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Energy Reports 8 (2022) 156–174

www.elsevier.com/locate/egyr

2021 International Conference on New Energy and Power Engineering (ICNEPE 2021),
November 19 to 21, 2021, Sanya, China

Shedding vortex characteristics analysis of NACA 0012 airfoil at low

Reynolds numbers
Jianlong Chang ∗, Qingui Zhang, Liujing He, Yi Zhou
College of Mechatronic Engineering, North University of China, Taiyuan 030051, China
Institute of Military-civilian Integration and Innovation, North University of China, Taiyuan 030051, China

Received 27 December 2021; accepted 18 January 2022

Available online 28 January 2022

Abstract
In this paper, the vortex shedding characteristics been numerically simulated for Re = 1 × 104 by computational fluid
dynamics (CFD), which caused by flow separation of NACA0012 airfoil. What is more, the variation of vortex shedding
structure and the corresponding frequency characteristics of vortex shedding at different angles of attack are studied. The
results reveal that with the increase of the angle of attack, the flow state around the airfoil will change from steady state to
unsteady state, the vortex structure of the suction surface will become more and more complex with the increase of the angle of
attack. In the periodic wake vortex shedding flow field, according analysis of the vortex structure and vortex shedding frequency,
the vortex shedding will show 2S (Single) mode (8◦ ∼15◦ ) - chaotic state (16◦ ∼18◦ ) - 2S (Single) model (19◦ )- quasi periodic
flow (20◦ ∼24◦ ) with the increase of angle of attack for α>7◦ . The rising section and falling section of airfoil lift and drag
coefficient curves correspond to the vortex shedding and formation respectively. The frequency spectrum corresponding to the
lift coefficient can be used to analyze the characteristics of vortex shedding from the perspective of frequency domain. With
the increase of the angle of attack, the stability of flow field decreases, and the Strouhal number of vortex shedding frequency
decreases basically. The order of the Strouhal number in different flow field states is 2S mode > quasi periodic flow > chaotic
state. Among them, most of the Strouhal number corresponding to 2S mode fluctuate around 0.2, and the Strouhal number
corresponding to chaotic state and quasi periodic flow fluctuate around 0.02 and 0.07 respectively
© 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the International Conference on New Energy and Power Engineering, ICNEPE, 2021.

Keywords: Vortex shedding; Unsteady flow; NACA0012; Flow separation

∗ Corresponding author at: College of Mechatronic Engineering, North University of China, Taiyuan 030051, China
E-mail address: changjianlong1989@126.com (J. Chang).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.egyr.2022.01.149
2352-4847/© 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http:
//creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the International Conference on New Energy and Power Engineering, ICNEPE,
2021.
J. Chang, Q. Zhang, L. He et al. Energy Reports 8 (2022) 156–174

Nomenclature
ρ Density
t Time
u Flow field velocity vector
ux Flow field velocity vector along the x-direction component
uy Flow field velocity vector along the y-direction component
uz Flow field velocity vector along the z-direction component
f Mass force
∇P Pressure gradient
v Kinematic viscosity of fluid
GK The generation of turbulent kinetic energy due to the average velocity gradient
Gb The generation of turbulent kinetic energy caused by buoyancy
YM The effect of pulsatile expansion of compressible turbulence on the total dissipation rate
GK The generation of turbulent kinetic energy due to the average velocity gradient
ut The turbulent viscosity coefficient
AoA Angle of attack

