How do streamlines/flow look like on single surface wing of hang gliders, especialy on the lower side? Has anyone installed tufts or done CFD analysis on this?
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1$\begingroup$ Anyone? I'm sure someone, somewhere has installed tufts on a hanglider wing. What, specifically, are you looking for, an image of the tufts in flight? $\endgroup$– FreeManCommented Sep 9, 2022 at 16:47
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$\begingroup$ A floppy Rogallo wing, or a more modern battened wing? These days, some even have a noticeably thick leading edge extending back pretty far: not at all what you might mean by a "single surface wing." $\endgroup$– Camille GoudeseuneCommented Sep 9, 2022 at 18:16
1 Answer
The lower side isn't the one that stalls, but circulation of air underneath a thin undercambered wing may be of interest.
Thin undercambered wings go back to the earliest days of aviation, providing the most lift at low airspeeds.
Analysis of the flow underneath may show a bit of circulation up and into the underside, providing a bit of drag energy recovery in addition the the lift from higher (ram) pressure underneath the wing.
Full scale hang gliders have sufficient Reynolds numbers to also generate "top lift", which is lost in stall. This is why "tufts" are usually placed there for study.