Ice-induced unsteady flowfield effects on airfoil performance

Numerical prediction of iced-airfoil performance prior to and at maximum lift is often inaccurate due to large-scale flow unsteadiness. New computational models are being developed to improve predictions of complex separated flowfields; however, experimental data are required to improve and validate these algorithms. The objective of this investigation was to examine the unsteady flow behavior and the time-dependent performance of an iced airfoil to determine the flowfield characteristics with the most influence on airfoil performance, especially near stall. A NACA 0012 airfoil with two-dimensional and three-dimensional leading-edge simulated glaze ice shapes was tested in a wind tunnel at Reynolds numbers 1.8 x 106 and 1.0 x 106. Time-dependent surface pressure measurements were used to calculate root-mean-square lift and quarter-chord pitching-moment coefficients. Surface and flowfield visualization and wake hot-wire data were acquired. Spectral, correlation and phase-angle analyses were performed.; The most significant unsteady flowfield effect on the iced-airfoil performance was a low-frequency flow phenomenon on the order of 10 Hz that resulted in Strouhal numbers of 0.0048--0.0101. The low-frequency oscillation produced large-scale pressure fluctuations nears eparation at high angles of attack and elevated lift and moment fluctuations as low as alpha = 4°. The low-frequency motion of surface pressure coefficients convected downstream at velocities 4%--34% of the freestream value and in one case, upstream at 0.18Uinfinity. The iced-airfoil flowfield exhibited a separation bubble of varying thickness and fluctuating reattachment, characteristics similar to those associated with the low-frequency shear-layer flapping and bubble growth and decay of other separated and reattached flows.; Vortex structures observed in the shear layer were presumed to be the cause of large-scale pressure fluctuations upstream of reattachment at small angles of attack. Pressure spectra near reattachment exhibited wide bandwidth frequency peaks that indicated a non-periodic phenomenon and corresponded to the regular mode often associated with vortex movement in and aft of the shear layer. Strouhal numbers ranged from 0.53 to 0.73. Although vortex shedding was rarely observed, the convection of surface pressure fluctuations occurred at approximately half the freestream velocity, similar to shedding velocities reported by others.