Impact of Canard on the Flowfield over the Wing in Various Flow Regimes

An in-depth study has been undertaken to investigate the vortical flow pattern on a generic canard-wing configuration at the Mach numbers 0.1, 0.8, and 2.0. The results show that the downwash flowfield due to canard decreases the effective angle of attack seen by the front half of the wing by at least 3% or more, which postpones the vortex formation and development. The rear half especially at the outboard section on the other hand is dominated by the canard upwash field, giving rise to the effective angle of attack to at least 5% of the original value. The interaction of the canard vortex with the wing leading edge vortex has been observed to increase the vortex strength and size on the wing. The present results have found a nearly 10% increase in vortex size due to canard-wing vortices interaction. In supersonic flow due to the impact of the oblique shocks and the consequent pressure rise, the primary flow separation to form the leading edge vortex and the vortex break down onsets were shown to occur at higher angles of attack, when compared to those in the transonic regime. The present results could be employed to design and optimization of canard and wing in certain types of aircraft and missiles to enhance maneuverability and operational performance.