International Conference on Recent Advances in Mechanical Engineering and Interdisciplinary Developments [ICRAMID - 2014]

Analysis of the Effects of Using Different Nozzles and

Angle of Attack in Miniature Commercial Aircraft with
Vertical Lift using CFD
Aravindhan P *

Anandhan P.T

Department of Mechanical Engineering,

Rajalakshmi Engineering College,
Chennai, India
aaravindhpv@gmail.com,

Department of Mechanical Engineering,

Vellamal Engineering College,
Chennai, India
banandhdec24@gmail.com

Abstract The objective of the work is to

compare between convergent, convergentdivergent nozzle and to analyse which has
better performance in a miniature aircraft
having vertical lift system. Comparison is
done by having 2 and 4 attack angle at a
free stream mach no 0.8 and to find the
variation of pressures around, drag. CFD
analysis has been performed for the miniature
aircraft. Pressure forces, viscous forces,
pressure coefficient and viscous coefficient
are found for convergent nozzle and

convergent-divergent nozzle. Also pressure

variation at 2 and 4 angle of attack for
Airfoil
types
AIG(smart
fish)
and
NACA(Conventional) are found. It was found
convergent-divergent nozzle is best suited
with vertical lift having exit jet velocity
2700m/s. It is also found that airfoil produce
less drag when attack angle is 4
Keywords Vertical lift ,Aerofoil ,CFD,
Aerodynamics

the effects, performance under various flow

conditions can be checked.

Introduction

B. Vertical Lift Mechanism

In this project a CFD analysis is done on a

miniature Aircraft by comparing use of
Convergent nozzle, Convergent-Divergent
nozzle in A vertical lift system. Also comparing
Aerofoil with 2, 4 angle of attack for NACA
and Smart fish models.

In this study we are going to discuss about

the effects of using Convergent, Convergent
divergent nozzles in vertical life of an Aircraft.
The two cases are simulated in CFD to find
which nozzle will suit better for a vertical lift.

A. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD):

1) Nozzle

CFD provides a qualitative prediction of

flow by means of mathematical modeling,
numerical methods and software tools.

A Nozzle is a device having various cross

section used to control the pressure, direction of
flow of a fluid. In Aviation to propel a Aircraft
the reaction force which results by passing
highly pressured air through a nozzle is used.

The main principle of CFD is its discretizing

of a big part in to smaller units and then
performing analysis. This process is performed
by various discretization methods.

2) Convergent Nozzle

Subsonic fluids can be accelerated to sonic

velocity can be reached if has high nozzle
pressure.

Scientists, Engineers use CFD to simulate

and analyze their design, to check its properties
before actual production. It uses Algorithms
and numerical methods to analyze problems. By
using high speed computers CFD analysis can
be performed easily.

3) Convergent Divergent Nozzle

Supersonic speed is achieved at the

convergent section by accelerating the fluid.

Flow pattern of wind around an Aircraft cab

be simulated by CFD so that any problem in
Design or the product can be identified. Further
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the wing is the angle of attack. The angle of

attack is assumed to be 4 degree for this
aerofoil and it is tested at different angle attack.
4) National
Advisory
Commitee
for
Aeronautics(NACA)
Every aerofoil has their digit followed by
NACA. The numbers is the series is used to get
the values of aerofoil Cross section and to find
its various properties. They include maximum
Asymmetry between top and bottoms surfaces,
maximum camber, and maximum thickness of
the aerofoil. The series may be four digit series,
1 series, 6 series, 7 series, 8 series.

Fig 1 Convergent Divergent nozzle

C. Aerofoil

It is the shape of the wing, aerofoil results in

the production of an Aerodynamic force when it
is moved through a fluid. This aerodynamic
force can be resolved in to two components,
they are lift and drag. Above 18 degree no lift
can be achieved. Upper surface of the Aerofoil
is called suction surface, lower surface is called
as Pressure surface.

5) Smart Fish

1) Drag

Resistance offered to the wing from the fluid

surrounding it when moved through it.

Fig 3 Smart fish (AIG)

It is different from conventional NACA
aerofoil designs. It has wing and body blended
to form a single part. Aerodynamic properties
of smart fish are found to be better. The
efficient way to produce a lift is to have an
elliptical distribution of lift. It gets its name
based on its shape. In smart fish model
propulsive efficiency is higher because its
boundary layer height is small.

(1)
2) Lift

It is the force which helps the wing to move

up against the resistance. It is the component of
aerodynamic force which helps to lift Aircraft.

