Author(s) :

Arnav Daga.

Volume/Issue :

Abstract :

Commercial aviation faces ongoing pressure to improve fuel efficiency. Turbulators, which are small dimple or fin-like devices mounted on aircraft wings, are known to delay flow separation and reduce stall risk by energizing the boundary layer at high angles of attack and low air speeds. However, at cruise altitude, where the Reynolds number is naturally high and the airflow is already turbulent, turbulators provide negligible aerodynamic benefits while increasing drag and reducing fuel efficiency. This study investigates whether extendable turbulators, which are specifically meant to deploy only during specific phases of flight, could improve aerodynamic efficiency and potentially reduce fuel consumption in commercial aviation. Using two-dimensional Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations conducted in ANSYS Fluent, four NACA airfoil geometries (NACA 0012, 2412, 4412, and 6412) were evaluated under two flight conditions: takeoff (12.5° angle of attack, 463 kph) and cruise (5° angle of attack, 850 kph), each with and without a leading-edge turbulator. Results demonstrate that at cruise conditions, turbulators increased drag by an average of 83% while providing negligible lift improvement, substantially reducing aerodynamic efficiency. During high-angle-of-attack conditions, turbulators increased drag while producing flow features consistent with boundary-layer energization and delayed separation. These findings support the feasibility of extendable turbulators as a practical design solution to preserve stall safety benefits while eliminating the drag penalty during cruise flight.