Arriving on NC State’s Centennial campus, I was warmly greeted by Dr. G and two Ph.D. students. They gave me an introduction to aerodynamics and showed me their current research projects: understanding, formulating, and calculating equations that fully represent the motions and aerodynamics of a bug’s wing during flight.
As an introduction to aerodynamics, I learned about Reynold’s number, leading-edge vortex, CFDs, and more. The Reynold’s number is essential in computing the aerodynamics of an object, accounting for four variables: size, viscosity, velocity, and density. When Reynold’s number stays constant, the aerodynamics of the object stays constant. The leading edge vortex is created when an airfoil is angled in a way that does not allow fluid to pass over it smoothly. Other vortices can form and detach at the tail-end of the airfoil. Below is an image displaying the change in vortices due to the change in airfoil angle. CFDs, also known as computational fluid dynamics, accurately and colorfully shows how fluid would pass over an object.
Figure #1. The Forming of Vortices in Relation to Airfoil Angle.