Investigation of dynamic characteristics of hydrofoil with leading-edge tubercles

Abstract The convex structure of a humpback whale flipper is included in the airfoil design to investigate the control principle of the dynamic stall process. The effect of two different types of tubercles on the dynamic stall process of airfoils was investigated. The distribution of dynamic hysteresis loops and pressure fields with streamlines was used to explain the properties of the dynamic flow field and the emergence of dynamic stall vortices. The results demonstrate that the airfoils with tubercles have stronger hysteretic characteristics in the pre-stall region, and the ζ CM of mod-1 is increased by 51.33%, indicating stronger torsional hydroelastic stability. In the post-stall region, mod-2 is always in a condition of significant flow separation, which impairs the torsional hydrodynamic stability of the airfoil and has the potential to cause flutter. These findings suggest that leading-edge tubercles offer a negligible advantage in reducing airfoil dynamic stall, and their significance warrants further investigation.