the lift.
Also, as the flow separation increases, the flow is around a larger area hence
increasing the drag.
- For a more in-depth explanation, focus on the difference in pressure before
separation and after separation. By increasing the angle of attack to increase the
flow separation, the 𝑃𝑚𝑖𝑛 and separation point move towards the leading edge.
Assuming that the separation point is now located at the 20% of the chord, the
pressure near the leading edge is very low compared to the ambient while the
pressure near the trailing edge is only a little bit lower than the ambient. This
means that the pressure is higher on the first 20% of the chord but lower on the
remaining 80%. This will decrease the suction on the first 20% portion of the
chord decreasing the lift, and because most of the lift is produced in this portion,
it can be concluded that the lift indeed decreases as the flow separation increases.
Rilland Carl DG. Agcaoili BS Mechanical Engineering
2019-03388 ME 197-THR

- Since the remaining 80% have a lower pressure, it will increase the net pressure
differential between the front and rear surfaces of the airfoil, hence, increasing
the drag.

3. Velocity triangle showing 𝑉𝑟𝑒𝑙 as seen by the airfoil.

𝑉∞ = wind velocity
𝑉𝑏𝑙𝑎𝑑𝑒 = velocity of the blade
𝑉𝑟𝑒𝑙 = relative velocity as seen by the airfoil

𝑽𝒓𝒆𝒍 𝑽∞
Airfoil

Plane of blade
rotation
𝑽𝒃𝒍𝒂𝒅𝒆

𝑽∞