Design Optimization of Cessna 172 Wing With Biomimetic Design Approach

Abstract

While the aircraft is moving in the opposite direction of the flow in the air, the wind resistance and the moment effect due to this resistance negatively affect the flight performance. In design studies, it is aimed to increase aerodynamic performance by minimizing these two negative factors. In this study, the effect of wing cross section and three-dimensional airfoil on aerodynamic performance is investigated numerically. Within the scope of this study, to reach the intended design, biomimetic design approach was used and new-wing designs were created to mimic the bird species’ wings, which have the highest aerodynamic performance in nature. Based on the literature search for two-dimensional wing section selection, it was seen that the most preferred sections were identified and compared with the wing section of the Cessna 172 aircraft (NACA2412) in flow analysis. In the flow analysis conducted in the XFLR5 program, the aerodynamic performances of the wing sections at Reynolds value and angle of attack were investigated. According to this analysis, the aerodynamic efficiency of the NACA2412 section was higher than that of the other sections. In the three-dimensional flow analysis, biomimetic wing designs and the wing of the Cessna 172 aircraft were examined in the XFLR5 program at a cruising speed and angle of attack. It was observed that the aerodynamic efficiency of the wing design, which is inspired by the albatross, is higher than the other designs. Owing to the flow analysis, the albatross wing design provided 6.26% improvement in the lift coefficient, 15.73% in drag coefficient and 15.16% improvement in the glide ratio compared to the Cessna 172 aircraft wing design. For structural analysis, the pressure values obtained from the flow analysis results were used as the load distribution on the wing. In the designs created using the same material, it was observed that the weight of the wing inspired by the albatross was 34.156% less weight and 50.902% less deformation value obtained compared to Cessna 172 aircraft.