ISSN: 1304-7191 | E-ISSN: 1304-7205
Computational fluid dynamics analysis of multi-winglets for ınduced drag reduction in subsonic, transonic, and supersonic flows at different reynolds numbers
1School of Mechanical Engineering, Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology, Bhubaneswar, 751024, India
2Department of Mechanical Engineering, Biju Patnaik University of Technology, Rourkela, 769015, India
Sigma J Eng Nat Sci 842-856 DOI: 10.14744/sigma.2025.00075
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Abstract

Subsonic, transonic, and supersonic flow regimes are all analyzed in this article using Com-putational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) to determine how effective multi-winglets are in reducing induced drag. Both sharp-edge and flat-edge multi-winglet arrangements, based on a rect-angular wing of NACA0012 airfoil with a span of 2648.44 mm and a chord of 1000 mm, were examined. The study was performed with varying Reynolds numbers for both steady and turbulent flows.Lift coefficient (CL), drag coefficient (CD), and lift-to-drag ratio (L/D) were evaluated across winglet shapes and the bare wing to determine the best aerodynamic performance. At subsonic speeds, it was discovered that the sharp-edge winglets had a greater lift curve slope and a higher L/D ratio than the baseline wing and the flat-edge winglets. Simulations were also run to compare the performance of two winglet designs at cant angles of 100, 350, and 600respectively. The aerodynamic performance (as measured by CL/CD) of the sharp-edge multi-winglet configuration has been found to be superior to that of the bare wing and the wing with flat-edge winglets. These findings provide valuable insights for the design optimization of multi-winglets with induced drag reduction in various flow regimes and contribute to the advancement of aerodynamic knowledge for winglet applications in aerospace engineering.