Numerical Analysis of Aerodynamic Characteristics of NACA0012 and NACA0018 Airfoils Based on Boundary Layer Theory

Many people dived into the research of the airfoils using experimental and numerical methods and tried their best to discover accurate data on aerodynamic characteristics. However, it cannot address the causes behind the aerodynamic characteristics and does little favor of the development and the design of the airfoils. Therefore, this study presents a numerical investigation of 2-D aerodynamic characteristics for NACA0012 and NACA0018 airfoils under the Reynolds number of 6×10<sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">6</sup>, with the illustration for the flow traits through boundary layer theory. This study employs the boundary layer theory to exploit the causes and explain the aerodynamic characteristics. It was found that NACA0018 obtained a superior aerodynamic performance in the low and high angle of attack (AOA), while NACA0012 has a better aerodynamic characteristic in medium AOA. The primary influence factor is the differences in the relative thickness of the two airfoils which cause the distinction of their boundary layer behavior. The two airfoils' systematic comparison of the lift and drag performances, pressure distribution on the surface, and boundary layer behaviors provide critical insights for certain airfoil design optimization in the future. It establishes a viable methodology for airfoil performance evaluation and highlights the importance of boundary layer theory in the aerodynamic characteristics analysis and the improving design of the airfoils.