Aerodynamic design optimization of an aircraft wing for drag reduction using computational fluid dynamics approach

The aircraft industry supports aviation by building aircraft and manufacturing aircraft parts for their maintenance. Fuel economization is one of the biggest concerns in the aircraft industry. The reduction in specific fuel consumption of aircraft can be achieved by a variety of means, simplest and more effective is the one to impose minor modifications in the aircraft main wing or the parts which are exposed to the air flow. This method can lead to a reduction in aerodynamic resistance offered by the air and have a smoother flight. The main objective of this study is to propose geometric design modifications on an existing aircraft wing which acts as a vortex generator and it can reduce the drag and increase lift to drag ratio, leading to lower fuel consumption. The NACA 2412 aircraft wing is modified and designed. Rigorous flow analysis is carried out using computational fluid dynamics based software Ansys Fluent. Results show that saw tooth modification to the main wing shows the best aerodynamic efficiency as compared to other modifications.