Numerical investigation on aerodynamic characteristics of a tiltrotor wing with serrated Gurney flap
Hao Chen · 2026
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Description
Hao Chen studies a zigzag-edged flap meant to help tiltrotor aircraft wings make more lift during their tricky changeover between helicopter and aeroplane flight. A plain Gurney flap, a small flat strip at the wing's rear edge, already boosts lift cheaply. Chen's 2026 simulations test a serrated version, cut with teeth along its edge. Airflow around the wing was computed with standard turbulence modelling, and the new shape was compared against both a clean wing and the plain flap.
The serrated flap improved overall performance against the clean wing. It gave up some lift compared with the plain flap, yet its lift-to-drag balance came out better. Taller teeth lowered lift, drag, and nose-down pitching together, while tooth width barely mattered. The area the flap presents to the wind emerged as the key design lever. Chen presents the serrations as a tunable refinement for conversion-phase flight.
Catalog record
| CREATOR | Hao Chen |
|---|---|
| YEAR | 2026 |
| COLLECTION | PAPERS |
| FORMAT | TXT |
| FILE SIZE | 18543 |
| LICENSE | https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 |
| RIGHTS | CC BY |
| SOURCE | Europe PMC |