Proceedings of the
International Conference on Mechanical Engineering 2009
(ICME2009) 26- 28 December 2009, Dhaka, Bangladesh
 

ICME09-FM-10

INDUCED DRAG REDUCTION FOR MODERN AIRCRAFT
WITHOUT INCREASING THE SPAN OF THE WING BY USING
WINGLET

Mohammad Mashud, Md. Hasan Ali, Abdullah-Al-Nahian and S. M. S. Selim
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Khulna University of Engineering & Technology, Khulna

ABSTRACT

This paper describes the potential of winglets for the reduction of induced drag without increasing the span of the aircraft. For this experiment a model aircraft has been constructed by aluminum-alloy whose wings profile is NACA 4315. There are three different types (rectangular, triangular and circular) of winglet are constructed for experiment. Aerodynamic characteristics for the model aircraft wing with rectangular, triangular and circular winglets and without winglet have been studied using a subsonic wind tunnel of 36cm×36cm rectangular test section. Drag measurements are carried out using an external balance. Tests are carried out on the aircraft model with and without winglet at the Reynolds numbers 0.16×106, 0.18×106, 0.20×106, 0.23×106 and 0.25×106. The experimental results show that the drag decreases by 26.4% - 30.9% as compared to the aircraft model with and without winglet for the maximum Reynolds number considered in the present study.

 

Keywords: Induced Drag, Wing, Winglet, Aircraft and Aerodynamics.

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