Related Work
(2)

In paper [6], advancements in numerical

algorithms, computer hardware, and geometric
pre-processing have enabled CFD to simulate
the flow field around aerospace vehicles with
all its geometrical complexities. This matured
technology is not only explaining the complex
flow physics, but also providing important
design inputs for various aerospace vehicle
including fighter and transport aircraft, launch
vehicles and missiles. The simulation of these
complex aeropropulsive flows requires
enormous computing time and memory. To
meet the increasing demands from the designers
(one run per day), all the computer codes are

3) Angle of Attack

Fig 2 Angle of attack

The difference between where the wing is
pointed and the direction of the air flowing over
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International Conference on Recent Advances in Mechanical Engineering and Interdisciplinary Developments [ICRAMID - 2014]

parallelised and a number of high performance

computing platforms based on multi-node
cluster computing have been established. CFD
has emerged as an important tool in the design
and analysis activities of various aerospace
vehicles in India and contributing to a faster,
accurate, and less expensive design process.

coalesce, the jets in twin jet behave as single

jet.
In paper [3], in order to investigate the flame
holding mechanism of the planer strut in
supersonic flow, the two-dimensional coupled
implicit RANS equations, the standard k-
turbulence model and the finite-rate/eddydissipation reaction model are introduced to
simulate the flow field of the hydrogen fueled
scramjet combustor with a strut flame holder
under different conditions, namely the cold
flow and the engine ignition. The numerical
method employed in this paper can be used to
accurately investigate the flow field of the
scramjet combustor with planer strut flame
holder, and capture the shock wave system
reasonably. The static pressure of the case
under the engine ignition condition is much
higher than that of the case under the cold flow
condition due to the intense combustion
process.

In paper [1], the author proposes alternatives

in the design of winglet from the conventional
designs. An improved winglet design will
significantly yield a better performance of an
aircraft and reduce the fuel consumption. By
using CFD to predict the performance of the
winglets, huge amount of time and money can
be saved before testing the winglet in the wind
tunnel. Modification can also be done at this
stage (during computational), thus shortening
the time-cycle before actually coming out with
the optimum design.
In paper [2], the winglet design is capable to
reduce induced drag force and convert wing tip
vortices to additional thrust which will save
cost by reducing the usage of fuel, noise level
reduction and increase the efficiency of the
aircraft engine. The experiment result shows
25-30 % reduction in drag coefficient and 10-20
% increase in lift coefficient by using winglet
for angle of attack of 8 degree. The developed
model can be used as a reference for the
prototype. This investigation provides a better
understanding for the winglet concept and its
inclusion to the wing of aircraft wing model.

In paper [5], the study presents two

approaches for computing gust response of
elastic free aircraft configuration based on CFD
analyses. The direct approach involves full
aero-elastic simulation within the CFD run. The
hybrid approach involves computing rigid
sharp-edge gust responses in a CFD run,
computing the gust input forces due to arbitrary
gust profiles via convolution, and applying a
linear aero-elastic feedback loop to compute the
aero-elastic gust responses. The latter is highly
computationally efficient, as only one relatively
short CFD run is required for the computation
of the sharp-edge gust responses, after which
responses to arbitrary gust profiles can be
computed in seconds. The former is more
elaborate and time consuming, and can be used
in nonlinear flight conditions, such as light in
the high transonic regime, or at very low speeds
close to stall, where the low is detached.
Comparisons with gust responses computed by
a linear panel code validated the proposed
methods, and highlighted the differences in gust
responses computed by the panel and CFD
codes. While the aero-elastic responses
computed by the two codes were found to be
relatively similar in frequencies and damping,
the modal displacements predicted by the linear
panel code were larger than those predicted by

In paper [4], FLUENT analysis was carried

out to investigate the flow field of the twin jets.
The flow behaviors were measured to assist in
understanding the change in the flow. The
effects of Mach numbers (Me), pressure ratio
(Pe/Pa) and the spacing (B) between two jets
on the flow field along the flow and lateral
directions were examined. It is seen that
increase in jet Mach number (Me) results in
increase of the shock cell length, i.e., the Mach
disc shifts downstream with increase of Me.
Further, the Mach disc diameter also increases
with increasing Mach number, as expected. It is
seen that both Me and Pe/Pa have similar effect
on the jet width. In general, the jet width
increases with increase of both Me and Pe/Pa.
The distance where the inter boundaries
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International Conference on Recent Advances in Mechanical Engineering and Interdisciplinary Developments [ICRAMID - 2014]

the CFD code. This suggest that in this case a

structural design for gust loads the use of panel
and CFD codes may yield different designs.

Ansys ICEM-CFD 14 is the software used to

create meshing on the nozzle . The output
obtained from continuum is sent as input to
meshing in this step. Then the necessary
meshing conditions are provided followed by
the meshing process.

Proposed Method
D. Nozzle
1) Modeling of nozzle

3) Simulation

Modeling is done using Solidworks 2012.

The solidstructure of the nozzle is drawn using
various commands in the solidworks software.
It is the modeled to get a 3D structure of the
needed nozzle. Simulation is to be done on the
drawn model.

ANSYS Flent 14 is for the simulation

process. The meshed nozzle is sent as input for
CFD analysis. Model used is Sparlat-Allmaras
viscous model followed by providing
information about fluid properties and
Boundary conditions.

To perform a CFD Analysis on any solid part

it should be enclosed in a continuum. The
nozzle is a curved surface part having
symmetry on YZ plane.

a) Spalart-Allmaras model
Turbulent viscosity is solved by using a oneequation model in Spalart-Allmaras model.
Most aerospace applications use SpalartAllmaras model, having high pressure gradient
boundary layers.

