EXPERIMENTAL STUDY OF TREADMILL MOTION IN THE UPPER

SURFACE OF THE WING

Surya1, Sandeep2, Thangamariappan3, Vikram4
1,2,3,4
B.E Aeronautical Engineering Graduate, Apollo Engineering College, Tamilnadu, India

Abstract
We present this paper is an analysis of Treadmill motion in the upper surface of the cambered
wing. The use of treadmill motion for boundary-layer control has received lesser attention. By
introducing the Magnus effect in the design of the upper surface of the aircraft wing the
treadmill motion can be obtained. It is implemented by a series of roller fastened over a chain
belt and driven by a motor. The roller spins in a clockwise direction result in energizing the
flow over the upper surface of the wing. And this makes the airflow denser below the surface
and leads to the increase in pressure on the lower surface of the wing. By using our novel idea
we are generating enough lift and minimizes drag force on the aircraft wing. Addition to that
boundary layer separation can be delayed by the injecting momentum to the flow over the
surface of the wing and also stall angle of the wing can be extended by this concept. And this
idea will result in many concepts such as shorter wingspan, vertical take-off and landing or the
generation of lift at zero airspeeds.
Keywords – Magnus effect, Boundary layer control, Treadmill motion
1.INTRODUCTION
The lift force is one of the aerodynamic force worked on including movable cylinder in
which is pressure difference across the the aerofoil structure. But every new idea
aerofoil or other cross-section used in the comes with a serious drawback. After
aircraft. By introducing the Magnus effect in studying various research papers about
the design of aircraft wing more lift can be Magnus effect in our novel aerofoil
obtained. Magnus effect is the well-known instead of using a rotating cylinder we
phenomena which clearly defines there is no include treadmill motion on the upper
lift in the stationary cylinder while the same surface. If it is implemented on the wings
cylinder is rotated the upward lift force is of the aircraft more lift can be produced
created when both conditions are placed in when compared with the normal surface.
the free stream. But considering the aerofoil Moreover, the boundary layer separation
is the best design which creates the lift on the can be delayed by energizes the flow.
aircraft. The rotating cylinder as the wing
can be a good aspect for lift force on the other
hand in aerofoil lift can be adjusted by
changing the angle of attack. In the case of a
rotating cylinder its completely depends on
the velocity of the rotation. After Anton
Flettner’s invention of the Magnus effect in
ships, many scientists started to work on rotor
planes. However, the more power can be Fig-1:An aircraft uses rotating cylinders
consumed to rotate the cylinder and heavy to produce lift
drag forces are produced by the large
cylinders. And also various researches
1.1 MAGNUS EFFECT
It is the force exerted on a rapidly
spinning cylinder or sphere moving
through air or another fluid in a direction
at an angle to the axis of spin. This force
is responsible for the swerving of balls
when hit or thrown with spin.
On a cylinder, the force due to rotation is
known as KuttaJoukowski lift. It can be
analysed in terms of the vortex produced
by rotation. The lift on the cylinder per
unit length, F/L, is the product of the
velocity, V, the density ρ, and the
strength of the vortex that is established
by the rotation, G.
F/L = ρVG
where the vortex strength is given by,
G = 2πωr2
where ω is the angular velocity of spin of
the cylinder and r is the radius of the
cylinder.
Fig-2:Flow over a rotating cylinder
Very few devices based on the Magnus
effect have attracted attention or were
crowned by success. On the other hand,
its potential benefit compared to other
airfoil-based lifting devices, such as a
high lift coefficient, inspired engineers to
develop devices for extracting wind
energy, to propel and to steer vessels and
ultimately to lift an airplane. Many
research results on rotating cylinders were
presented in the literature which focus
mainly on the generation of aerodynamic
forces.
1.2 BOUNDARY LAYER
The thin layer of a flowing gas or liquid
in contact with a surface such as that of an
airplane wing. The fluid in the boundary
layer is subjected to shearing forces. A
range of velocities exists across the
boundary layer from maximum to zero,
provided the fluid is in contact with the
surface. Due to this, the velocity
decreases, leading to the creation of
vortices, subsequently causing massive
loss of energy. The main reason for the
formation of boundary layer would be the
difference in pressure
Formation of Boundary-Layer on an
aerofoil shaped body leads to the
following drawbacks
 Increase in the Displacement
thickness hence increasing the
pressure difference.
 Increases pressure drag over the
shaped body under flow.
 Formation of shedding vortices.
1.3 BOUNDARY LAYER CONTROL
It may be desirable to reduce flow
separation on aircraft wing to reduce the
size of the wake (streamlining), which
may reduce drag. Boundary layer
separation is generally undesirable in
aircraft high lift coefficient systems.
Motion of solid wall: This is the most
common method for avoiding separation
of boundary layer. If we can permit the