1. Introduction
Wind energy is one of the most promising renewable green energy. Wind power generation has more competitive
advantages than traditional power generation. Among them, wind turbine blade is the core component of wind
turbine [1], airfoil is in the low Reynolds number flow field (the Reynolds number range is thousands to tens of
thousands), and the flow field instability is significantly higher than that of medium and high Reynolds numbers [2].
The separated flow and vortex motion of an airfoil at low Reynolds number are a kind of complex flow phenomenon.
It is necessary to carry out an in-depth study on the flow field form of the airfoil separation flow and the
evolution law of vortex separation and vortex shedding of airfoil at low Reynolds number, which can deepen the
cognition of internal action mechanism of vortex structure generated by the flow separation of the airfoil and enrich
our understanding of vortex dynamics. It is of great significance to further study and control the aerodynamics
performance of airfoil at low Reynolds number.
Elimelech, Y [2] showed that with the change of angle of attack and Reynolds number, the wake flow field of
NACA 0009 presented three different forms: stable laminar flow, ordered vortex street and unstable vortex street.
As a result, the wake flow field in Eppler 61 wake gradually transits from ordered vortex street to unstable vortex
street. Flow field of NACA 0012 airfoil had been studied by RongF. Huang [3] using visualization technology.
They concluded that vortex shedding in the trailing edge wake region of the airfoil presented four characteristic
modes. The structural characteristics of the vortex shedding were related to the flow state of the boundary layer
on the airfoil suction surface. J.C. Muti Lin [4] Analysis vortex structure around Eppler 387 airfoil and found
the large-size vortex structure had a great effect on the reattachment of separation bubbles than small-size vortex
structure. He-Yong Xu [1] computationally investigated the drag and lift force characteristics and the pressure
distribution characteristics of upper and lower airfoils under two-dimensional and three-dimensional flow fields.
YANG Xiaopei [5] probed wake vortex shedding mechanism of NACA 4412 airfoil at low Reynolds number. The
research obtained the result vortex shedding would appear four kinds of state with the increase of angle of attack
when airfoil among periodic flow state. The reason of nonlinear lift generated by triangular profile airfoil had been
investigated by Munday, P.M. [6] with the method of experiment and numerical simulation, the results showed that
the change of flow separation position of triangular profile airfoil was the reason why the relationship between lift
coefficient and angle of attack changes from linear to nonlinear. The above research shows that the variation law of
the vortex shedding structure of the airfoil trailing edge flow field at low Reynolds number is closely related to the
angle of attack and airfoil shape. The change of vortex shedding structure will lead to the corresponding changes
of lift, drag and surface pressure distribution of airfoil. Therefore, it is of great significance to study the variation
law of shedding vortex for understanding and predicting the aerodynamic parameters of airfoil.
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Vortex shedding frequency is an important parameter to explore the periodic law in unsteady flow field [4].
Yarusevych, S. [7] found under the two flow patterns of boundary layer separation and reattachment at low Reynolds
number, the frequency of trailing edge vortex shedding had a linear relationship with Reynolds number, and the
fitting slope depended on the flow pattern. When the boundary layer was not reattached, the Strouhal number
corresponding to the vortex shedding frequency was stable around 0.2. As the boundary layer reattaches, the vortex
shedding frequency increased gradually with the increase of Reynolds number.vortex shedding characteristic of
two-dimensional wind blade S809 had been introduced by Alberto Pellegrino [8] in unsteady flow field, the results
turned out vortex shedding caused the bear fluctuating load for the airfoil. Different airfoil angles of attack and the
position of trailing edge upstream or downstream caused the change of fluctuating load, which led to different types
of harmonic curves of lift resistance. Michael B. Bragg [9] conducted that the airfoil would emerge a low-frequency
oscillating wake near the stall angle of attack within a certain Reynolds number range. As the decrease of Reynolds
number, the frequency of oscillating wake decreased gradually, and the Strouhal number corresponding to the above
oscillating wake frequency was close to 0.02. Weingaertner, A. [10] found that with the increase of vortex shedding
frequency, the amplitude of lift coefficient curve decreased gradually, which was related to the gradual decrease
of vortex shedding intensity. The increase of vortex shedding frequency at low frequency in the flow separation
bubble related to the combination of large-scale vortices had been concluded by Lambert, A [11], while high-order
harmonic generation were associated with multiple small-scale vortex structures. Craig Meskell [12] investigated
resonance phenomenon caused by vortex shedding of periodically oscillating at high angle of attack, which was
called Lock-in. The results demonstrated there were different frequencies for vortex shedding in the process of
periodic pitching. The vortex shedding was more likely to lock up while the characteristic length direction of the
airfoil was closer to the incoming flow velocity direction. Shedding frequency characteristics of the wake vortices
had been studied by Fei-Bin Hsiao [13]. They were aware of the vortex shedding frequency would reduce as the
angle of attack decreasing, this meant that the different vortex shedding characteristics around the airfoil would
display different frequency characteristics with the change of angle of attack. The quantitative analysis of vortex
shedding frequency can deeply study the structural evolution law of shedding vortex and understand the effect of
vortices with different sizes on airfoil aerodynamic parameters.
The investigations above showed that with the Reynolds number decrease and angle of attack increase wake
vortex stability reduce at low Reynolds number. However, the corresponding relationship between the trailing edge
vortex-shedding frequency and the evolution of vortex shedding structure, and the influence of the flow field vortex
structure state on the Strouhal number corresponding to the vortex-shedding frequency need to be further explored.
In this paper, flow field at different angles of attack is numerically simulated, the evolution law of vortex structure
is explored, the relationship between the vortex shedding frequency around trailing edge and the variation trend of
airfoil’s lift and drag coefficient is analyzed in detail. The variation law of Strouhal number corresponding to the
wake vortex shedding frequency will be discussed in different flow states to expect to have a further understanding
of the generation, evolution and shedding law of the vortex structure around the airfoil and its influence on the
aerodynamic performance of the airfoil.

