Date of Award

6-5-2007

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science in Aeronautical Engineering

Department

Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics

First Advisor

Raymond C. Maple, PhD

Abstract

A computational study of the effects of a wing fence on the T-38 Talon was performed. RANS simulations were conducted using the CFD solver AVUS to examine the flow around the T-38 and the fence at a Reynolds number of 10 million. The T-38 was modeled as a half aircraft with a symmetry plane down the center line and did not include the empennage. The engine inlet and exhaust were modeled as sink and source boundary conditions using mass flow and pressure specifications. Two fence geometries placed 26" from the wing tip were tested. The first fence, called a simple fence, ran chordwise on the upper surface of the wing. It did not produce significant benefits. The second fence geometry, called the extended fence, wrapped around the leading edge of the wing and produced a 4.9% increase in the lift coefficient at 15 degrees angle of attack. It was found that the vortices generated by the fence energized the flow outboard the fence, increasing lift. The extended fence generated vortices significantly stronger than the simple fence, resulting in a higher lift coefficient at 15 degrees angle of attack. These findings indicate that the T-38 high angle of attack performance would be improved by the addition of an extended wing fence.

AFIT Designator

AFIT-GAE-ENY-07-J19

DTIC Accession Number

ADA470052

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