Vortex Step Method

The Vortex Step Method (VSM) is an enhanced lifting line method that improves upon the classic approach by solving the circulation system at the three-quarter chord position, among the most important details. This adjustment allows for more accurate calculations of lift and drag forces, particularly addressing the shortcomings in induced drag prediction. VSM is further refined by coupling it with 2D viscous airfoil polars, making it well-suited for complex geometries, including low aspect ratio wings, as well as configurations with sweep, dihedral, and anhedral angles.

The software presented here includes a couple of examples: a rectangular wing and a leading-edge inflatable kite.

Installation Instructions

1. Clone the repository: bash git clone https://github.com/ocayon/Vortex-Step-Method

2. Navigate to the repository folder: bash cd Vortex-Step-Method

3. Create a virtual environment:

Linux or Mac: bash python3 -m venv venv

Windows:
```bash
python -m venv venv
```

1. Activate the virtual environment:

Linux or Mac: bash source venv/bin/activate

Windows
```bash
.\venv\Scripts\activate
```

1. Install the required dependencies:

For users: bash pip install .

For developers: bash pip install -e .[dev]

For ubuntu add:
```
pip instal pyqt5
sudo apt install cm-super
sudo apt install dvipng

```

1. To deactivate the virtual environment: bash deactivate ### Dependencies
2. numpy
3. matplotlib>=3.7.1
4. seaborn
5. scipy
6. numba
7. ipykernel
8. screeninfo

Usages

Please look at the tutorial on a rectangular wing, where the code usage and settings are fully detailed. You can find it in examples/rectangular_wing/tutorial_rectangular_wing.py

Another tutorial is present under examples/TUDELFT_V3_LEI_KITE/tutorial_testing_stall_model.py where a geometry is loaded from .csv, plotted, distributions are plotted and polars are created to demonstrate the effect of the stall model.

For more detailed information one is referred to: - Aerodynamic model - Paper: Fast Aero-Structural Model of a Leading-Edge Inflatable Kite

A Julia version of this project is available at VortexStepMethod.jl

Contributing Guide

Please report issues and create pull requests using the URL: https://github.com/ocayon/Vortex-Step-Method/

This is required because you cannot/should not do it using the URL https://github.com/awegroup/Vortex-Step-Method

We welcome contributions to this project! Whether you're reporting a bug, suggesting a feature, or writing code, here’s how you can contribute:

1. Create an issue on GitHub
2. Create a branch from this issue bash git checkout -b issue_number-new-feature
3. --- Implement your new feature---
4. Verify nothing broke using pytest pytest
5. Commit your changes with a descriptive message git commit -m "#<number> <message>"

6. Push your changes to the github repo: git push origin branch-name

7. Create a pull-request, with base:develop, to merge this feature branch

8. Once the pull request has been accepted, close the issue

Citation

If you use this project in your research, please consider citing it. Citation details can be found in the CITATION.cff file included in this repository.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

WAIVER

Technische Universiteit Delft hereby disclaims all copyright interest in the package written by the Author(s). Prof.dr. H.G.C. (Henri) Werij, Dean of Aerospace Engineering

Copyright

Copyright (c) 2022 Oriol Cayon

Copyright (c) 2024 Oriol Cayon, Jelle Poland, TU Delft