motion of solid wall along with the
velocity of the fluid, it is possible to
eliminate the formation of boundary
layer because the difference of velocity
of the fluid and the solid wall is the
main cause for the formation of
boundary layer. The easiest way of
achieving this is to rotate the cylinder
placed in motion of the fluid at right
angle to its axis.
2. BACKGROUND STUDY
Some Aerospace Engineering graduates
conducted an experiment with the use of
concept NACA0012 airfoil on the
aerodynamics of a with moving the solid
wall.
The solid wall was made to moving
along the upper surface of the wing. And
it can be implemented by using a moving
surface efficiently with respective driver
and driven setup of mechanical
components with fewer complications.
This model was driven by a small electric
motor to run the treadmill setup
efficiently with less power consumption.
The test was carried out in a different
angle of attacks to a certain speed and the
results of lift, drag forces can be
calculated.
Motor Angle Lift Drag(N)
speed of (N)
Attack
0% 0 0.017 1.813
25% 0 3.488 1.503
50% 0 6.007 1.363
0% 5 17.445 1.014
25% 5 22.519 0.468
50% 5 26.367 0.156
Table-1: Velocity of air flow at 30 m/s
The experimental study shows that the
concept is valid and can be used to
generate far higher values of Lift force
and also decrease the Drag force that is
obtained from a wing section.
3. OUR PROPOSED CONCEPT
In our novel concept, we have to
implement the Magnus effect over an
aircraft wing with an ambitious yet
prospective view of extending the
limitations of a conventional aircraft
wing.
We propose it to have an accelerated
portion on the upper surface of the
airfoil, thereby increasing the differential
pressure over the upper and the lower
surface of the airfoil in appreciable
quantity to achieve benefits of extending
the aerodynamic limitations of an aircraft
wing.
The wing model of our project testing
will be a cambered airfoil and the
ultimate objective will be making the belt
surface moving efficiently moving with
respective driver and driven components.
3.1 BENEFITS
Our novel concept is implemented on the
aircraft could be advantageous in many
ways which could be lead to save fuel
and weight. The following can be
considered as the advantages of a wing
with the use of our novel concept.
 Produce more lift compared with
the certain wing span.
 It reduce the length of the wings.
 Boundary layer separation can be
delayed.
 Stalling angle can be extended
using our concept
Reversing the concept can produce a
disrupt the flow in the wing and causes
the boundary layer separation which will
reduce the lift force during the landing of
the aircraft.
4. COMPONENTS OF THE MODEL
Implementing the Magnus effect over
our wing model is accomplished by
using the treadmill driver assembly.
The treadmill driver assembly involves
the following components.
 Driving shafts
 Timing belt
 Timing pulley
 Driver setup
 Motor
The wing section dimensions could be
carefully taken to ensure that the wing
section can be placed for testing. In the
moving surface, the belt can be made of
a material which has a suitable
coefficient of friction. And the model
can be analyzed in the CFD software
before doing the experimental work to
prove the advantages. The CFD
software could be used for the designing
process is CATIA V5. For the
experimental process, the fabrication
also will be done.
5. CONCLUSION
From the results of various researches
shows that the concept would be a valid
one and it can be used to generate higher
lift forces and also decreased drag
forces. The boundary layer separation
can be delayed using this concept. The
disadvantage of using this concept
should be an additional driving
mechanism with additional weight and
complexity in design. Further
experimental works and CFD analysis
can be done in future to prove our
concept with both theoretically and
experimentally.
6. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The authors would like to acknowledge
the technical help of Prof. Rajamurugu,
Assist Prof. Stefaniya. And also we
would like to thank the faculties of our
institution who gave proper guidance and
motivation to make this conceptual
design.
7. REFERENCES
[1] Tayeb Yahiaoui, T, 2015. Effect of
Moving Surface on NACA 63218
Aerodynamic Performance. EPJ Web of
Conferences.
[2] Modi, V.J, 1997. MOVING
SURFACE BOUNDARY-LAYER
CONTROL: A REVIEW. Journal of
Fluids and Structures, Journal of Fluids
and Structures (1997) 11, 627-663.
[3] ―Shuvrodeb Barman, Asif Shahriar
Nafi, Nafisa Nawal Probha, and Saif
Atique. A CFD Based Parametric Study
to Investigate the Moving Surface Effect
on Airfoil Boundary-Layer Control
.MIST, Dhaka, 2015.
[4] Seifert J. A review of the Magnus
effect in aeronautics. Progress in
Aerospace Sciences (2012); 55:17–45
[5] Samani, I., Sedaghat, A., A Novel
MAV with Treadmill Motion of Wing,
Theoretical & Applied Mechanics Letters
3, 062002, 2013.
[6] Mittal, S., Kumar, B., Flow past a
rotating cylinder. Journal of Fluid
Mechanics, 476:303-334, 2003.
[7] F. Mokhtarian, Fluid dynamics of
Airfoils With Moving Surface Boundary
Layer Control, PHD thesis of the
University of British Colombia (1988)
[8] Lachmann, G.V., Boundary Layer
and Flow Control, Vols. 1, pp 71-72, [16] Reid EG. Tests of rotating
Chapter 2, Pergamon, 1961 cylinders. Flight; 1925.

