Influence of the Blunt Trailing-Edge Thickness on the Aerodynamic Characteristics of the Very Thick Airfoil

Abstract

In this paper, the NWT600 airfoil with a thickness ratio of 60% is taken as the research object. The aerodynamic performance of the airfoil is analyzed by experiments and numerical simulations. The results simulated by various turbulence models used in the 2D steady-state RANS method are compared, including the Spalart–Allmaras model, k-ω SST model, k-ε realizable model, and Reynolds stress (linear pressure-strain) model. The influence of blunt trailing-edge thickness on aerodynamic characteristics is studied by adding thickness symmetrically. The results show that even under the low subsonic flow with a Mach number of 0.149, the airflow is prone to severe separation. The aerodynamic performance of the airfoil is very different from that of the conventional thin airfoil. Although the 2D steady-state RANS models overestimate the pressure on the surface of the airfoil in most cases, it is qualitatively acceptable to predict the pressure distribution of the very thick airfoil. Numerical results simulated by the Reynolds stress model are in the best agreement with the experimental data. It is also found that symmetrically thickening the trailing edge effectively improves the maximum lift coefficient and reduces the drag coefficient at a small angle of attack.