A novel and efficient arrow airfoil was proposed for Martian atmospheric conditions, characterized by low Reynolds numbers and high Mach numbers. Numerical simulations were conducted to investigate the flow features and physical phenomena around the airfoil. It was confirmed that the arrow-shaped geometry induces the formation and enlargement of a laminar separation bubble on the upper surface of the airfoil, which increases lift and reduces skin friction drag, thereby enhancing L/D. Furthermore, under three different flow conditions— Re = 8298, <InlineEquation ID="IEq1"> <EquationSource Format="TEX">${M} = 0.1869$</EquationSource> <EquationSource Format="MATHML"><math> <mrow> <mi>M</mi> <mo>=</mo> <mn>0.1869</mn> </mrow> </math></EquationSource> </InlineEquation>; Re = 11,912, <InlineEquation ID="IEq2"> <EquationSource Format="TEX">${M} = 0.3116$</EquationSource> <EquationSource Format="MATHML"><math> <mrow> <mi>M</mi> <mo>=</mo> <mn>0.3116</mn> </mrow> </math></EquationSource> </InlineEquation>; Re = 11,711, <InlineEquation ID="IEq3"> <EquationSource Format="TEX">${M} = 0.5608$</EquationSource> <EquationSource Format="MATHML"><math> <mrow> <mi>M</mi> <mo>=</mo> <mn>0.5608</mn> </mrow> </math></EquationSource> </InlineEquation>—the arrow airfoil was optimized to maximize L/D over an AoA range from 0<InlineEquation ID="IEq4"> <EquationSource Format="TEX">$^\circ $</EquationSource> <EquationSource Format="MATHML"><math> <mmultiscripts> <mrow /> <mrow /> <mo>∘</mo> </mmultiscripts> </math></EquationSource> </InlineEquation> to 10<InlineEquation ID="IEq5"> <EquationSource Format="TEX">$^\circ $</EquationSource> <EquationSource Format="MATHML"><math> <mmultiscripts> <mrow /> <mrow /> <mo>∘</mo> </mmultiscripts> </math></EquationSource> </InlineEquation>, using the 5% cambered flat-plate airfoil as the baseline. The optimization results showed maximum L/D improvements of 10.51% and 7.05% for the first two conditions, while no feasible solution satisfying the imposed constraints was found for the third case. To investigate the influence of Mach number, additional numerical simulations were performed under varying Mach numbers. The results showed that the arrow airfoil maintains superior aerodynamic efficiency compared to the baseline airfoil when <InlineEquation ID="IEq6"> <EquationSource Format="TEX">$M \le 0.5$</EquationSource> <EquationSource Format="MATHML"><math> <mrow> <mi>M</mi> <mo>≤</mo> <mn>0.5</mn> </mrow> </math></EquationSource> </InlineEquation>.

A Novel Arrow Airfoil with High Lift-to-Drag Ratio for Mars Rotorcraft Application

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发表日期：

2025年9月25日

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Soonmoung Kwon,
Kwanjung Yee

摘要

A novel and efficient arrow airfoil was proposed for Martian atmospheric conditions, characterized by low Reynolds numbers and high Mach numbers. Numerical simulations were conducted to investigate the flow features and physical phenomena around the airfoil. It was confirmed that the arrow-shaped geometry induces the formation and enlargement of a laminar separation bubble on the upper surface of the airfoil, which increases lift and reduces skin friction drag, thereby enhancing L/D. Furthermore, under three different flow conditions— Re = 8298, ${M} = 0.1869$ $M = 0.1869$ ; Re = 11,912, ${M} = 0.3116$ $M = 0.3116$ ; Re = 11,711, ${M} = 0.5608$ $M = 0.5608$ —the arrow airfoil was optimized to maximize L/D over an AoA range from 0 $^\circ $ $^{\circ}$ to 10 $^\circ $ $^{\circ}$ , using the 5% cambered flat-plate airfoil as the baseline. The optimization results showed maximum L/D improvements of 10.51% and 7.05% for the first two conditions, while no feasible solution satisfying the imposed constraints was found for the third case. To investigate the influence of Mach number, additional numerical simulations were performed under varying Mach numbers. The results showed that the arrow airfoil maintains superior aerodynamic efficiency compared to the baseline airfoil when $M \le 0.5$ $M \leq 0.5$ .