A Comparative Design Study of Biomimetic Multiwinglets for Tip Vortex Splitting.

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Title: A Comparative Design Study of Biomimetic Multiwinglets for Tip Vortex Splitting.
Authors: Lee, Peter Changmin1 pcmlee@ucdavis.edu, Sarigul-Klijn, Nesrin1 nsarigulklijn@ucdavis.edu
Source: Journal of Fluids Engineering. Feb2026, Vol. 148 Issue 2, p1-10. 10p.
Subjects: Aerodynamics, Vortex lattice method, Biomimetics, Feathers, Mechanical efficiency, Technical specifications
Abstract: Biomimetic designs draw inspiration from biological organisms for engineering design. This paper presents a design and analysis of multiple-piece winglets based on the wingtip feathers of birds. The biomimetic multiwinglet designs proposed in this work have the potential to improve aerodynamic performance. The hypothesis was that the designs cause splitting of the standard large single-tip vortices into multiple, smaller tip vortices. This separation into smaller vortices has the potential to reduce induced effects. The proposed biomimetic multipiece winglets have the following design parameters: number of winglets, individual winglet dimensions, dihedral angles, angles of attack, and sweep angles. The simulations were performed using a reduced-order potential flow method on the program open vehicle sketch pad (openvsp)/vspaero, known as vortex lattice method (VLM), but modified in the program. These modified VLM simulations were used to calculate values like lift, total drag, and induced drag of the various designs, which were tabulated to establish the efficacy of each design parameter. Various combinations of these parameters were studied to find the optimal designs. The simulation data is provided for this comparative design study, which includes the effects on the variation of chordwise positions and dihedrals of the winglets. The current findings indicate that the most effective parameter is likely the gap distance between the winglets. Based on the current findings, a planform gap distance near or equivalent to the local winglet chord lengths contributes to optimal performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Journal of Fluids Engineering is the property of American Society of Mechanical Engineers and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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Items – Name: Title
  Label: Title
  Group: Ti
  Data: A Comparative Design Study of Biomimetic Multiwinglets for Tip Vortex Splitting.
– Name: Author
  Label: Authors
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Lee%2C+Peter+Changmin%22">Lee, Peter Changmin</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo><i> pcmlee@ucdavis.edu</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Sarigul-Klijn%2C+Nesrin%22">Sarigul-Klijn, Nesrin</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo><i> nsarigulklijn@ucdavis.edu</i>
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Journal+of+Fluids+Engineering%22">Journal of Fluids Engineering</searchLink>. Feb2026, Vol. 148 Issue 2, p1-10. 10p.
– Name: Subject
  Label: Subjects
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Aerodynamics%22">Aerodynamics</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Vortex+lattice+method%22">Vortex lattice method</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Biomimetics%22">Biomimetics</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Feathers%22">Feathers</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Mechanical+efficiency%22">Mechanical efficiency</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Technical+specifications%22">Technical specifications</searchLink>
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: Biomimetic designs draw inspiration from biological organisms for engineering design. This paper presents a design and analysis of multiple-piece winglets based on the wingtip feathers of birds. The biomimetic multiwinglet designs proposed in this work have the potential to improve aerodynamic performance. The hypothesis was that the designs cause splitting of the standard large single-tip vortices into multiple, smaller tip vortices. This separation into smaller vortices has the potential to reduce induced effects. The proposed biomimetic multipiece winglets have the following design parameters: number of winglets, individual winglet dimensions, dihedral angles, angles of attack, and sweep angles. The simulations were performed using a reduced-order potential flow method on the program open vehicle sketch pad (openvsp)/vspaero, known as vortex lattice method (VLM), but modified in the program. These modified VLM simulations were used to calculate values like lift, total drag, and induced drag of the various designs, which were tabulated to establish the efficacy of each design parameter. Various combinations of these parameters were studied to find the optimal designs. The simulation data is provided for this comparative design study, which includes the effects on the variation of chordwise positions and dihedrals of the winglets. The current findings indicate that the most effective parameter is likely the gap distance between the winglets. Based on the current findings, a planform gap distance near or equivalent to the local winglet chord lengths contributes to optimal performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
  Label:
  Group: Ab
  Data: <i>Copyright of Journal of Fluids Engineering is the property of American Society of Mechanical Engineers and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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RecordInfo BibRecord:
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    Identifiers:
      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.1115/1.4069355
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      – Code: eng
        Text: English
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        PageCount: 10
        StartPage: 1
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Aerodynamics
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Vortex lattice method
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Biomimetics
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Feathers
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Mechanical efficiency
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Technical specifications
        Type: general
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: A Comparative Design Study of Biomimetic Multiwinglets for Tip Vortex Splitting.
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            NameFull: Lee, Peter Changmin
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            NameFull: Sarigul-Klijn, Nesrin
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            – D: 01
              M: 02
              Text: Feb2026
              Type: published
              Y: 2026
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              Value: 148
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