This paper experimentally investigates the turbulence resilience of the NACA0012 airfoil with bio-inspired leading-edge undulations (LEUs) at a chord-based Reynolds number of 3.9 × 10 4 , under two inflow conditions with turbulence intensities Tu of 0.5 and 8.9%. Aerodynamic results show that the airfoil with LEUs (LEUA) exhibits delayed and moderated stall compared to the baseline airfoil (BSLA) under turbulent inflow with T u = 8.9 % and reduces fluctuating loads by up to 23%. More importantly, LEUA exhibits significantly more stable aerodynamic performance across varying inflow conditions, with improvements in turbulence resilience for lift, drag, lift-to-drag ratio, pitching moment, and resultant load fluctuations of 45.7, 53.6, 56.8, 45.6, and 10.2%, respectively, compared to BSLA. Two-dimensional time-resolved particle image velocimetry results reveal that under turbulent inflow LEUA maintains energized boundary layers at the crests and localized separation bubbles at the troughs. The three-dimensional flow characteristics enable LEUA to suppress flow separation and delay stall onset, leading to more stable flow patterns compared to BSLA. Synchronized phase-locked measurements between the flowfield and aerodynamic forces further confirm that LEUA stabilizes flow structures and mitigates unsteady fluctuations in aerodynamic loads. Overall, LEUA exhibits improved turbulence resilience, highlighting its potential for future aerodynamic applications in disturbed flow environments.


    Access

    Check access

    Check availability in my library

    Order at Subito €


    Export, share and cite



    Title :

    Improving Airfoil Turbulence Resilience Through Leading-Edge Undulations


    Contributors:
    Liu, Zhifeng (author) / Yang, Shuo (author) / Yang, Yue (author)

    Published in:

    Publication date :

    2025-07-01




    Type of media :

    Article (Journal)


    Type of material :

    Electronic Resource


    Language :

    English




    Flow over a Wing with Leading-Edge Undulations

    Skillen, A. / Revell, A. / Pinelli, A. et al. | AIAA | 2015


    Flow over a Wing with Leading-Edge Undulations

    Skillen, A | Online Contents | 2015


    Effect of Airfoil-Preserved Undulations on Wing Performance

    Loughnane, Faith A. / Supina, Rachael / Mongin, Michael P. et al. | AIAA | 2020


    EFFECT OF AIRFOIL-PRESERVED UNDULATIONS ON WING PERFORMANCE

    Loughnane, Faith A. / Supina, Rachael / Mongin, Michael P. et al. | TIBKAT | 2020


    MORPHING AIRFOIL LEADING EDGE

    GRIP ROBERT E / BROWN JOHN J / HARRISON NEAL A et al. | European Patent Office | 2017

    Free access