2. Physical model and numerical methods

2.1. Calculation domain, grid and boundary conditions

The calculation domain and boundary conditions of NACA0012 airfoil flow field are shown in Fig. 1. The
calculation grid is shown in Fig. 2. The chord length of the airfoil is c, the left boundary of the calculation domain
is 15c from the leading edge of the airfoil. The right boundary is 15c from the trailing edge of the airfoil, the
upper and lower boundaries are 15c away from the airfoil chord, respectively. The c-type grid is adopted for airfoil
calculation, the number of grids is 2 × 104 , and the corresponding Reynolds number is set as 1 × 104 . The velocity
inlet boundary condition and the pressure outlet boundary condition are adopted respectively as displayed in the
figure. The non-slip wall boundary condition is used for the wing surface and the flow field wall.

2.2. Numerical methods

In the process of numerical simulation in this paper, the governing equations to be followed by fluid flow include
mass conservation equation (continuity equation) and momentum conservation equation (N–S equation).
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Fig. 1. Calculation domain and import and boundary condition of NACA 0012 airfoil.

Fig. 2. Grid structure diagram.

The continuity equation can be expanded into

∂ρ ∂ (ρu x ) ∂ ρu y ∂ (ρu z )
( )
+ + + =0 (1)
∂t ∂x ∂y ∂z
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The N–S equations of incompressible fluid are

{ ∂u
∂t
+ (u · ∇)u = f − 1f ∇ P + v∇ 2 u
(2)
∇ ·u =0
Two-equation model of standard k-omega are selected as the turbulence model, the model uses the wall function
to analyze the fluid velocity in the viscous sublayer near the wall with good convergence. It is of good accuracy for
bounded wall and low Reynolds number turbulence, prediction of inverse pressure gradient, boundary layer flow
separation, large-scale turbulence simulation and so on [14]. Among them, the turbulence coefficient is calculated
by turbulent flow energy k and dissipation rate ε function. The function expression is
[( ) ]
∂ µt ∂k
⎧
⎨ ρ dk
dt
= ∂ xi
µ + σk ∂ xi
+ G k + G b − ρε − Y M
[( ) ] (3)
⎩ ρ dε = ∂ µ + µσεt ∂∂εxi + G 1ε kε (G k + C3ε G b ) − G 2ε ρ εK
2
dt ∂ xi

2.3. Model accuracy verification

In order to verify the accuracy of the physical model, it is compared with the numerical simulation data of Xiang
Shen [15]. As shown in Fig. 3, the lift coefficient calculated by standard k-omega model fits well with the results
in Ref. [15] at Re = 1.35 × 105 . Although the lift coefficient curve fluctuates compared with the references, the
maximum error remains within 5%, and the lift coefficient curve still accurately reflects the variation law of airfoil
lift coefficient.

Fig. 3. Model accuracy verification.

3. Results and discussion

3.1. Analysis of flow separation at different angles of attack

Figs. 4 to 8 are the vorticity and streamline diagrams of wake vortex periodic shedding process in the flow field
around NACA0012 airfoil under Re = 1 × 104 . Among the figures, (a) and (b) are marked as vorticity diagram
and streamline diagram respectively. The evaluation criterion of vorticity diagram adopts Q criterion, where Q>0
indicates that the vortex is the main structure of the flow field area, and Q<0 means that the flow area is in a
non-rotating state [16].
In the range of 0◦ ∼7◦ , the case of α = 5◦ is taken as an example to illustrate the variation law of vortex shedding
structure. As shown in Fig. 4, at α = 5◦ , there is no obvious vortex shedding structure near the trailing edge of the
airfoil. This flow state is defined as steady flow.
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Fig. 4. Vorticity and streamline diagrams at α = 5◦ .