[9] Mokhtarian F., Modi V. J., 1988,

Fluid dynamics of airfoils with moving
surface boundary-layer control,
Journal of Aircraft, AIAA, 25-2, pp 163-
1696.

[10] Modi V. J., Mokhtarian F., 1988,

Effect of Moving Surfaces on the Airfoil
Boundary-Layer Control, Journal of
Aircraft, AIAA, 27-1, pp 42-5

[11] Kavithasan Patkunam, Samay

Sigamani, Pedaballi Mahathi,
Selvakumaran, Oct-2015, Experimental
Study of Magnus Effect over an Aircraft
Wing, International Journal of Research
in Engineering and Technology, Vol-4,
No-10, pp 406-414

[12] Tayeb Yahiaoui, Mohamed

Belhenniche and Bachir Imine, 2015,
Effect of Moving Surface on NACA
63218 Aerodynamic Performance, EPJ
Web of Conferences, Vol-92, No:
02114

[13] Modi V. J., Mokhtarian F.,

Fernando M. S. U. K., Moving Surface
Boundary-Layer Control as Applied to
Two-Dimensional Airfoils, Journal of
Aircraft, AIAA, 28-2, pp 104-112. 11.
11. Bertin, J. J. Aerodynamics for
Engineers. New Jersey, Prentice-Hall,
Inc. Page-98, 2002.

[14] Anderson, J. D. Introduction to

Flight. McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.,
United States of America, 2005. pp. 150.

[15] Jost Seifert, 2012, A review of the

Magnus effect in aeronautics, Progress
in Aerospace Sciences Vol-55 No: 45,
pp 17-45