Computational Investigation of Wings with Miniature Trailing Edge Control Surfaces

Miniature trailing edge effectors (MiTEs) are small flaps (typically 1% to 5% chord) actuated with deflection angles near 90 degrees. The small size, combined with little required power and good control authority enables the device to be used for both high bandwidth control and conventional attitude control. Numerous experiments and computational simulations have been conducted for two dimensional airfoils with miniature flaps. However, the three-dimensional characteristics of these devices haven't been extensively investigated. The present study examines the three dimensional aerodynamics of MiTEs using an incompressible Navier-Stokes flow solver. The overall change in lift induced by the flap as well as the lift distribution along the span are investigated. In addition, the effect of gaps between the flaps is examined.