(In the vorticity diagram, the red area indicates vorticity is dominant, and the dark blue area indicates viscous stress is dominant, the same
below). (For interpretation of the references to color in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article.)

α = 10◦ is taken as an example in the range of 8◦ ∼15◦ , the variation law of vortex shedding structure is
illustrated. As shown in Fig. 5, the vortex shedding structure presents the form of periodic vortex street at α = 10◦ .
At t = 1/4T (Fig. 5(a)–(b)), anticlockwise rotation entrainment vortex (marked as Vortex A1) caused by flow around
trailing edge begin to fall off. As time goes on, Vortex A1 is carried downstream by continuous momentum flow,
because the vortex itself has energy, its energy is continuously consumed by the viscosity of the surrounding flow
field in the process of moving downstream, and the vortex size decreases gradually. Between t = 2/4T (Fig. 5(c)–(d))
and t = 3/4T (Fig. 5(e)–(f)), Vortex A1 disappears. Between t = 1/4T (Fig. 5(a)–(b)) and t = 2/4T (Fig. 5(c)–(d)),
clockwise rotating separation vortex (marked as Vortex A2) is generated due to double effect of viscosity and inverse
pressure gradient in boundary layer of suction surface. Under the impact of the incoming flow, the center of the
vortex gradually moves to the trailing edge. At t = 4/4T (Fig. 5(g)–(h)), Vortex A2 moves to the downstream, then
disappears rapidly. The flow field at the trailing edge of the pressure surface under the action of entrainment, a new
entrainment vortex (marked as Vortex A3) will be formed after Vortex A1 disappear. Vortex A3 will accumulate
energy then, Vortex A3 will turn to Vortex A1 in the next wake vortex shedding cycle. Between t = 1/4T (Fig. 5(a)–
(b)) and t = 4/4T (Fig. 5(g)–(h)), a complete vortex shedding cycle is formed at α = 10◦ . In the whole period of
vortex shedding, the clockwise separation vortex is generated on the suction surface of the airfoil is dissipated in the
initial stage of shedding due to viscous effect, and does not move further downstream of the flow field. In Fig. 5(c),
the R1 region shows alternating shedding in the form of a single vortex, this vortex shedding mode is defined as
2S mode.
α = 16◦ is taken as an example in the range of 16◦ ∼18◦ , the variation law of vortex shedding structure is
explained. The R2 region in Fig. 6(a) indicates flow state is similar to vortex street, but as times go on, there is no
periodicity phenomenon arised in the vortex structure of airfoil suction surface. This flow state is defined as chaotic
state.
As show in Fig. 7, the vortex shedding structure presents quasi regular form of alternating shedding of separation
vortex on suction surface and entrainment vortex on pressure surface at α = 19◦ . At t = 1/6T (Fig. 7(a)–(b)), the
counter clockwise entrainment vortex (marked as Vortex B1) from the pressure surface falls off, the counterclockwise
secondary vortex (marked as Vortex B2) is generated, because of the clockwise separation vortex (marked as Vortex
B3). This indicates that with the increase of the angle of attack, the energy of separation vortex will increase and then
induces the generation of secondary vortex. At t = 2/6T (Fig. 7(c)–(d)), as the vortex above suction surface moves
towards the trailing edge, a resident vortex (marked as Vortex B4) emerges on the airfoil suction surface. At this
time, a separated vortex system is formed on the suction surface [17], which is made up of resident vortex (Vortex
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Fig. 5. Vorticity and streamline diagrams at α = 10◦ .

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Fig. 6. Vorticity and streamline diagrams of airfoil flow field at α = 16◦ .

