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Two-dimensional impervious sails: experimental results compared with theory

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 April 2006

B. G. Newman and
H. T. Low
B. G. Newman
Affiliation:
Department of Mechanical Engineering, McGill University, Montreal
H. T. Low
Affiliation:
Department of Mechanical Engineering, McGill University, MontrealPermanent address: Department of Mechanical and Production Engineering, National University of Singapore.
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Abstract

Experiments have been made on quasi two-dimensional sails of small camber and at small incidence. Four excess-length ratios have been tested at a Reynolds number of 1.2 x 105. The results for lift, tension, centre of lift, maximum camber and its position, and leading- and trailing-edge membrane angles have been compared with existing inviscid theories and show poor agreement in general. This is attributed to leading- and trailing-edge flow separations as indicated by supplementary flow-visualization experiments. The optimum incidences in particular are much greater than the theoretical value of 0°. Luffing occurs at slightly negative incidences and appears to be a dynamic instability. The highest lift-to-drag ratio obtained was 16.5 on a membrane with an excess-length ratio of 0.03.

Information

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Fluid Mechanics , Volume 144 , July 1984, pp. 445 - 462
Copyright
© 1984 Cambridge University Press

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