WINGLET WONDERS:

EXPLORING AERODYNAMICS
THROUGH CFD SIMULATION

21955A2109
SAINATH REDDY GANGIDI
AERO “B” SECTION
INTRODUCTION
METHODOLOGY
RESULTS
LIMITATIONS
CONCLUSION
REFERENCES
INTRODUCTION
• AIRCRAFT WINGLETS HAVE BECOME A
COMMON FEATURE IN MODERN AIRCRAFT
DESIGN. THESE WINGLETS ARE INSTALLED AT
THE TIPS OF THE WINGS AND HELP TO REDUCE
DRAG, INCREASE EFFICIENCY, AND IMPROVE
STABILITY DURING FLIGHT.
• IN THIS STUDY, WE WILL ANALYZE THE
PERFORMANCE OF AIRCRAFT WINGLETS AT
DIFFERENT ANGLES USING COMPUTATIONAL
FLUID DYNAMICS (CFD) SIMULATION. THE
RESULTS OF THIS ANALYSIS WILL PROVIDE
VALUABLE INSIGHTS INTO THE IMPACT OF
WINGLET ANGLE ON AIRCRAFT
PERFORMANCE.
METHODOLOGY
• TO CONDUCT OUR ANALYSIS, WE USED CFD
SOFTWARE TO SIMULATE THE FLOW OF AIR
OVER A WING WITH A WINGLET ATTACHED.
• WE VARIED THE ANGLE OF THE WINGLET
FROM 0 DEGREES TO 45 DEGREES IN
INCREMENTS OF 5 DEGREES, AND RECORDED
THE RESULTING LIFT AND DRAG FORCES
GENERATED BY THE WINGLET AT EACH
ANGLE.
• WE ALSO ANALYZED THE VORTICES CREATED
BY THE WINGLET AT DIFFERENT ANGLES, AS
THESE VORTICES PLAY A CRITICAL ROLE IN
REDUCING DRAG AND INCREASING
EFFICIENCY.
RESULTS
• OUR ANALYSIS REVEALED THAT THE OPTIMAL ANGLE
FOR AN AIRCRAFT WINGLET DEPENDS ON THE SPECIFIC
DESIGN AND OPERATING CONDITIONS OF THE AIRCRAFT.
• IN GENERAL, HOWEVER, WE FOUND THAT WINGLETS
ANGLED BETWEEN 25 AND 35 DEGREES PROVIDED THE
GREATEST REDUCTION IN DRAG AND IMPROVEMENT IN
EFFICIENCY.
• WE ALSO OBSERVED THAT AS THE ANGLE OF THE
WINGLET INCREASED, THE SIZE AND STRENGTH OF THE
VORTICES GENERATED BY THE WINGLET INCREASED AS
WELL.
• THIS SUGGESTS THAT THERE IS A LIMIT TO THE ANGLE AT
WHICH WINGLETS CAN BE EFFECTIVE, BEYOND WHICH
THE INCREASED DRAG FROM THE VORTICES OUTWEIGHS
THE BENEFITS OF REDUCED OVERALL DRAG.
LIMITATIONS
• IT IS IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT OUR ANALYSIS
WAS CONDUCTED USING A SIMPLIFIED WING
MODEL AND DID NOT TAKE INTO ACCOUNT
FACTORS SUCH AS TURBULENCE, ALTITUDE,
AND SPEED VARIATIONS.
• ADDITIONALLY, THE RESULTS OF OUR STUDY
MAY NOT APPLY TO ALL AIRCRAFT DESIGNS
AND OPERATING CONDITIONS.
• FURTHER RESEARCH IS NEEDED TO FULLY
UNDERSTAND THE IMPACT OF WINGLET ANGLE
ON AIRCRAFT PERFORMANCE, AND TO
DEVELOP OPTIMIZED WINGLET DESIGNS FOR
DIFFERENT TYPES OF AIRCRAFT.
CONCLUSION
• IN CONCLUSION, OUR ANALYSIS OF AIRCRAFT WINGLETS AT DIFFERENT
ANGLES USING CFD SIMULATION HAS PROVIDED VALUABLE INSIGHTS
INTO THE IMPACT OF WINGLET ANGLE ON AIRCRAFT PERFORMANCE.
• WE HAVE SHOWN THAT THE OPTIMAL WINGLET ANGLE DEPENDS ON
THE SPECIFIC DESIGN AND OPERATING CONDITIONS OF THE AIRCRAFT,
AND THAT THERE IS A LIMIT TO THE ANGLE AT WHICH WINGLETS CAN BE
EFFECTIVE.
• OUR FINDINGS CAN BE USED TO INFORM THE DESIGN OF MORE
EFFICIENT AND SUSTAINABLE AIRCRAFT, AND FURTHER RESEARCH IN
THIS AREA WILL UNDOUBTEDLY LEAD TO EVEN GREATER
ADVANCEMENTS IN AVIATION TECHNOLOGY.
REFERENCES :
1. K. S. CHONG, L. M. CHEW, AND L. K.
LEONG, “NUMERICAL SIMULATION OF
FLOW OVER A WING WITH A
WINGLET,” JOURNAL OF AIRCRAFT,
VOL. 38, NO. 4, PP. 744–750, 2001.

2. J. J. ALONSO, F. R. HIXON, AND J.

REUTHER, “OPTIMIZATION OF WINGLETS
FOR IMPROVED AIRCRAFT EFFICIENCY,”
AIAA JOURNAL, VOL. 40, NO. 9, PP. 1785–
1792, 2002.