B4), secondary vortex (Vortex B3), separation vortex (Vortex B2). At t = 3/6T (Fig. 7(e)–(f)), the entrainment Vortex
B1 dissipates in the wake. At t = 4/6T (Fig. 7(g)–(h)), under the dual action of the flow around the trailing edge of
the pressure surface and the shedding vortex on the suction surface, a new entrainment vortex generate (marked as
Vortex B5). Since then. At t = 5/6T (Fig. 7(i)–(j)), Vortex B2 disappears rapidly. At t = 6/6T (Fig. 7(k)–(l)), there is
a new separation vortex on the suction surface, at this time, although the vortical structure still maintains the forms
of resident vortex, secondary vortex and shedding vortex, the position near the trailing edge of the suction surface
is affected by the suction surface vortical structure. At this position (R4 region shown in Fig. 7(k)), vortices with
different structures will be generated in different periods, but four structures are maintained as a whole. As shown
in Fig. 7(k)–(l), it is one of the four flow field structures. The other three flow structures are a separation vortex,
a shedding vortex and two secondary vortices, a shedding vortex and three secondary vortices on the pressure
surface, respectively. This means that with the increase of angle of attack, the stability of fluid flow around the
airfoil decreases and the viscous effect of flow field increases. This can be reflected not only in the larger size,
more number and energy increase of vortices, but also in the strengthened interaction between vortices, which
results in the complex evolution law of vortex structure and the difficulty in predicting the distribution of vortex
system structure. In Fig. 7, there is the form of a single vortex fell off alternately in R3 region, and the vortex
structure at the trailing edge of the airfoil still maintains the 2S mode, compared with vortex shedding structure at
α = 10 ◦ , there is a small vortex structure on the suction surface at α = 19◦ . Meanwhile, the separation of trailing
edge shedding vortices and the size of vortices become larger.
In the range of 20◦ ∼24◦ , with α = 22◦ as an example, the variation law of vortex shedding structure is analyzed.
As shown in Fig. 8, vortical structure on the suction surface at α = 22◦ is similar with the distribution at α = 19◦ ,
for example, the vortical structure composed of Vortex C2, C3 and C4 at t = 1/6T (Fig. 8(a)–(b)) or the vortical
structure composed of Vortex C6, C5 and C4 at t = 6/6T (Fig. 8(k)–(l)). Between t = 1/6T (Fig. 8(a)–(b)) and t =
2/6T (Fig. 8(c)–(d)), the separation of vortex (marked as Vortex C2) begins to fall off. At t = 3/6T (Fig. 8(e)–(f)),
the separated vortex formed from suction surface dissipate in the wake. In the meantime, secondary vortex (marked
as Vortex C3) and entrainment vortex (marked as Vortex C4) flow towards trailing edge, secondary vortex moves
close to the surface, which captured by entrainment vortex (marked as Vortex C1) at t = 3/6T (Fig. 8(e)–(f)) and
is absorbed into entrainment vortex (marked as Vortex C1). Furthermore, the original entrainment vortex C4 turns
into separated vortex C4 and induces a new secondary vortex (marked as Vortex C5). At t = 5/6T (Fig. 8(a)–(b)),
Vortex C4 and C5 move towards the trailing edge of the airfoil. Under the effect of incoming flow impact and
Vortex C4 and C5, a new resident vortex is generated in the suction surface (marked as Vortex C6). The flow state
at this angle of attack is defined as quasi periodic flow.
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Fig. 7. Vorticity and streamline diagrams at α = 19◦ .

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Fig. 7. (continued).

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Fig. 8. Vorticity and streamline diagrams at α = 22◦ .

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Fig. 8. (continued).

The anticlockwise entrainment Vortex C1 from the pressure surface shows the complete shedding vortex cycle of
vortex generation, evolution, shedding and dissipation disappearance. This is accompanied by the change of energy
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exchange, flow field pressure fluctuation, fluid flow velocity and direction, which proves that vortex in this situation
is the essence of incompressible flow.
Comparing with Refs. [5,6], the variation law of vortex structure in the flow field under the same airfoil and
different angles of attack were analyzed deeply in this paper, and the vortex shedding structure of airfoil under
unsteady flow into four states was summarized. In the following, the effects of different vortex shedding structures
on the frequency composition of shedding vortex are described in detail.

