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Computational Fluid Dynamic Analysis on Structural and Flow Parameters of

Aircraft Winglets in Boeing 737-800 Aircraf

Research · June 2019

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G. Rathinasabapathi RAMAKRISHNAN R
Panimalar Engineering College Tamil Nadu Physical Education and Sports University
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Sathyabama Institute of Science and Technology
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JASC: Journal of Applied Science and Computations ISSN NO: 1076-5131

Computational Fluid Dynamic Analysis on

Structural and Flow Parameters of Aircraft
Winglets in Boeing 737-800 Aircraf
Rathinasabapathi.G#1, Mani.K#2, Ramakrishnan.R#3, A. Krishnamoorthy#4, L.Karthikeyan#5
1,2,5
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Panimalar Engineering College, India
3
Tamilnadu Physical Education and Sports University, India
4
Sathyabama Institute of Science and Technology, India
1rajansaba@gmail.com
2manipanimalar@gmail.com
3
ramkinr@yahoo.com
4
akrish61@gmail.com
5lkarthikeyan1974@gmail.com

Abstract—Aerodynamic drag force breakdown of a standard air craft indicates that elevate prompted drag
can amount to as much as 40% of total drag at cruise conditions and 80-90% at take-off configuration. One way
of reducing lift induced drag is by using wingtip devices which is also known as Winglets. By applying several
types of winglets already in use we study their influence on aircraft performance. For our consideration we chose
Boeing 737-800 model Aircraft. Initially, Structural analysis of wings and Winglets is made. Moreover, the usage
of higher multi goal layout optimization software program such as Computational Fluid Dynamics with an surest
one parameter winglet configuration is decided which can minimize pull and maximize raise. From the results
obtained, various winglet of Boeing 737-800 have been compared and concluded the winglet that will support
optimal flight.

Keywords— Winglet, Computational fluid dynamics, Drag reduction, Lift induced drag

I. INTRODUCTION
The major feature of aerodynamics is design of airfoil. At zero angle of attack Asymmetric airfoils generate
lift, while a symmetric airfoil suit frequently as in an aerobatic airplane for inverted flight. In the region near a
wingtip to increase the range of angles of attack and to avoid spin–stall a symmetric airfoil can be used.
Schemes have been devised to define airfoils – an example is the NACA system. Various airfoil generation
systems are also used. An example of a general purpose airfoil that finds wide application, and predates the
NACA system, is the Clark-Y. Today, airfoils can be designed for specific functions using inverse design
programs such as PROFOIL, XFOIL and Aerofoil.
The term WINGLET was previously used to describe an additional lifting surface on an aircraft, like a short
section between wheels on fixed undercarriage. Winglet on KC-135 Strato tanker with attached tufts showing
airflow during NASA tests in 1979–1980 Gulfstream V model winglet flutter tests at NASA Langley transonic
wind tunnel. Richard Whitcomb's research in the 1970s at NASA first used winglet with its modern meaning
referring to near-vertical extension of the wing tips. The upward angle (or cant) of the winglet (Fig no.9), its
inward or outward angle (or toe), as well as its size and shape are critical for correct performance and are unique
in each application.

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Fig. 1. Winglet Geometry

The wingtip vortex, which rotates around from below the wing, strikes the cambered surface of the winglet,
generating a force that angles inward and slightly forward, analogous to a sailboat sailing close hauled. The
winglet converts some of the otherwise-wasted energy in the wingtip vortex to an apparent thrust. This small
contribution can be worthwhile over the aircraft's lifetime, provided the benefit offsets the cost of installing and
maintaining the winglets.

