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AE Lesson 1.2 Activity 1.2.6 Airfoil Simulation Page 1

Activity 1.2.6 Airfoil Simulation and Test

Introduction
Airfoils have a complex geometry designed to direct airflow. This velocity change
results forces that affect aircraft performance. This can be simulated using a
computer to provide an estimate of expected performance.

In this activity you will design an airfoil to meet the design criteria.



Equipment
PC with Internet access or FoilSim III Student Version 1.4d software
Engineering notebook
Pencil

Procedure
1. Choose a NACA plane and airfoil design from this web site The incomplete
guide to airfoil Usage
AerMacchi/Lockheed AL.60 Conestoga, NACA 23016, NACA 4412
2. Find information about the plane, manufacturer, used for?, picture, type of
wing
light civil utility aircraft of the late 1950s and early 1960s, originally designed by
Al Mooney of Lockheed in the United States.
Manufacturer: Lockheed-Azcarate, Aermacchi, Atlas Aircraft Corporation
General Characeristics
Crew: One
Capacity: Seven passengers or 454 kg (1,000 lb) cargo
Length: 8.79 m (28 ft 10 in)
Wingspan: 11.84 m (38 ft 10 in)
Height: 3.25 m (10 ft 8 in)
Wing area: 19.54 m (210.3 ft)
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AE Lesson 1.2 Activity 1.2.6 Airfoil Simulation Page 2
Empty weight: 998 kg (2,200 lb)
Max. takeoff weight: 1,746 kg (4,500 lb)
Powerplant: 1 Continental TSIO-470-B-A1A air-cooled flat-six, 193 kW
(260 hp)
3. Indentify and name the NACA 4 Digit profiles What do the numbers mean and
refer too? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NACA_airfoil
First digit describing maximum camber as percentage of the chord.
Second digit describing the distance of maximum camber from the airfoil leading
edge in tens of percents of the chord.
Last two digits describing maximum thickness of the airfoil as percent of the
chord.
NACA 4412
4% camber located 40% (0.4 chords) from the leading edge with a maximum
thickness of 12% of the chord.
4. Launch the FoilSim applet or FoilSim online version which can be found at
http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/K-12/airplane/foil3.html
5. Change the size of the airfoil .25 chord and .25 span
6. Change the air speed to 80 mph
7. Enter your chosen NACA number camber and thickness
8. Set the First Angle of Attack to -20
O
and the Final Angle of Attack to 20
O
and the
Angle of Attack Step to 5
O
. Complete Foilsim Excel sheet in groupshare.

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Copyright 2011
AE Lesson 1.2 Activity 1.2.6 Airfoil Simulation Page 3
9. Design the airfoil to achieve the results given by your teacher.


a. Change the Lift and Drag to Cl and Cd to compare results.


b. Your airfoil shape results can be seen graphically using the gauges button
as shown below. The final quantitative results are available using the Data
tab.



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Copyright 2011
AE Lesson 1.2 Activity 1.2.6 Airfoil Simulation Page 4
Conclusion
1. What parameters impact the Cl and Cd?



2. Explain why these have such an impact.