3.2. Analysis of flow state and shedding vortex frequency

Vortex ring shedding is the main unsteady flow phenomenon in incompressible low-speed flow. The formation
and shedding of vortices are of great significance to the generation of unsteady flow, and also affect the aerodynamic
characteristics of airfoil. However, it is difficult to analyze the flow field characteristics of shedding vortex on the
time-domain curve. From the point of view of mathematical analysis, any time series curve measured continuously
can be expressed as the infinite superposition of sine waves with different frequencies. Using FFT algorithm (fast
algorithm of discrete Fourier transform) in this paper, the aerodynamic coefficient can be converted from time
domain to frequency domain. In frequency domain, the frequency characteristics of vortex shedding are obvious,
which is more conducive to explain the fluctuation law of vortex.
As shown in Fig. 9(a)–(b), the fluctuation magnitude of lift coefficient and drag coefficient at this angle of attack
is 1e–5 and 1e–6 respectively, and the corresponding fluctuation amplitude magnitude of lift coefficient spectrum
is 1e–6. This flow state is a steady flow as shown in Fig. 4.
As shown in Fig. 9(c)–(f), at α = 10◦ and α = 14◦ , the lift drag coefficient curve of the airfoil is close to
sinusoidal oscillation with time. This flow state is defined as 2S mode. As shown in Fig. 9(c)–(d), there is only
one dominant frequency on the spectrum at α = 10◦ , and its corresponding frequency is f = 18.670 Hz. This
shows that the vortex structure in the downstream field at this angle of attack is mainly the trailing edge shedding
vortex, and there is no obvious small-size vortex structure on the suction surface. At this time, the amplitude of
dominant frequency f = 18.670 Hz is only 0.0065. On the spectrum of α = 14◦ , there is a dominant frequency
f = 11.000 Hz and a harmonic frequency with amplitude of about 1/7 of the dominant frequency, with frequency
of f = 22.000 Hz. Meanwhile, the amplitude of the dominant frequency will increase to about 0.13 comparing
that of α = 10◦ , which indicates that with the increase of the angle of attack, the energy accumulated by the
shedding vortex gradually increases, and a small-size vortex structure is induced on the suction surface, and the
corresponding frequency is f = 22.000 Hz. This flow state is the 2S mode shown in Fig. 5. In Fig. 9(c), the troughs
of the lift and drag coefficient curves represent that the energy of the entrainment vortex on the pressure surface
has accumulated to the maximum, which meant that vortex is about to fall off. Then the rise of the lift and drag
coefficient curve predicts that the vortex begins to fall off. When the lift and drag coefficient curve reaches the
wave peak, the separated vortex on the suction surface begins to fall off. Because there is no large-scale small-size
vortex structure on the suction surface at this angle of attack, the trailing edge shedding vortex presents a stable
vortex street shedding form. So, there is no obvious fluctuation in the lift and resistance curve at this time, which
still conforms to the quasi-sinusoidal oscillation.
As shown in Fig. 9(g), the curves of lift and drag coefficients at α = 16◦ are disordered, and the oscillation curve
is not periodic. There are several frequencies with the same amplitude in the lift coefficient spectrum (Fig. 7(h)),
the frequencies are f = 0.667 Hz, f = 9.607 Hz and f = 10.330 Hz, the above frequency amplitude fluctuates
around 0.04. This shows that the angle of attack shedding vortex is aperiodic in structure, and there are a variety
of vortices with different frequencies and similar intensities in strength. The vortices of similar intensity consume
too much flow field energy in the disturbance that makes little contribution to the lifting coefficient, resulting in the
failure of the lifting coefficient to rise further. This flow state is the chaotic state shown in Fig. 6.
As shown in Fig. 9(i), the lift and drag coefficients fluctuate periodically again at α = 19◦ . Although the number
of high-order harmonic generation is increased, it still conforms that the fundamental frequency amplitude is the
highest in 2S mode. The subharmonic frequency is close to the integral multiple of the fundamental frequency, and
the amplitude decreases gradually with the increase of harmonic frequency. Among them, the dominant frequency
f = 6.667 Hz represents the large-scale vortex shedding structure at the trailing edge. The first harmonic frequency
is f = 13.000 Hz, the amplitude is about 1/3 of the main frequency amplitude. The second harmonic frequency
is f = 19.670 Hz, the amplitude is about 1/3 of the main frequency amplitude. These two harmonic frequencies
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Fig. 9. Time domain diagram and frequency domain diagram of airfoil lift and drag coefficient at different angles of attack with Re =
1 × 104 .
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Fig. 9. (continued).