II. LITERATURE REVIEW

The initial concept dates again to 1897, when English engineer Frederick W. Lanchester patented wing quit-
plates as a technique for controlling wingtip vortices. Within the u.s.a., Scottish-born engineer William E.
Somerville patented the primary purposeful winglets in 1910. Somerville mounted the devices on his early
biplane and monoplane designs. Vincent Burnelli acquired US Patent no: 1,774,474 for his "Airfoil manage
approach" on August 26, 1930.
The earliest-regarded implementation of a Hoerner-style downward-angled "wingtip device" on a jet plane
become the so-referred to as Lippisch-Ohren (Fig no .10) (Lippisch ears), allegedly attributed to the
Messerschmitt Me 163's clothier Alexander Lippisch, and primary added to the M3 and M4 third and fourth
prototypes of the Heinkel He 162A Spatz jet light fighter for evaluation.
This changed into performed so as to counteract the dutch roll feature the marked three stages of dihedral
angle for each wing panel that the original He 162 design's wings possessed. As manufacturing of the 3rd Reich's
chosen turbojet-powered emergency fighter turned into of prime importance at the start of 1945, disruption of the
manufacturing line to make other forms of adjustments to accurate this type of trouble were not probable to were
to be had, and the brought wingtip. Gadgets became a fashionable characteristic of the about 320 completed He
162A jet fighters built, with masses greater He 162A airframes going unfinished by using V-E Day.
Following the end of World War II, Dr. Sighard F. Hoerner was a pioneer researcher in the field, having
written a technical paper published in 1952 that called for drooped wingtips whose pointed rear tips focused the
resulting wingtip vortex away from the upper wing surface. Drooped wingtips are often called "Hoerner tips" in
his honor. Gliders and light aircraft have made use of Hoerner tips for many years.
The Boeing Company is an American multi-national corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells
airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, and satellites worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product support
services. Boeing is among the largest global aircraft manufacturers; it is the second-largest defense contractor in
the world based on 2015 revenue, and is the largest exporter in the United States by dollar value. Boeing stock is
a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
The NACA airfoils are airfoil shapes for plane wings evolved by means of the national Advisory Committee
for Aeronautics (NACA). The form of the NACA airfoils is defined (Fig no.19) the use of a series of digits
following the phrase "NACA". The parameters inside the numerical code may be entered into equations to
exactly generate the pass-segment of the airfoil and calculate its homes.

Fig. 2. Geometry of Airfoil by NACA

The NACA four-digit wing sections outline the profile via the follow instance, the NACA 2412 airfoil has a
most camber of 2% placed forty% (0.4 chords) from the main facet with a most thickness of 12% of the chord.

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The NACA 0015 airfoil is symmetrical, the 00 indicating that it has no camber. The 15 indicates that the airfoil
has a 15% thickness to chord period ratio: it's 15% as thick as it's lengthy.

III. DESIGN OF WINGLET

Design of winglet is done by CATIA software. CATIA is one of the globle’s leading CAD/CAM/CAE
package. Being a solid modeling tool, it not only unites 3D parametric features with 2D tools, but also addresses
every design thru manufacturing manner. The part workbench is a parametric and feature-based surroundings, in
which we are able to create solid models. In the part design workbench, we are provided with tool the particular
convert sketches into other features are called the sketch-based features. The assembly design workbench is used
to assemble the part by using assembly constraints. There are two type of assembly design,

 Bottom –up

 Top- down
In bottom –up assembly, the parts are created in part workbench and assembled in assembly workbench.
In the top-down workbench assembly, the parts are created in assembly workbench itself.
The wire frame and surface design workbench is also parametric and feature based environment. The tools
available on are just like those within the element workbench, with the handiest difference that the device in this
environment are used to create basic and advance surfaces.
The drafting workbench is used for the documentation of the parts or the assemblies created inside the shape
of drafting.
There are two types of drafting techniques:
 Generative drafting

 Interactive drafting
The generative drafting technique is used to automatically generate the drawing views of parts and assemblies.
In interactive drafting, we need to create the drawing by interactive with the sketcher to generate the views.
DMU kinematics workbench deals with the relative motion of the parts. DMU kinematics simulator is an
impartial CAD product devoted to simulating assembly motions. It addresses the design review environment of
digital mock-ups (DMU) and can deal with a huge variety of products from customer goods to very massive
automotive or aerospace initiatives as well as plants, ships and heavy machinery. The model of joints (bonded,
riveted and hybrid) were created by using CATIA software. The models are shown below.

