SwanVLM User Guide

[v7.0]

Swansea University
College of Engineering
Zienkiewicz Centre for Computational Engineering
Contents
What is SwanVLM?................................................................................................................................2
How does it work?.................................................................................................................................2
What can SwanVLM do?........................................................................................................................2
How to use SwanVLM............................................................................................................................3
Inputting Geometry Data...................................................................................................................3
Example Geometry Data................................................................................................................5
Inputting Environment Data..............................................................................................................9
Inputting Meshing Data...................................................................................................................10
Additional Files................................................................................................................................10
DELTA..........................................................................................................................................10
ELLIPSE.........................................................................................................................................12
Running SwanVLM...........................................................................................................................13

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What is SwanVLM?
SwanVLM is a MATLAB based vortex lattice method code. Its primary use case is for doing
preliminary aerodynamic analysis on aircraft configurations early in on the design cycle.

The code features the ability to dimension a variety of different aircraft wing geometries, from
conventional wing shapes to more obscure shapes such as a delta or elliptical wing.

How does it work?

Please refer to the dissertation written by the original composer of SwanVLM, Christopher Walton,
titled ‘The 3D Aerodynamics of Lifting Surfaces Using Vortex Lattice Methods’, for a more in-depth
explanation of the fundamentals of the code. Please note that the code has seen many iterations
since it was originally developed, and hence the dissertation may not contain explanations for all the
current features of the code.

What can SwanVLM do?

SwanVLM is comprised of four main working functions, which allow for varying aircraft wing
configurations to be tested. Regardless of which of the functions are chosen to be executed, the
same results are output from the program. These are the: effective angle of attack, coefficient of lift,
and coefficient of drag found at each angle of attack defined in the input file. Other values that are
included in the output are the coefficient of lift at zero angle of attack, rate of change of coefficient
of lift per degree, aerodynamic centre, coefficient of moment per degree, static margin, reference
chord length in meters, and the reference area in m2.

Four unique figures are also generated to visually represent the calculated data. These figures in
order of generation are the: ‘Mesh for geometry’ figure, ‘CL and CD vs Alphageo’ figures, ‘Pressure
distribution for geometry’ figure, and ‘Spanwise lift distribution’ figure.

Function ‘1’ (Single Horizontal Lifting Surface) allows testing of one horizontal aerofoil geometry.
This feature is expected to be used for preliminary testing of the main wing of an aircraft at the very
initial stages of aircraft aerodynamic development.

Function ‘2’ (Multiple Horizontal Lifting Surfaces) allows for testing of two horizontal aerofoil
geometry. This feature is expected to be used for testing after the user has decided on the general
geometry of the main wing and is aiming to focus on the geometry of the rear horizontal stabiliser.

Function ‘3’ (Vertical Aerodynamic Surfaces Only) allows for testing of one vertical aerofoil
geometry. This feature is expected to be used for testing of the rear vertical stabiliser for directional
stability.

Function ‘4’ (Full aircraft configuration) allows for the testing of all the features found in functions ‘2’
and ‘3’ together, so it would be expected to be the geometry of all components (main wing,
horizontal stabiliser, and vertical stabiliser) of the aircraft.

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How to use SwanVLM
The input geometry must be fed into SwanVLM in a very particular format, in accordance with the
template input .xls file provided.

The main geometry of the wing/s will be defined in the first page of the file. On the second page,
environmental variables can be altered. On the third page, variables related to the meshing of the
geometry can be altered. Once SwanVLM has calculated the results, they will be stored on the pages
following.

Inputting Geometry Data

The following section will cover how to input geometry data into the input file.

Here several input parameters will be found, as shown below split into two figures for better
visibility.

In the Wing column, the number of the current wing that the data is describing must be entered,
starting from ‘1’ and ascending to the final ‘nth’ wing. For functions ‘1’ and ‘3’, only one wing is
supported, hence the wing number cannot exceed ‘1’. This value must be entered for each row in
which there is geometry data.

In the Section column, the number of the current section of the wing that the data is describing
must be entered, starting from ‘1’ and ascending to the final nth’ section. The ‘Section’ number is
independent to the wing, and hence must be labelled starting from ‘1’ for each new wing that is
defined.

