Aerodynamic Modification of NACA 0012 Airfoil by Trailing-Edge Plasma Gurney Flap

The effect of a novel plasma Gurney flap on the aerodynamic characteristics of a NACA 0012 airfoil is studied by solving the Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes equations. The plasma actuator is simulatedwith a phenomenological model. The results indicate that the plasma Gurney flap can increase the lift and nose-down pitching moment of the airfoil, and the mechanism is the same as that of the conventional Gurney flap. The flowfield presents that the vonKarman vortex street disappears near the trailing edge of the airfoil with a plasmaGurney flap, which decreases the airfoil’s drag and thus increases the lift-to-drag ratio before stall. By comparing the lift and nose-down pitching moment increments with the conventional Gurney flap and the jet Gurney flap, the equivalent height or jet blowing momentum coefficient of the plasma Gurney flap are estimated.