Numerical investigations on winglet effects on aerodynamic and aeroacoustic performance of a civil aircraft wing

The paper discusses the effect of the winglets on the aerodynamic and aeroacoustic performance of Boeing 737-800 aircraft by numerical approach. For this purpose, computational fluid dynamics and fluent commercial software are used to solve the compressible flow governing equations. The RANS method and the K-omega SST turbulence model are selected to simulate the subsonic flow around the wing with acceptable accuracy and low computational cost. The main variables of steady flow around the simple and blended wing in constant atmospheric conditions are computed by numerical solution of governing equations. The solution of the acoustic field has also been accomplished by the broad-band acoustic source model. The results reveal that adding a blended winglet increases the pressure difference near the wingtip, which increases the lift force. Also, the blended winglet reduces the power and magnitude of vorticities around the wingtip, which reduces the wing's drag force. The effects of winglets on aerodynamic forces lead to a 3.8% increase in flight range and a 3.6% increase in the maximum payload of the aircraft. Also, the acoustic power level variables on the surfaces and fields around the wing have been investigated integrally and locally.