A study of the unsteady flow field of an airfoil with deflected spoiler
The flow field generated by a two-dimensional airfoil with a statically deflected flap type spoiler has been experimentally studied. Subsonic tests ascertained the effect of varying spoiler deflection and angle of attack on the flow field at two Reynolds numbers. Measurements of the mean and fluctuating surface pressures and velocities in the wake, along with schlieren flow visualization of the near wake, were made. The results pertaining to the unsteady characteristics of the spoiler flow field are presented. It is shown that vortex shedding characterized the spoiler wake and determines the unsteady nature of the overall flow field; the character of the vortex shedding changes with spoiler deflection; and the fluctuating surface pressure field (vortex shedding frequency component) is of appreciable magnitude at large spoiler deflections.