The Spalart-Allmaras equation is given by

(3)

(4)
Values of constants are given as follows

Fig 4 Proposed Methodology

2) Meshing of nozzle

b) Materials

Properties of the fluid used in Simulation

Fig 5 Meshing Of Convergent Nozzle
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International Conference on Recent Advances in Mechanical Engineering and Interdisciplinary Developments [ICRAMID - 2014]

Implementation
TABLE I PROPERTIES OF FLUID
Fluid
Carbon-di-oxide(CO2)
Density
1.7878 kg/m3
Cp
840.37 J/Kg-k
Thermal
0.0145 W/mK
Conductivity(K)
Viscosity
1.37e-05 Kg/m-s.
Flow
Supersonic

The results obtained by providing the

necessary condition in an ANSYS Fluent
Software are shown and discussed.

Boundary Conditions for the Nozzle

Exit Pressure:
Pexit() = 0.12 sin() + pexit (4.1)
c)

Where,
= circular frequency of unsteady pressure
(rad/s)
Pexit = mean exit pressure (atm)
In this case,
0.7369 atm.

Fig 6 Velocity variation in nozzle

= 2200 rad/s, and Pexit =

From the above figure it is found that,

velocity varies across the nozzle surface varies
from a lower to higher value from inlet to
middle region. The velocity decreases when the
fluid passes the exit portion.

4) Analysis

After model, materials and boundary

conditions are selected, simulation is done by
using ANSYS Fluent 14.
E. Aerofoil

In this paper angle of attacks 2 and 4 are

taken to study and compare its performance on
NACA and smart fish aerofoils. MACH number
is taken to be 0.8. Flow is assumed to be
transonic. X=c=45 is the mid-chord region.
Drag around the aerofoils is studied.
Comparison is made between various angles of
attacks taken to study. Lesser the drag
maximum effective the lift and the aerofoil Fig 7 Pressure variation in nozzle
design will be.
The above figure shows pressure variation along the nozzle. Pressure values at the inlet and outlet
relatively higher when compared with the pressure value of the mid region.

Zone
name

pressure
force

TABLE II ANSYS FLUENT RESULTS

viscous force
total force pressure
coefficient (Cp)

Wall

165640.2

10147.278

175787.47

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0.068114233

viscous
coefficient
(Cv)
0.0041727436

International Conference on Recent Advances in Mechanical Engineering and Interdisciplinary Developments [ICRAMID - 2014]

TABLE III EXIT JET VELOCITIES

Type of nozzle
Convergent nozzle convergentdivergent nozzle
Velocity at exit
1500m/s
2700m/s
By analyzing the ANSYS Fluent results the
convergent divergent nozzle is best suited for
the vertical lift purpose with an Exit jet
Velocity of 2700m/s. The maximum jet velocity
of a convergent nozzle is lesser that the
convergent-divergent nozzle. Its exit jet
velocity is 1500m/s

Fig 9 Lift Coefficient

The above graph shows the lift coefficient, we
can see that the value of lift coefficient has
increased rapidly then stabilizes after a period
of time. It is because of the weight of the
aircraft.
Conclusion
Pressure forces, viscous forces, pressure
coefficient and viscous coefficient are found
using Ansys Fluent 14 software. It was found
convergent-divergent nozzle is best suited with
vertical lift having exit jet velocity 2700m/s.
Also pressure variation at 2 and 4 angle of
attack for Airfoil types AIG (smart fish) and
NACA (Conventional) are found. It is also
found that airfoil produce less drag when attack
angle is 4 .

Fig 8 Pressure Variation at 2 &4 attack angle

The results of the analysis show the drag
change around the aerofoil surface. It can be
clearly seen that the 4 angle of attack has
lesser drag when compared with 2 angle of
attack in both SmartFish and Conventional
NACA aerofoils. Lesser drag leads to greater
lift.

Future work can be done by considering

various other angles of attacks, types of flows
and materials.

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International Conference on Recent Advances in Mechanical Engineering and Interdisciplinary Developments [ICRAMID - 2014]

References
[1] M. A Azlin, C.F Mat Taib, S. Kasolang
and F.H Muhammad ,CFD Analysis of
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Engineering 2011 Vol I WCE 2011,
July 6 - 8, 2011, London, U.K.
[2] Altab Hossain, Ataur Rahman, A.K.M.
P. Iqbal, M. Ariffin, and M. Mazian,
Drag Analysis of a Aircraft wing model
wth and without a feather like Winglet,
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of
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[3] K.M.Pandey and T.Sivasakthivel, CFD
Analysis of Mixing and Combustion of
a Scramjet Combustor with a Planer
Strut Injector, International Journal of
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[5] Daniella E. Raveh, CFD-Based Gust
Response Analysis of Free Elastic
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[6] K.P. Singh, J. S. Mathur, V. Ashok, and
Debasis Chakraborty. ,Computational
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[7] Y. Bourgault, H. Beaugendre, W.G.
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