Numerical Investigation of the Influence of Acceleration and Deceleration on the Aerodynamic Characteristics of an Oscillating Wing Aerofoil Operating at Transonic and Hypersonic Speeds

The aerodynamic characteristics of a hypersonic aircraft are strongly influenced by the accelerating and decelerating motions of the body. This impact can be more complicated when the oscillatory motion of the body in a complex non linear mode is involved. Therefore, it is important to understand the mechanism of the responses of the body to acceleration and deceleration at different magnitudes. This paper uses a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) method to investigate the mechanism of acceleration and deceleration at three different magnitudes such as 100g, 1000g and 10000g, and their effects on the aerodynamic characteristics and performance of an oscillating blunt body, which represents the leading edge of a wing aerofoil of a hypersonic aircraft operating at transonic and hypersonic speeds ranging from M = 2 to M = 8. It is revealed that the low Mach numbers have more impact on the aerodynamic performance of the body. The results of the 100g and 1000g acceleration or deceleration magnitudes are in close agreement while that of the 10000g are slightly lower or higher during acceleration or deceleration, respectively. The boundary of the shock wave becomes narrower and the distance of the shock wave from the nose of the body gets shorter as the Mach number is increased, whereas the fluid velocity recovers quickly in the boundary layer at low Mach numbers.