In the Ref Point columns, the ‘x’, ‘y’, and ‘z’ coordinates of the leading tip of the wing must be
entered. This defines where the wing is located in 3D space (in meters) and allows SwanVLM to
accurately place the wings in space, where multiple wings are present. These values must be entered
for each new wing geometry, but only for the first section as labelled. If the testing is only being
conducted on one wing geometry, the default values of ‘0’, ‘0’, ‘0’ may be used.

In the Root Profile column, the aerofoil shape at the root of the first section must be defined. This
must be either a .dat file that is already found in the ‘Airfoils’ folder or must be a new file that must
be created and stored in the ‘Airfoils’ folder using the ‘selig’ dat format. Furthermore, if a NACA 4-
digit aerofoil shape is desired, the four-digit code can simply be entered into this field, preceded by a
‘n’. For example, to input the NACA0012 aerofoil, the text ‘n0012’ can be input, and the code will
recognise this and automatically generate the required aerofoil shape. This input must be entered
for each new wing geometry, but only for the first section as labelled.

In the Root Chord column, the aerofoil root chord length (in meters) of the first section must be
defined. This value must be entered for each new wing geometry, but only for the first section as
labelled.

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In the Tip Profile column, the aerofoil shape at the tip of the current section must be defined. The
input format for this column is very similar to that of the ‘root profile’ column, and the previously
mentioned input formatting also applies here. It must be noted that the profile that is defined as the
‘tip profile’ of the current section will be the ‘root profile’ of the following section.

In the Tip Chord column, the aerofoil tip chord length (in meters) of the first section must be
defined. Much like the data carryover present in the ‘tip profile’ column, the ‘tip chord’ of the
current section will be the ‘root chord’ of the following section.

In the Section Span column, the span of the current section (in meters) must be defined.

In the Section Sweep column, the sweep angle of the current section (in degrees) must be defined
about the leading edge.

In the Section Dihedral column, the dihedral angle of the current section (in degrees) must be
defined.

In the Root Inc column, the inclination of the wing at the root of the current section (in degrees)
must be defined.

In the Tip Inc column, the inclination of the wing at the tip of the current section (in degrees) must
be defined.

In the Mirrored in zx-plane column, whether the user desires the wing geometry to be mirrored
about the zx-plane must be defined with a ‘1’ or a ‘0’. An input of ‘1’ will mirror the geometry, and
an input of ‘0’ will leave the geometry unmirrored.

In the current version of SwanVLM, the ‘Inverted’ column does not serve a purpose, however in
future updates will act as a flag to switch the root and tip aerofoil profiles for the current section,
using an input of a ‘1’ or a ‘0’, where ‘1’ will invert the aerofoil shapes, and ‘0’ will leave the aerofoils
noninverted.

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Example Geometry Data
The following are examples of input geometry for each of the four functions that SwanVLM possess,
to help the user better understand the format that the input file is expected to be in. These files will
be included in the SwanVLM package.

File name: ‘piper28aMW.xls’

SwanVLM function: ‘1’

Input file:

Aircraft geometry:

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File name: ‘piper28aHWs.xls’

SwanVLM function: ‘2’

Input file:

Aircraft geometry:

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File name: ‘piper28aVT.xls’

SwanVLM function: ‘3’

Input file:

Aircraft geometry:

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File name: ‘piper28aHWs.xls’ + ‘piper28aVT.xls’

SwanVLM function: ‘4’

Input file:

Horizontal geometry:

Vertical geometry:

Aircraft geometry:

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Inputting Environment Data
The following section will cover how to input environment data into the input file.

The main environmental inputs into SwanVLM include the density of air (rho), the freestream
velocity (V), and the centre of gravity of the test platform. Also included are the min and max angle
of attack to be tested, the angle of attack increment, and the sideslip angle (beta).

The value of rho can be set to match the density of air at the altitude at which the simulation is
preferred to be ran at, measured in Kg/m3. By default, this value is set to 1.225 – the density of air at
sea level.

The value of V can be altered to define the velocity of the freestream air in the simulation, measured
in m/s. By default, this value is set to 30.

