FCFD analysis of the influence of winglets on the aerodynamic performance of the DA42 Diamond aircraft

The paper presents the application of Computer Aided Engineering software for an investigation of the aerodynamic performance of a small two-engine aircraft. In the presented study, the Computational Fluid Dynamics was applied in order to determine the influence of winglets on the aerodynamic performance of the DA42 Diamond aircraft. The numerical simulations were performed with the use of SolidWorks Flow Simulation software. In order to evaluate the influence of the winglets on the lift and drag force, two configurations of the selected aircraft were modelled: with and without winglets. The results of CFD simulations confirmed a reduction of induced drag caused by wingtips vortices dissipation introduced by winglets. The maximum reduction of the induced drag was achieved at high angles of attack. The authors visualized the structure of vortices in case of wings with and without winglets. A smaller volume of wingtip vortices in case of winglets application can be seen in the pressure distribution and streamline plots. The outcome of the presented work confirms the feasibility of Computer Aided Engineering for the assessment of aerodynamic performance of aircraft. The presented methodology can be used in the process of designing and optimisation of alternative configurations of aircraft. The results of work might prove useful for DA42 DIAMOND pilots and maintenance personnel as well as for educational purposes.

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Opracowanie ze środków MNiSW w ramach umowy 812/P-DUN/2016 na działalność upowszechniającą naukę.