Experimental Study on the Aerodynamics of a Hybrid Dolphin Airfoil

This paper presents an experimental study of the aerodynamic characteristics of a new hybrid Dolphin airfoil, designated NA-DEL 2415.This airfoil is part of a novel family of seven hybrid Dolphin airfoils obtained through modification of the leading edge of the original Dolphin airfoils for the assumed standard roughness case.These hybrid airfoils have demonstrated improved aerodynamic characteristics compared with the NACA series and superior characteristics relative to Taposu's original Dolphin airfoils.Experiments presented in this paper were conducted in the subsonic wind tunnel of the University of Belgrade -Faculty of Mechanical Engineering.The NACA 2415, Dolphin 2415, and NA-DEL 2415 airfoils were tested under identical conditions, at the same Reynolds number, with free boundary layer transition.The experimental results confirmed the general NA-DEL aerodynamic advantages previously obtained by CFD investigations at a higher Reynolds number.The development and experimental investigation of the NA-DEL 2415 airfoil represents a novel contribution to the field, offering both scientific innovation and significant potential for operational application in general aviation and unmanned aerial vehicles.