Leading-Edge Vortex Controller (LEVCON) Influence on the Aerodynamic Characteristics of a Modern Fighter Jet

Łukasz Malicki, Ziemowit Malecha () and Krzysztof Tomczuk
Additional contact information
Łukasz Malicki: Faculty of Mechanical and Power Engineering, Wrocław University of Science and Technology, 50-370 Wrocław, Poland
Ziemowit Malecha: Faculty of Mechanical and Power Engineering, Wrocław University of Science and Technology, 50-370 Wrocław, Poland
Krzysztof Tomczuk: Faculty of Mechanical and Power Engineering, Wrocław University of Science and Technology, 50-370 Wrocław, Poland

Energies, 2023, vol. 16, issue 22, 1-37

Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to assess the influence of a novel type of vortex creation device called the leading-edge vortex controller (LEVCON) on the aerodynamic characteristics of a fighter jet. LEVCON has become a trending term in modern military aircraft in recent years and is a continuation of an existing and widely used aerodynamic solution called the leading-edge root extension (LERX). LEVCON is designed to operate on the same principles as LERX, but its aim is to generate lift-augmenting vortices, i.e., vortex lift, at higher angles of attack than LERX. To demonstrate the methodology, a custom delta wing fighter aircraft is introduced, and details about its aerodynamic configuration are provided. The LEVCON geometry is designed and then incorporated into an existing three-dimensional (3D) model of the aircraft in question. The research is conducted using OpenFOAM 8, a high-fidelity computational fluid dynamics (CFD) open-source software. The computational cases are designed to simulate the aircraft’s flight at stall velocities within a high range of angles of attack. The results are assessed and discussed in terms of aerodynamic characteristics. A conclusion is drawn from the analysis regarding the perceived improvements in fighter jet aerodynamics. The analysis reveals that both lift and critical angle of attack can be manipulated positively. With the addition of LEVCON, the average lift gain in the high angle of attack ( α ) range is between 8.5% and 10%, while the peak gain reaches 19.4%. The critical angle of attack has also increased by 2°, and a flatter stall characteristic has been achieved.

Keywords: leading-edge vortex controller; leading-edge root extension; leading-edge vortex; fighter jet aerodynamics; vortex lift; leading-edge vorticity modulation; lift-augmenting leading-edge vortices; novel vortex device; computational fluid dynamics; OpenFOAM (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/16/22/7590/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/16/22/7590/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jeners:v:16:y:2023:i:22:p:7590-:d:1280870

Access Statistics for this article

Energies is currently edited by Ms. Agatha Cao

More articles in Energies from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().