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are caused by the small-scale vortex structure on the suction surface. The corresponding flow state is 2S mode
shown in Fig. 7. In Fig. 9(i), the troughs of the lift and drag coefficient curves represent that the entrainment vortex
on the pressure surface accumulates to the maximum energy state. The rise of lift and drag coefficient curves are
caused by vortex shedding on the pressure surface. When the entrainment vortex on the pressure surface dissipates
in the wake, the coefficient curve reaches the peak, the obvious platform at the wave crest is induced by the falling
vortex on the suction surface. When the falling vortex on the suction surface dissipates in the wake, the lift and
drag coefficient curves begin to enter the trough and wait for the next pressure surface to accumulate energy.
As shown in Fig. 9(k), the lift and drag coefficients show sinusoidal oscillation with obvious amplitude and
periodic deformation at α = 22◦ . Fundamental frequency is f = 3.000 Hz, the first harmonic frequency is
f = 6.000 Hz, the fundamental frequency amplitude is 1/2 of the first harmonic amplitude. The energy consumed
by the small-size vortex structure on the suction surface at this angle of attack is greater than that of the trailing
edge shedding vortex. As a result, the flow state of the flow field deteriorates, the lift coefficient decreases and the
drag coefficient increases. This flow state is the quasi-periodic flow shown in Fig. 8. There are four peaks with
different amplitudes in a complete curve cycle in the lift and drag coefficient curves at this angle of attack. This
means that four vortex shedding cycles with different shedding intensity will be repeated within the time of these
four peaks. The difference in the amplitude of each periodic curve is caused by the entrainment vortex and falling
vortex on the pressure surface. The drag coefficient curves can better represent the shedding process of vortices
with different intensities than the lift coefficient curves. Each wave crest means that the entrainment vortex on
the pressure surface has fallen off, and each wave trough means that the energy of the entrainment vortex on the
pressure surface has accumulated to the maximum state. The disturbance of small-scale vortices on the suction
surface affects the intensity of trailing edge shedding vortices.
Based on the paper limitation, the vortex structure state of the flow field within the range of 0◦ ∼24◦ angle of
attack is summarized according to the simulation results, as shown in Table 1.

Table 1. Vortex structure state in downstream field with various angles of attack at
Re = 1 × 104 .
AoA 0◦ ∼7◦ 8◦ ∼15◦ 16◦ ∼18◦ 19◦ 20◦ ∼24◦
Flow state Steady flow 2S mode Chaotic state 2S mode Quasi periodic flow

The flow state is steady flow for α≤7◦ , at this angle of attack, the incoming flow passes through the airfoil
surface, a counter clockwise starting vortex around the trailing edge of the wing and a clockwise attachment vortex
around the contour of the airfoil will be generated. The starting vortex will dissipate rapidly after falling off. After
that, the flow remains steady without obvious vortex shedding structure.
When the angle of attack exceeds a certain threshold, for α>7◦ , the flow separation on the suction surface of the
airfoil is deepened, the instability of the flow field is intensified, the viscous effect at the trailing edge of the airfoil
is enhanced, the flow obstruction is increased, the flow field changes from steady state to unsteady state, and an
obvious vortex shedding structure arises. The vortex shedding structure of airfoil periodic flow field will present 2S
mode, chaotic state and quasi periodic flow under the condition of unsteady flow field. The typical vortex structure
of 2S mode is shown in Fig. 4. A group of wake vortices are formed from the trailing edge with opposite vortex
pairs, as shown in Fig. 9(d), (f) and (g). The fundamental frequency higher than the amplitude of higher harmonic
will arise in the spectrum of lift coefficient in 2S mode, in which the 2S mode at α = 19◦ is different from that at
8◦ ∼15◦ . At this time, two harmonic frequencies with different amplitudes emerge in the lift coefficient spectrum
at Fig. 9(J), the corresponding flow field vortex structure (Fig. 7) also forms a complex suction surface vortical
structure.
In quasi periodic flow, the shedding wake vortex at the trailing edge of the flow field is similar to the 2S (single)
mode in the shedding cycle. However, the first harmonic with high amplitude will emerge in the spectrum of lift
coefficient, as shown in Fig. 9(l).
In the range of 16◦ ∼18◦ , the flow state is defined as chaotic state. There is no periodic law around trailing edge
of airfoil at this state, varieties of vortex with different intensities will appear in the flow field. There will be a
number of frequency components with equivalent amplitude in the corresponding spectrum at Fig. 9(h).
In the range of 0◦ ∼24◦ , with the increase of attack angle, the vortex structure state of the flow field around
the airfoil can be summarized as four cases: steady flow – 2S (single) mode – chaotic state – 2S (single) mode –
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quasi periodic flow. With the stability of flow state ranking from high to bottom, it can be ranked as steady state
> 2S (single) mode > quasi periodic flow > chaotic state. In each flow state corresponding to the above stability
ranking, the corresponding lift drag coefficient changes from stable sine wave trend to disorderly fluctuation, and
the lift coefficient spectrum gradually changes from single harmonic to multiple harmonics. The Strouhal number
corresponding to the fundamental frequency decreases gradually.

