Unsteady aerodynamics of multiple airfoils in configuration

A lumped vortex model coupled with a vortex dissipation and vortex core criteria is used to study the unsteady flow past two airfoils in configuration, each of which is impulsively set into motion. The unsteady wakes of both airfoils are modeled by discrete vortices and timestepping is used to predict the individual wake shapes. The coupled flow is solved using a combined "zero-normal flow" boundary condition and Kelvin condition which results in (2N +2)X(2N+2) equations. Results are presented showing the effect of airfoil-airfoil and airfoilwake interaction on the aerodynamic characteristics of the configuration for the airfoils moving with zero and non-zero relative velocity. © 2011 by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Inc. All rights reserved.