Review on High-Lift Systems for Aerodynamic Applications

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Review on High-Lift Systems for Aerodynamic Applications

Matiz-Chicacausa, A. / Sedano, C. A.

Abstract One of the main focal points in aircraft aerodynamics has been the study and development of high-lift devices and systems. These are designed in order to enable manipulation of the lifting force at various moments during flight (takeoff, cruising and landing) in such a way that the aircraft can increase or decrease the lift-to-drag ratio accordingly. High-lift systems are classified into trailing-edge and leading-edge devices. The first consists mainly of various types of flaps such as the plain flap, Fowler flap or the Krueger flap which act to increase the lifting force by reducing minimum speed, delaying flow separation or increasing the effective camber or the wing area. On the other hand, leading-edge devices consist mainly of fixed slots, movable slats, leading edge flaps or cuffs. The main idea of these devices is to sustain the lifting force even when the aircraft’s speed decreases. Nowadays, there has been increasing interest in the study of high-lift systems using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), instead of the experimental techniques traditionally used. Nevertheless, CFD techniques still face some major challenges that in some cases can only be solved through experimentation.