Analysis of blended winglet parameters on the aerodynamic characteristics of NXXX aircraft using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD)

Abstract

Winglet is a wingtip device that was developed to improve aircraft flight performance by reducing induced drag. The induced drag produced by the NXXX aircraft is considered too excessive because the simple wingtip currently available is still not optimal in reducing induced drag, so a new more optimal wingtip is needed. This research aims to analyze the influence of blended winglet parameters on the aerodynamic characteristics of the NXXX aircraft such as $C_L$ and $C_D$. Not only that, pitch moment coefficient ($C_M$) is also studied to determine how trim drag can increase with the consequent increase of aerodynamic efficiency ($C_L$/ $C_D$) which currently has not been specifically researched yet. Winglet parameters in this study include variations in taper ratio, winglet height, cant angle, trailing edge sweep, and blending radius that there is not enough analysis about it now. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulation uses Ansys CFX with the Shear Stress Transport (SST) turbulence model is used to obtain wing aerodynamic data. This research concludes that the best winglet configuration is taper ratio of 0.2, blending radius of 15 %, winglet height of 30 %, cant angle of 15°, and trailing edge sweep of −0.6°. Apart from that, it was also found that all winglet configurations increased $C_L$, ${C_L}_{\max }$, and also lift slope ($a$). Almost all winglets also reduce the critical angle of attack, reduce $C_D$, and increase $C_M$. This simulation finds that addition of blended winglet can increase aerodynamic efficiency up to 17.51 % in cruise condition using the variation of winglet height.