Effects of different types of wings
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Effects of different types of wings
hi all,
I was wondering what forum this wud be best to put on and decided here after much thought...
Bit of background....im in my last year of college, and im taking Physics as an A level, and part of our coursework, i have chosen to demonstrate the different effects of lift on different types of wings.
Does anyone know where i can find/purchase a model of some sort of these diff types of wings? As my practical aim to place it in a box and show the aerofoil affect through the box by having a suction system with smoke through the wing/s.
All help appreciated
I was wondering what forum this wud be best to put on and decided here after much thought...
Bit of background....im in my last year of college, and im taking Physics as an A level, and part of our coursework, i have chosen to demonstrate the different effects of lift on different types of wings.
Does anyone know where i can find/purchase a model of some sort of these diff types of wings? As my practical aim to place it in a box and show the aerofoil affect through the box by having a suction system with smoke through the wing/s.
All help appreciated
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Re: Effects of different types of wings
If I may offer some thoughts.
Firstly, you don't want to be looking at the effects of wings, but the effects of wing SECTIONS. Not sure if that's what you meant to say, but a "wing" is the full 3d object, while a section is the slice through the wing in the direction of airflow. For a practical experiment you'll struggle to get good results with a full wing, because you'll end up being dominated by scale effects - the wing will end up quite small unless you build yourself a huge "wind tunnel" type device. A section, on the other hand, is simpler in operation and so simpler to test.
To be honest, I think your best option is simply to make your own. Using chunks of wood, just carve them to aerofoil sections. You could be scientific about it and get some section definitions - good places to look might be the model aircraft flying magazines or websites, which should give some simple sections - or you could just carve a "that looks about right" shape or two. Make the shape a "plank" to span the width of the little tunnel/blower you'll have to build - needent be more than 6-8" wide, I'd say, though bigger is good.
You can then use smoke to show the airflow past the "wing section". Make the wing so that you can turn it to show changes in angle of attack. Should be able to see a stall at some point.
To be more sophisticated, you could put some small tubes into the wing surface, recessed, at intervals along the chord. Terminate the tubes with small holes, which will give you pressure sensors along the chord. Hook each of the tubes up to a manometer - columns of water or other liquids - and arrange the tubes in a bank in the same order as on the wing section. Then when you switch on the air you'll get a graphical representation of the air pressure over the wing; you can compare how the suction peak moves with AoA, what happens as the wing stalls, etc.
You could get fancier by adding little flaps or slats to the wing, too, to see their effect. Or if you get a bunch of sections, try comparing the effect of camber or t/c ratios on the measured behaviour.
We used to have a little demo tunnel that did all that sort of stuff when i worked at BAe; used it for open days, school visits, etc. It's very impressive what you can get for a simple setup.
Firstly, you don't want to be looking at the effects of wings, but the effects of wing SECTIONS. Not sure if that's what you meant to say, but a "wing" is the full 3d object, while a section is the slice through the wing in the direction of airflow. For a practical experiment you'll struggle to get good results with a full wing, because you'll end up being dominated by scale effects - the wing will end up quite small unless you build yourself a huge "wind tunnel" type device. A section, on the other hand, is simpler in operation and so simpler to test.
To be honest, I think your best option is simply to make your own. Using chunks of wood, just carve them to aerofoil sections. You could be scientific about it and get some section definitions - good places to look might be the model aircraft flying magazines or websites, which should give some simple sections - or you could just carve a "that looks about right" shape or two. Make the shape a "plank" to span the width of the little tunnel/blower you'll have to build - needent be more than 6-8" wide, I'd say, though bigger is good.
You can then use smoke to show the airflow past the "wing section". Make the wing so that you can turn it to show changes in angle of attack. Should be able to see a stall at some point.
To be more sophisticated, you could put some small tubes into the wing surface, recessed, at intervals along the chord. Terminate the tubes with small holes, which will give you pressure sensors along the chord. Hook each of the tubes up to a manometer - columns of water or other liquids - and arrange the tubes in a bank in the same order as on the wing section. Then when you switch on the air you'll get a graphical representation of the air pressure over the wing; you can compare how the suction peak moves with AoA, what happens as the wing stalls, etc.
You could get fancier by adding little flaps or slats to the wing, too, to see their effect. Or if you get a bunch of sections, try comparing the effect of camber or t/c ratios on the measured behaviour.
We used to have a little demo tunnel that did all that sort of stuff when i worked at BAe; used it for open days, school visits, etc. It's very impressive what you can get for a simple setup.
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Re: Effects of different types of wings
Thats very interesting, thanks for that, any idea where i could have a look at this actual Demo you have? Is it possible to give me the contact number of anyone in BAe or anywhere that you know where i can have a look see?
There must be some place where they have this, but i just havent found it!
Cheers
There must be some place where they have this, but i just havent found it!
Cheers
Re: Effects of different types of wings
Thought of a "Flow Table"? Piece of glass with water flowing accross it, wing sections placed on glass, flow lines produced by Potassium Permanganate crystals. It is visually effective. Or a really simple one, wing section fixed horizontally to a spring scale. Blow air over it a differing angles and read off the "lift" produced. Repeat for different sections.
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Re: Effects of different types of wings
Originally Posted by link4
Thats very interesting, thanks for that, any idea where i could have a look at this actual Demo you have? Is it possible to give me the contact number of anyone in BAe or anywhere that you know where i can have a look see?
There must be some place where they have this, but i just havent found it!
Cheers
There must be some place where they have this, but i just havent found it!
Cheers
Or try this website:
http://www.baesystemseducationprogramme.com/
That seems to be the focal point for the kind of thing you'd be looking for; maybe try firing an email at the 'contact us' address; if you mention Brough had one once that might be helpful in directing your query.
Re: Effects of different types of wings
You might find FoilSim II useful. It is a computer simulated wind tunnel, put together by NASA, that lets you alter the shape of the wing section and observe the effects on lift and drag. Not a real model, but might be useful anyway.
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NASA did some extensive study years back and the result was published. You might want to google "NACA airfoils" or try this link: http://naca.larc.nasa.gov/reports/1945/naca-report-824/
