Aerodynamic Design and Experimental Investigation of the Sailplane Wing Tip Devices

Abstract

This paper describes an experimental set-up for the investigation of wing tip devices developed as part of a study into the velocity and vorticity distributions in the flow field behind winglets, using hot-wire anemometry. In this study, effort was focused on gaining a greater understanding of what happens in the region where the winglet joins the wing. The measurements were performed in the Handley-Page wind tunnel of the Department of Aerospace Engineering at the University of Glasgow. In order to carry out measurements with the hot-wire anemometry system, a new traverse mechanism was designed and manufactured. This traverse mechanism was integrated with the other test instrumentation to create a complete measurement chain. The complete system allows fully automated hot wire measurements to be made over a defined area using programmable test parameters.