3.3. Relationship between Strouhal number of shedding vortex frequency and angle of attack

The Strouhal number is a similarity criterion number to characterize the unsteady (periodic) flow. For the unsteady
flow caused by the periodic shedding vortex of the airfoil, the Strouhal number is
f c sin α
Sr = (4)
v
Where, f represents shedding vortex frequency, sin α represents sinusoidal value of airfoil angle of attack, c
represents characteristic length, here is the chord length of the airfoil, v represents incoming flow velocity.
Relationship between shedding vortex frequency, Reynolds number and Strouhal number is
sr
Re ∝ (5)
f
Strouhal number of shedding vortex frequency at different angles of attack with Re = 1 × 104 is shown in
Fig. 10. As shown in Fig. 10, with the increase of the angle of attack, the overall trend of the Strouhal number
corresponding to the vortex shedding frequency is decreasing.

Fig. 10. Strouhal number of shedding vortex frequency at different angles of attack with Re = 1 × 10 4 .

The Strouhal number will decline in stages at 2S mode, which shown in Fig. 10 for 10◦ ∼15◦ and 19◦ , this is
related to the formation of small vortex structure on the suction surface at large angle of attack. The corresponding
Strouhal number fluctuates around 0.2 for 10◦ ∼13◦ and will drop to 0.143 at α = 19◦ . The flow field is quasi
periodic for 20◦ ∼24◦ , their Strouhal number fluctuate around 0.07. The Strouhal number is less than 0.1 in the
range of 16◦ ∼18◦ , the flow state is chaotic state. There is no periodic law in the curve of lift and drag coefficient.
The significant decrease of Strouhal number indicates that the flow stability around the airfoil decreases rapidly at
this angle of attack.
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In conclusion, Strouhal number corresponding to the frequency of shedding vortex of NACA 0012 airfoil is
closely related to the flow state of the flow field. The Strouhal number corresponding to the fundamental frequency
of shedding vortex is from high to low: 2S mode > quasi periodic flow > chaotic state.

4. Conclusion
In this paper, the characteristics of vortex shedding structure and the variation of flow instability with the increase
of angle of attack of NACA0012 airfoil at Re = 1 × 104 are investigated. The main conclusions are as follows.
(1) The flow state will turn from steady state to unsteady state with the increase of angle of attack at Re =
1 × 104 . Obvious vortex shedding structure begin to appear at the trailing edge of the airfoil for α>7◦ , which
moves to the rear of the flow field in the form of vortex street. With the further increase of the angle of attack, the
vortex structure arises on the suction surface, and the decrease of the stability of the flow field makes it more and
more difficult to predict the vortex distribution.
(2) With the increase of attack angle, the flow field will show four states: steady flow – 2S (single) mode – chaotic
state – 2S (single) mode – quasi periodic flow for 0◦ ∼24◦ . This explains that the range of stable lift produced by
low Reynolds number airfoil is small, which is caused by unstable falling vortex at the trailing edge. The variation
law of lift drag coefficient is related to the law of vortex shedding. The vortex shedding intensity corresponding to
the fundamental frequency is closely related to the angle of attack and the flow state of the flow field.
(3) The stability of flow field reduces with the increase of angle of attack for 0◦ ∼24◦ , which result in that the
Strouhal number corresponding to the fundamental frequency of shedding vortex shows a downward trend. When
the vortex structure of the airfoil flow field is in a chaotic state, the Strouhal number will decrease sharply, indicating
that the stability of the flow field will deteriorate sharply. The Strouhal number corresponding to the fundamental
frequency of shedding vortex is 2S mode > quasi periodic flow > chaotic state from high to low.

Declaration of competing interest

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could
have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Acknowledgments
The grant support from Science and Technology Innovation Projects of Higher Education in Shanxi Province
(2019L0534), Aviation Science Foundation (2019ZA0U0001) and Fundamental Research Program of Shanxi
Province (20210302123040) are greatly acknowledged.

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