Aerodynamic performance of an arrow airfoil in Mars environment and its optimization

Abstract

A novel arrow airfoil is proposed in the Mars atmospheric condition for high L/D, and the flow characteristics around the airfoil are investigated through numerical analysis. Since the bubble on the upper surface of the airfoil by the arrow, the lift increased and the frictional drag decreased, in turn, L/D increases. The optimized arrow airfoil that maximizes the maximum L/D over angle of attack 0 to 10° is obtained under the operating condition of NASA Mars Helicopter Technology Demonstrator(MHTD), based on 5% cambered flat plate airfoil. There is an increase in maximum L/D of 10.51% and 7.05% in the first and second flow conditions, respectively, and no design is derived that satisfies the constraints in the third flow condition. In addition, off-design analysis of optimum arrow airfoil is conducted to investigate the effect of Mach number, and it is confirmed that arrow airfoil is effective at M = 0.5 or less.