Airfoil at angle of attack

[dfitz1000]

Hi guys, hopefully somebody can help here.

I've been trying to model a wind tunnel experiment in
SolidWorks which consists of a wing model at an angle of
attack of 15 degrees. I am able to import the airfoil
from the .txt file of coordinate points but I cannot
figure out how to tilt the airfoil to 15 degrees.

I tried just constructing the wind tunnel "box" around
the airfoil at 15 degrees but this causes problems when I
bring it into ICEM CFD and then FLUENT.

I have also spent quite a while trying to create a new
plane that is rotated at 15 degrees to an existing plane
but it doesn't seem to be possible.

Does anybody have any ideas?

Thanks in advance.

 

[jimshaw]

dfitz,


When creating a new datum plane, select "At Angle" option, then select the front face of your wind tunel, and the lower edge, and adjust your angle accordingly. You can use any number of existing geometry, but this should give you an idea how to create it:


View attachment 5877


Does this help?


Jim
http://www.linkedin.com/in/shawengineering

 

[dfitz1000]

Thanks for the reply Jim.

I had tried that but the problem is I can't draw the
airfoil on that plane as it would just be attached to the
tunnel wall with some anhedral angle but no angle of
attack.

Basically what I need to do is create a new plane which
is rotated 10 deg from another plane as in the picture.
I'm sure this must be possible but I just can't figure it
out.

I also tried changing the coordinate system so that X-
direction was parallel to the long walls of the tunnel
but I couldn't do this either.

If anybody has any more ideas let me know,
Thanks.


View attachment 5878

 

[jimshaw]

dfitz,


Create parts for your airfoil, and your air box, both with geometry centered about the 3 default normal planes. Next, put them in an assembly, with the air locked at the origin. Create a 3D sketch (or pair of planars) to create angled lines in any orientation you want. Now, use assembly mates to position and orient your airfoil with respect to those lines.


Here I created angled lineson my assembly Right and Front planes for AoA (10

 

[dfitz1000]

Excellent, thanks for that, I appreciate the trouble you
went to to make that. I hadn't actually thought of using an
assembly instead of making it all one part.
Thanks again.

 

[jimshaw]

dfitz,


Since your ultimate goal is to conduct CFD analysis, then you'll actually be analyzing the air volume. By creating an assembly, you can easily remove the volume of the wing from the air, in an easy, parametric manner.


If you're using a smart translator between CAD/CFD (like Ansys' Design Modeler and using Fluent as a solver) then you can establish these two angles as analysis parameters, and then batch solve many flow solutions for any number of angle combinations.


No trouble at all, I've done this many, manytimes.


Good luck,


Jim
http://www.linkedin.com/in/shawengineering