The Influence of Slat Arm Doors on the Performance of the Boeing 717 Wing

摘要

The Boeing 717 is a short range aircraft designed for regional airlines, and as such spends a large proportion of its flight time in either a take-off or landing mode. The mechanical components that extend the wing slats in these situations must therefore operate with minimal cost in the form of drag on the aircraft. This paper presents a numerical investigation of the forces acting on the doors which cover the compartments that house the slat extender arms. The CFD code Fluent 5 is used to model the flow field at 10°angle of attack and 10°cross-stream, as an initial investigation. Ultimately, the benefit of the slat arm doors in terms of drag reduction must be balanced with the additional cost to manufacture and maintain these wing components. The results presented in this investigation will form the basis for this analysis. This work was undertaken as an undergraduate thesis at Ryerson Polytechnic University, autonomous from Boeing Toronto Ltd. The results contained within have not been corroborated as yet with the aerodynamics division at Boeing.