Gust alleviation and aeroacoustic characteristics of flexible morphing trailing edge airfoil

The seamless and smooth aerodynamic shape of the flexible morphing trailing edge not only offers significant improvements over traditional hinged rudders in aerodynamic performance, but also has the potential to enhance noise reduction capabilities. Using the large eddy simulation model and the acoustic analogy method based on the FW-H equation, the aeroacoustic characteristics of the stitched and seamless trailing edges are investigated through CFD numerical simulation. Furthermore, the study explores the aeroacoustic characteristics of the aircraft when it encounters gusts, with a particular focus on the flexible morphing of the seamless trailing edge. The load alleviation efficiency and aeroacoustic characteristics of the flexible morphing of seamless trailing edge are compared with those of rigid deflection of the seamless trailing edge. The results show that at 4° angle of attack, the tonal noise peak of seamless trailing edge decreases by 20.2 dB compared with that of slotted trailing edge With the sine wind gust of 4°-20° equivalent angle of attack, the load alleviation efficiency of flexible morphing trailing edge is more than 60%, which is 10%-30% higher than that in the rigid deflection. In addition, the tonal noise peak value of flexible morphing trailing edge can be reduced by 7.2 dB compared with that of the rigid deflection at 12° equivalent angle sine gust. Finally, the effects of the two deflection modes of the seamless trailing edge on wind load alleviation efficiency and aeroacoustic characteristics are analyzed from the perspective of dynamic characteristics and flow evolution.