Created in COMSOL Multiphysics 5.

3a

NACA Airfoil Optimization

This Application is licensed under the COMSOL Application License 5.3a.

All trademarks are the property of their respective owners. See www.comsol.com/trademarks.
About the Application
The NACA Airfoil Optimization app computes the flow field, pressure field, and shape of
a 2D airfoil in order to maximize the lift-to-drag ratio.

The airfoil geometry is fully parameterized. You can choose to enter the airfoil parameters
and Reynolds number directly or let the app’s optimization solver find the right geometry
parameters to maximize the lift-to-drag ratio. The fluid flow interfaces and meshes are
automatically chosen based on the user-defined Reynolds number.

Reset input Update geometry Compute Create report

Value of
optimized parameter

Enter geometry
parameters

Select parameter
to optimize

Enter or compute
Reynolds number

Computed lift
and drag

Geometry and plots

Figure 1: The app’s graphical user interface.

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FULLY PARAMETERIZED GEOMETRY
You can enter the geometry parameters using the sliders or the text boxes in the Inputs &
Results section. The text boxes allow for entries with more significant digits than the
sliders.

Click Update Geometry in the main menu to display the resulting wing profile in the plot
windows.

Figure 2: Definitions for the NACA airfoil geometry.

The NACA airfoil [Ref. 1] is an airfoil shape developed by the National Advisory
Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), where four digits follow the acronym to describe the
airfoil's dimensions. The naming convention for the four digits is the following:

• The first digit describes maximum camber as a percentage of the chord length.
• The second digit describes the distance of the maximum camber from the airfoil’s
leading edge in tenths of the chord length.
• The last two digits describe the maximum thickness of the airfoil as a percentage of the
chord length.

The NACA 2412, for instance, would be an airfoil with a maximum camber of 2% of the
chord length located at a distance of 40% of the chord length from the leading edge. Its

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maximum thickness is 12% of the chord length. The NACA 2412 is the default airfoil in
this app.

THE REYNOLDS NUMBER

You can set the Reynolds number in the Flow Parameters section. If you do not know the
Reynolds number, select the Compute the Re number button and enter the flow or wing
velocity and the chord length instead. The Reynolds number is then computed and set in
the app’s interface.

COMPUTING THE FLUID FLOW AND PRESSURE FIELDS

The appropriate fluid flow interface in the embedded model is automatically chosen by the
app based on the parameter for the Reynolds number. Low Reynolds number simulations
are performed on a coarse mesh with the Laminar Flow interface in the CFD Module.
Higher Reynolds number simulations use the Spalart-Allmaras turbulence model, which
has been specifically developed for airfoil design simulations. Both of these fluid flow
interfaces allow for accurate computation of the lift and drag forces.

Note that the Navier-Stokes equations in the fluid flow interfaces have been
nondimensionalized to reduce the flow input conditions to a single parameter (i.e., the
Reynolds number). Therefore, the airfoil chord, fluid density, and inlet velocity are all set
to 1 in the embedded model. The dynamic viscosity is set to 1/Re.

To compute the flow and pressure fields, select the Compute button. This also updates the
plots in the Graphics area. If you have selected one of the Optimize check boxes, the shape
of the airfoil is also computed using an optimization interface in the embedded model.

RESULTS
The application computes and displays:

• The normalized velocity and pressure fields in 2D.

• The lift coefficient, drag coefficient, and lift-to-drag ratio.
• The optimized geometry and its parameters, if at least one of the Optimize check boxes
is selected.

Reference
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NACA_airfoil.

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Application Library path: CFD_Module/Applications/
naca_air_foil_optimization

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