Fig. 3. Plain Winglet

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Fig. 4. Multiple Winglets

Fig. 5. Blended winglets

Fig. 6. Elliptical Winglets

IV. EVALUATION BY ANSYS

ANSYS is a whole FEA simulation software package evolved by way of ANSYS Inc – u.s.a.. it's far used by
engineers global in virtually all fields of engineering.
 Structural

 Thermal
 Fluid (CFD, Acoustics, and other fluid analyses)
 Low-and High-Frequency Electromagnetic.

 Every analysis involves three main steps:

 Pre-processor

 solver
 post processor
A static analysis calculates the result of constant loading conditions on a structure, while ignoring inertia and
damping effects, together with the ones caused by time-varying loads. A static analysis can, but, include steady
inertia loads (consisting of gravity and rotational velocity), and time-varying loads that can be approximated as

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static equivalent loads (which include the static equal wind and seismic loads normally defined in many building
codes).
Static analysis is used to determine the displacements, stresses, strains, and forces in structures or components
because of loads that do not induce substantial inertia and damping consequences. Regular loading and response
conditions are assumed; that is, the loads and the structure's response are assumed to differ slowly with appreciate
to time. The kinds of loading that can be implemented in a static analysis consist of :
 Externally applied forces and pressures

 Steady-state inertial forces (such as gravity or rotational velocity)

 Imposed (nonzero) displacements

 Temperatures (for thermal strain)

 Fluences (for nuclear swelling)

V. IMPORTING GEOMETRY
The designed aircraft Plain, Multiple, Elliptical and Blended winglets along with wings is been imported to
ANSYS workbench is as shown in figures below respectively.

Fig. 7. Plain Wing in ANSYS Workbench

Fig. 8. Multiple Winglet In ANSYS Workbench

Fig. 9. Blended winglet in ANSYS Workbench

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Fig. 10. Elliptical Winglet in ANSYS Workbench

VI. FIXING END SUPPORTS & MESHING

Once the winglets has been imported their fixed end is determined and locked. Also it is meshed by
discretizing the profiles into number of elements. Total deformation is achieved from ANSYS with load of 1.5
MN. Following figures shows the deformation in the wings and winglets.

VII. VON MISES STRESS

Von Mises stress is a value used to decide if a given material will yield or fracture. It's far ordinarily used for
ductile materials, including metals. The von Mises yield criterion states that if the von Mises stress of a material
under load is equal or greater than the yield limit of the same material under simple tension which is
straightforward to determine experimentally, then the material will yield.

Fig. 11. shows the Von Mises stress on Plain winglet with stress value of 11.98 N/mm2

Fig. 12. shows the Von Mises stress on Multiple winglet with stress value of 5.966 N/mm2

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Fig. 13. shows the Von Mises stress on Elliptical winglet with stress value of 202.67 N/mm2

Fig. 14. shows the Von Mises stress on Blended winglet with stress value of 9.3726 N/mm2

Various stresses were manipulated and the variations in stresses in each wing are depicted as chart shown
below

VIII. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

A. Total Deformation
Deformation in continuum mechanics is the transformation of a body from a reference configuration to a
modern-day configuration. A configuration is a set containing the positions of all particles of the body. A
deformation can be due to external loads, body forces (which include gravity or electromagnetic forces), or
modifications in temperature, moisture content, or chemical reactions, and so on.

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Fig. 15. Total Deformation Chart

From the graph it is inferred that the elliptical winglet has the maximum value of deformation and the
multiple winglet has the minimum value of total deformation

B. Stress
In continuum mechanics, stress is a physical quantity that expresses the internal forces that neighboring
particles of a continuous material exert on each other, while strain is the measure of the deformation of the
material. As an instance, whilst a solid vertical bar is supporting a weight, each particle in the bar pushes on the
debris immediately below it. When a liquid is in a closed container under pressure, each particle gets pushed
against by all the surrounding particles. The container walls and the pressure-inducing surface (consisting of a
piston) push against them in (Newtonian) reaction. These macroscopic forces are truely the net result of a very
massive variety of intermolecular forces and collisions between the debris in the ones molecules. Stress is
frequently represented with the aid of lowercase Greek letter sigma (σ).

