Design and power calculation of HLFC suction system for a subsonic short-range aircraft

Hybrid laminar flow control (HLFC) can be a possible solution for future sustainable energy-efficient aviation. The current study proposes a MATLAB-based numerical tool for the design of the suction system for an airfoil optimized for a subsonic short-range HLFC application. Considerable energy losses may occur when the air passes through the...

An investigation of the internal airfow system behavior of a Turbosail

The awareness of the climate change is increasing and the effect of air-pollution is irrefutable. To decrease the emissions of large ships the required amount of fuel has to be minimized. This is done by increasing the efficiency of the engine, decreasing the hull resistance or by lowering the cruise speed. Another interesting way of decreasing...

Drag reduction by laminar flow control

The Energy System Transition in Aviation research project of the Aeronautics Research Center Niedersachsen (NFL) searches for potentially game-changing technologies to reduce the carbon footprint of aviation by promoting and enabling new propulsion and drag reduction technologies. The greatest potential for aerodynamic drag reduction is seen...

Boundary layer suction configurations with minimal pump requirements for multi-element airfoils

High lift systems are indispensable but complex and heavy systems so new methods to allow lighter and simpler high lift systems are actively sought after. One of the methods that have already proven to be able to increase high lift performance is boundary layer suction. In practice however the application of it is uncommon mainly due to the...

Control of suction distributions on Boundary layer suction systems for automotive wind tunnels

Wind tunnels are used to study airflows around objects like cars, airplanes and ice-skaters. This is done, simulating the real world, by blowing an airflow over a fixed body. In the real situation an object moves through the air, while in a wind tunnel it is the air that is moving. So a wind tunnel needs to generate an airflow. In this airflow,...