Intro

Airfoils are shapes, such as wings or blades, which are used to study
aerodynamic forces that are caused by passing fluids over them. Air
foil research is used to help design more efficient aircraft, propellers,
turbines, and many more products that require movement through
fluids. this experiment a Clark Y-14 airfoil was used, which is important
to note since it is not symmetrical. The aerodynamic forces felt by the
airfoil are typically split into two categories, lift and drag. Lift is the
component of force parallel to the airfoil, while drag is the component
perpendicular to it. The values for these two parameters were found
once the lift and drag coefficients were calculated from studying the
pressure differentials round the airfoil. . The stall angle, the angle
between the direction of airflow and the airfoil axis that causes flow
separation, was also found experimentally during this lab. All of these
values were then compiled and placed into a lift-drag polar to create a
reference for predicting performance of an aircraft using this particular
air foil.
Procedure
Before the experiment was run, the ambient pressure and temperature
were recoded using the designated lab barometer and thermometer.
The wind tunnel was then turned on using the power switch of the
control box and slowly increased and set by the dial control. The first
wind tunnel speed studied that was considered in this experiment held
inclined manometer readings at 0.8 inches. Once this steady speed
was reached and the angle of attack was set to -4 degrees, pressure
readings from 17 pressure taps connected to the airfoil were recorded.
Pressure tap readings were recorded from -4 degrees to 12 degrees, in
increments of 2 degrees. Once this was completed, the stall angle was
recorded. The steps for recording pressure readings were then
repeated for an inclined nanometer reading of 1.2 inches. The 1.2
inclined manometer speed stall angle was recorded and the fan was
then slowly turned off to end the experiment.
Equipment
This experiment used a Clark -14 Airfoil Model with 18 pressure taps
connected to a multi-tube manometer. The airfoil apparatus was
mounted on a rotating axis inside a subsonic draw-though wind tunnel.
At one end of the tunnel, a variable speed fan draws air through the
tunnel and at the other end several screens act as a filter preventing
particles from entering the wind tunnel. Inside the wind tunnel in front

of the air foil a pitot tube was mounted and connected to a inclined
manometer. This pitot tube was used to determine the pressure on the
air foil caused by the flow of air. This pressure recorded was used to
calculate the free stream velocity of the air. Figure 1 below illustrates
the experimental apparatus and the location of the various pieces of
equipment.

D
F
A
C

G
E

Figure X: Experiment Apparatus

A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
F.
G.

Inlet Air Flow

Pressure Reading Taps
Airfoil
Pitot Probe Traverse
Fan Speed Controller
Inclined Manometer for Pitot Tube
Wind Tunnel