On the effects of non-zero yaw on leading-edge tubercled wings

Abstract Steady-state numerical simulations were conducted to capture the aerodynamic characteristics and flow patterns resulting from a tubercled and non-tubercled wing subjected to various combined pitch and yaw conditions at $$Re=1.8 \times 10^{5}$$ R e = 1.8 × 10 5 . Pitch angle ranged from $$0^{\circ }$$ 0 ∘ to $$25^{\circ }$$ 25 ∘ , while two different yaw angles of $$10^{\circ }$$ 10 ∘ and $$30^{\circ }$$ 30 ∘ were used. Results show that $$10^{\circ }$$ 10 ∘ yaw angle does not impact upon the lift and drag characteristics significantly, while a $$30^{\circ }$$ 30 ∘ yaw angle leads to substantial lift and drag losses. Additionally, the tubercled wing continues to confer favourable stall-mitigating characteristics even for the larger yaw angle. Finally, despite skewing the flow structures significantly, the $$30^{\circ }$$ 30 ∘ yaw angle also reduces the formations of bi-periodic flow structures, flow separations and recirculating regions along the leading-edge tubercles, suggesting potentially better flow stability and controllability.