The experimental generation of streamwise gusts and their impact on a finite-span wing
University of Colorado Boulder
Abstract
Under normal operation, aircraft and wind turbines frequently encounter gusts, or discrete unsteady variations in the direction and magnitude of the freestream velocity. Streamwise gusts, which impose changes in the magnitude of the freestream, can dramatically alter the aerodynamic response of these systems when the gust length-scales, time-scales or magnitudes are commensurate with the steady operating conditions of these systems. To study these interactions a unique unsteady low-speed wind tunnel facility was constructed at the University of Colorado Boulder which can generate both convective and global streamwise velocity disturbances. The design, modeling, and performance of this facility will be presented along with the aerodynamic response of a canonical finite-span rectangular wing section to a time-varying freestream. More specifically, the seminar will focus on how the convective nature of the streamwise velocity disturbances can couple with wing sweep to impose dramatic variations in the pitching moment response of a simple wing section. In addition to this primary topic, a summary of other basic research efforts ongoing in the Experimental Aerodynamics Laboratory at the University of Colorado Boulder will also be given.
About the speaker
Dr. John Farnsworth is an Associate Professor in the Ann and H.J. Smead Department of Aerospace Engineering Sciences at the University of Colorado Boulder (CU) and an Associate Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. Prior to joining the faculty in 2014, he served as a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Department of Aeronautics at the United States Air Force Academy for three years. Dr. Farnsworth received his Ph.D., M.S., and B.S. in Aeronautical Engineering from the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 2011, 2007, and 2006, respectively. Dr. Farnsworth is the director of the Experimental Aerodynamics Laboratory at CU, where his research is focused in the areas of understanding and controlling complex three-dimensional unsteady flow fields for aerodynamic applications. These topics include, but are not limited to: fluid–structure interactions, turbulence, highly three-dimensional regions of flow separation, and the design of novel fluidic actuators for flow control.
