Numerical Analysis of Sinusoidal Energy Deposition for Aerodynamic Performance Enhancement on a Dynamically Heaving-Pitching Wing

  • Dolla, Dereje (National Taipei University of Technology)
  • Wang, Chin-Cheng (National Taipei University of Technology)

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Controlling the dynamic stall and enhancing aerodynamic performance in an oscillating airfoil are critical subjects in the field. In this work, we examine the application of sinusoidal energy deposition for aerodynamic performance enhancement in the heave-pitch motions of the NACA 0012 airfoil. The arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian (ALE) framework was used to deform the mesh with high-fidelity large-eddy simulations (LES) at a Reynolds number of 13,800 and a reduced frequency of 0.12. The simplified method provides continuous sinusoidal actuation, making the numerical implementation simple while preserving the fundamental thermal heating of near-wall gas. The effects of frequency and magnitude of energy deposition on vortex dynamics were investigated independently using two energy levels and actuation frequencies of 5 kHz and 50 kHz. The findings demonstrate that high-frequency actuation improves overall aerodynamic performance by 24% compared to the baseline, strengthens the leading-edge vortex (LEV), and relaxes the trailing-edge vortex (TEV). The results demonstrate that sinusoidal energy deposition can effectively mimic the key characteristics of ns-DBD actuation, offering a practical and computationally efficient alternative for flow control investigations. These results highlight the advantages of optimizing frequency and energy parameters to maximize aerodynamic performance.