1) Von Mises Stress

The von Mises yield criterion (additionally referred as the maximum distortion energy criterion) suggests that
yielding of a ductile material begins when the second deviatoric stress invariant reaches a critical value. It’s part
of plasticity theory that applies best to ductile materials, which includes a few metals.
2) Normal stress
A normal stress is a stress that occurs when a member is loaded through an axial force. The value of the
normal force for any prismatic segment is truly the pressure divided by the cross sectional area. A normal stress
will arise when a member is positioned in tension or compression.
3) Shear stress
A shear stress often denoted τ is the aspect of stress coplanar with a material cross section. Shear stress arises
from the force vector component parallel to the cross section.

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From this chart we can see that the the value of Equivalent stress, Normal stress and Shear stress are maximun
for the elipitical winglet and minimun for the multiple winglet.
C. Strain
Strain is a measure of deformation representing the displacement between particles in the frame relative to a
reference length. A trendy deformation of a body may be expressed in the form x = F(X) where X is the reference
position of material.
1) Equivalent Elastic Strain
The whole result is a distortion that involves dilation of the crystal lattice (or unit cell) because of tensile and
compressive strains, shear strains and rotation. A whole description of inner elastic strain requires that each one
those crystallographic parameters be measured.
2) Normal Elastic Strain
One type of irreversible deformation is plastic deformation, which occurs in material our bodies after stresses
have attained a sure threshold value known as the elastic limit or yield stress, and are the end result of slip, or
dislocation mechanisms at the atomic level.
3) Shear Elastic Strain
This is regularly stated really because the elastic modulus. The shear modulus or modulus of rigidity ( G or )
describes an object's tendency to shear (the deformation of shape at constant volume) when acted upon by
opposing forces; It's miles described as shear stress over shear strain.

Fig. 16. Strain chart

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IX. COMPUTATIONAL FLUID DYNAMICS

A. Turbulance Kinetic Energy

In fluid dynamics, turbulence kinetic energy (TKE) is the mean kinetic energy per unit mass associated with
eddies in turbulent flow. Physically, the turbulence kinetic energy is characterised by measured root-mean-square
(RMS) velocity fluctuations. TKE can be produced by fluid shear, friction or buoyancy, or through external
forcing at low-frequency eddy scales(integral scale). Turbulence kinetic energy is then transferred down the
turbulence energy cascade, and is dissipated by viscous forces at the Kolmogorov scale.

Fig. 17. Turbulance kinetic Energy Chart

From the above graph we see that the blended winglet has more Turbulent kinetic energy and all the other
winds have similar values of Turbulent kinetic energy

B. Co efficient of Lift and Drag

1) Co-Efficient of Lift
The elevate coefficient (CL, CN or Cz) is a dimensionless coefficient that relates the elevate generated by a
lifting body to the fluid density around the body, the fluid velocity and an associated reference area. A lifting
frame is a foil or a entire foil-bearing body such as a fixed-wing aircraft. CL is a function of the angle of the body
to the flow, its Reynolds number and its Mach number. The lift coefficient cl refers to the dynamic elevate
characteristics of a two-dimensional foil section, with the reference area replaced by the foil chord.
2) Co-Efficient of Drag

In fluid dynamics, the drag coefficient (commonly denoted as: C d is a dimensionless quantity that is used to
quantify the drag or resistance of an object in a fluid environment, such as air or water. It is used in the drag
equation in which a lower drag coefficient indicates the object will have less aerodynamic or hydrodynamic drag.
The drag coefficient is always associated with a particular surface area. The drag coefficient of any object
comprises the effects of the two basic contributors to fluid dynamic drag: skin friction and form drag. The drag
coefficient of a lifting airfoil or hydrofoil also includes the effects of lift-induced drag. The drag coefficient of a
complete structure such as an aircraft also includes the effects of interference drag.

