Unsteady aerodynamics of dual biofoils

Abstract

Energy contained in the wake vortices generated by a leading foil can be harvested by a following foil. The effect of horizontal and vertical distances between the foils is calculated by using an unsteady panel method. The propulsive characteristics of an actively morphing dual foil system are investigated by changing the morphing modes and the relative distances. It is shown that the horizontal distance between the foils has an effect of increasing the thrust of the system. The vertical distance has an effect of decreasing the thrust of the system.