Dynamic stall

Dynamic stall is a non-linear unsteady aerodynamic effect that occurs when aerofoils rapidly change the angle of attack. The rapid change can cause a strong vortex to be shed from the leading edge of the aerofoil, and travel backwards above the wing. The vortex, containing high velocity airflows, briefly increases the lift produced by the wing. As soon as it passes behind the trailing edge, however, the lift reduces dramatically, and the wing is in normal stall.

Dynamic stall is an effect most associated with helicopters and flapping wings. During forward flight, some regions of a helicopter blade may incur flow that reverses (compared to the direction of blade movement), and thus includes rapidly changing angles of attack. Oscillating (flapping) wings, such as those of insects—including, more famously, the bumblebee—may rely almost entirely on dynamic stall for lift production, provided the oscillations are fast compared to the speed of flight, and the angle of the wing changes rapidly compared to airflow direction.

External links

* [http://www.aerodyn.org/Dstall/dstall.html an article about dynamic stall on an aerodynamics web site]
* [http://cfd.me.umist.ac.uk/tmcfd/figures/dynstl-gb.html some images from a computer simulation]
* [http://www.aero.gla.ac.uk/Research/LowSpeedAero/Old2dds.htm the University of Glasgow's work on low speed dynamic stall]