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Fig. 18. Co-Efficient of Drag And lift Chart

TABLE I. COMPARISON OF RESULTS

Turb
ulent
Kine
Total Stress Co Co
Type of Str tic
Deformation (N/m efficient of efficient of
winglet ain Ener
(mm) m2) Lift Drag
gy
(J/K
g)
No Moder Lo
Low Low Low Low
winglet ate w
Blended Lo
Moderate Low High High Moderate
winglet w
Elipitica Hig
High High Low High High
l winglet h
Multiple Lo
Very low Low Low High Moderate
winglet w

From the above graph the Coefficient of lift of blended elipitical and multiple winglets are similar and high
compared to that of Aircraft wings that doesn’t have any winglet but the Coefficient of drag of elipitical winglet
is greater than that of multiple and blended winglet.

X. CONCLUSION
From the above tabulated results and graphical datas we come to the conclusion that wing tip devices known
as winglets are more effective in producing more initial lift which is required for the aircraft to take off and
optimal cruzing condition for the Boeing 737-800 aircraft . In the selected winglets , The multiple winglets are
more structurally stable when compraed to elipitical or blended winglet due to low values of total
deformation ,stress and strain.
On the Flow parameters side the elipitical winglet and multiple winglet have similar amount of Turbulence
kinetic energy and have same co-efficient of lift ,but when comparing the co-efficient of drag we find that the co-
efficient of drag of elipitical winglet is high which causes high drag effect during the take-off of the Boeing 737-
800 aircraft, whereas the co-efficient of drag for multiple winglets are comparatively less for the given high co-
efficient of lift.
By comparing the overall performance in both structural and flow parameters the study concludes that the
multiple winglets are the most effective wingtip devices to provide high initial take-off lift and reduction of fuel
consumption for Boeing 737-800 aircraft ,Another suitable winglet that can be used is the blended winglet having
moderate lift capacity and relatively less drag.

REFERENCES

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[1] Pandey, Kumar, Surana, Deka, “CFD Analyss of Airbus A380 Isolated Wings During Take-Off, Cruising and Landing and
Comparison with Low Reynolds Number, High Lift S1223 Airfoil,” International Review of Aerospace Engineering (I.RE.AS.E), Vol.
5, No.3, 2012.
[2] Maughmer, M. D., Tmothy, S. S., and Willits, M. (2001), The Design and Testing of a Winglet Airfoil for Low- Speed Aircraft,AIAA
Paper 2001-2478, June 2001,Page1-2.
[3] Azlin, Taib, Kasolang, Muhammad, “CFD Analysis of Winglets at Low Subsonic Flow,” Proceedings of the World Congress on
Engineering (WCE), Vol I, London, U.K. July 6- 8, 2011.
[4] Dimitri, “Numerical Inverstigation of Blended Winglet Effects on Wing Performances,” Fluid and Combustion Engineering, FACE10,
Spring 2008.
[5] Roche, La. U., and Palffy, S. (1996), ‘WING-GRIDa Novel Device for Reduction of Induced Drag on Wings’, Proceedings of ICAS
96, Sorrento, and September 8-13, 1996, 40-45.
[6] Rajendran, “Design of Parametric Winglets and Wing tip devices – A Conceptual Design Approach,” Linköping University Electronic
Press, Linköping, Sweden, 2013
[7] Belkhiri, Boulahia, Belghar, “Numerical Simulation of Aerodynamics Performance for Winglet in the Low Speed compressible flow,”
Revue des Energies Renouvelables CISM ’08 Oum El Bouaghi, 2008.
[8] Azlin, Taib, Kasolang, Muhammad, “CFD Analysis of Winglets at Low Subsonic Flow,” Proceedings of the World Congress on
Engineering (WCE), Vol I, London, U.K. July 6- 8, 2011.
[9] Dimitri, “Numerical Inverstigation of Blended Winglet Effects on Wing Performances,” Fluid and Combustion Engineering, FACE10,
Spring 2008.

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