On the maintenance of an attached leading-edge vortex via model bird alula

DOI10.1017/JFM.2020.364zbMATH Open1460.76977arXiv2001.03964OpenAlexW3105436342MaRDI QIDQ5113705FDOQ5113705

Authors: Thomas Linehan, Kamran Mohseni 

Publication date: 16 June 2020

Published in: Journal of Fluid Mechanics (Search for Journal in Brave)

Abstract: Researchers have hypothesized that the post-stall lift benefit of bird's alular feathers, or alula, stems from the maintenance of an attached leading-edge vortex (LEV) over their thin-profiled, outer hand-wing. Here, we investigate the connection between the alula and LEV attachment via flow measurements in a wind tunnel. We show that a model alula, whose wetted area is 1% that of the wing, stabilizes a recirculatory aft-tilted LEV on a steadily-translating unswept wing inclined at post-stall incidences. The attached vortex is the result of the alula's ability to smoothly merge otherwise separate leading- and side-edge vortical flows. We identify two key processes that facilitate this merging: i) the steering of spanwise vorticity generated at the wing's leading edge back to the wing plane and ii) an aft-located wall-jet of high-magnitude root-to-tip spanwise flow (>80% that of the freestream velocity). The latter feature induces LEV roll-up while the former feature tilts LEV vorticity aft and evacuates this flow toward the wing tip via an outboard vorticity flux. We identify the alula's streamwise position (relative to the leading-edge of the thin wing) as important for vortex steering and the alula's cant angle as important for high-magnitude spanwise flow generation. These findings advance our understanding of the likely ways bird's leverage LEVs to augment slow flight.

Full work available at URL: https://arxiv.org/abs/2001.03964

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zbMATH Keywords

separated flowsswimming/flying

Mathematics Subject Classification ID

Biopropulsion in water and in air (76Z10)

Cites Work

• Three-dimensional flows around low-aspect-ratio flat-plate wings at low Reynolds numbers
• A large-eddy simulation on a deep-stalled aerofoil with a wavy leading edge
• A Lagrangian analysis of a two-dimensional airfoil with vortex shedding
• Leading-edge vortices: mechanics and modeling
• Flow over a Wing with an Attached Free Vortex
• Coriolis effect and the attachment of the leading edge vortex
• On the mechanism of high-incidence lift generation for steadily translating low-aspect-ratio wings

Cited In (2)

• Physical models and vortex dynamics of swimming and flying: a review
• A theory on leading-edge vortex stabilization by spanwise flow

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