Numerical Study of Limit Cycle Oscillation Using Conventional and Supercritical Airfoils

by Loo, Felipe Manuel

Limit Cycle Oscillation is a type of aircraft wing structural vibration caused by the non-linearity of the system. The objective of this thesis is to provide a numerical study of this aeroelastic behavior. A CFD solver is used to simulate airfoils displaying such an aeroelastic behavior under certain airflow conditions. Two types of airfoils are used for this numerical study, including the NACA64a010 airfoil, and the supercritical NLR 7301 airfoil. The CFD simulation of limit cycle oscillation (LCO) can be obtained by using published flow and structural parameters. Final results from the CFD solver capture LCO, as well as flutter, behaviors for both wings. These CFD results can be obtained by using two different solution schemes, including the Roe and Zha scheme. The pressure coefficient and skin friction coefficient distributions are computed using the CFD results for LCO and flutter simulations of these two airfoils, and they provide a physical understanding of these aeroelastic behaviors.