The CofG can be defined using ‘x’, ‘y’, ‘z’ coordinates (measured in meters) to show weight
distribution of the aircraft. The default coordinates are set to ‘0’, ‘0’, ‘0’, which are incident with the
default reference point of the tip of the main wing.

For analysis at varying angels of attack, the Alpha Min, Alpha Max, and Alpha Increment values can
be manipulated to test the input geometry under a multitude of flying conditions. The ‘Alpha Min’
variables defines the starting angle of attack for testing, ‘Alpha Max’ defines the final angle of attack
for testing, and ‘Alpha Increment’ defines the increase in angle of attack, per step, from the ‘Alpha
Min’ to ‘Alpha Max’. By default, these values are set to 0, 5, and 1 respectively.

The value of Beta defines the sideslip angle of the aircraft, measured in degrees. By default, this
value is set to 0.

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Inputting Meshing Data
The following section will cover how to input meshing data into the input file.

The meshing in SwanVLM is achieved through dividing the sections of the wings into smaller panels.
The number of panels that are present in each section can be defied in the ‘Meshing’ page of the
input file.

The Section Chordwise Panels variable defines the number of panels that will be created along the
root chord of each section.

The Model Total Panels variables defines the target total number of panels per each section.

Increasing either of these values by a large number will significantly increase the computation time
of the program, as that would greatly increase the mesh density.

Additional Files
You will find an included .xls file which will help with the calculations to plot specific wing shapes.

Currently the support wing shapes include:

 Delta
 Ellipse

This file removes the calculation steps to input the geometry into SwanVLM for a smoother user
experience. Found within the file are two tabs, ‘REF’, ‘DELTA’, and ‘ELLIPSE’. The ‘REF’ tab is purely to
assist calculations that take place in other tabs and can be ignored.

DELTA
The ‘DELTA’ tab includes two separate input fields for the user to choose whether they would like to
define the wing using a chord length-span length combination, or a chord length-sweep angle
combination.

To use the tab, simple input the desired values into the ‘INPUT’ tables and copy the output values
into the relevant fields in the SwanVLM data input file. For reference, in the default SwanVLM input
file, the span input field is found at the G3 cell, and the sweep angle input field is found at the K3
cell. For the current version, there is no build-in feature for the program to detect that the input
geometry is a delta wing, however this will be included in the next update. For the time being, a very
small tip chord value (0.00001) may be used to emulate this effect.

Show below are the inputs as they will be found in the excel file, and a reference aircraft, displaying
the expected input geometry.

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11
ELLIPSE
The ‘ELLIPSE’ tab includes two inputs, Chord and Span. Refer to the included diagram of the
reference aircraft to understand the expected input geometry. The equations built into the
spreadsheet will use the input values to properly scale the ellipse wing shape and convert the values
to be compatible with the required input fields of SwanVLM.

To input the geometry into SwanVLM, select the cells between A1 and P17, and copy these cells.
Next, navigate to a new SwanVLM input template file. Right-click on the A3 cell and select ‘Values’,
under the ‘Paste Options’ field. An image of this icon from the right click menu is shown below. This
is a critical step, as just pasting the cells in a regular fashion will not copy the values correctly, and
lead to an error.

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Running SwanVLM
Prior to launching SwanVLM, ensure that any input files that are intended to be used are closed, as
the program will crash due to not being able to write the results to the files if they are open. To
launch SwanVLM, navigate to the …\SwanVLM_BetaVersion-master directory, and type ‘SwanVLM’
in the Command Window (excluding the apostrophe).

The four functions will be presented as options:

1) Single Horizontal Lifting Surface

2) Multiple Horizontal Lifting Surfaces
3) Vertical Aerodynamic Surfaces Only
4) Full aircraft configuration

Type the number related the option relevant to the test case, from the recommended use cases in
the ‘What can SwanVLM do?’ (Pg. 2) section and press the ‘Enter’ key to send the command.

For options ‘1’, ‘2’, and ‘3’, the program will request the name of the input file to be submitted. Type
the name of the input file exactly as it appears and press the ‘Enter’ key. The program will perform
the analysis on the geometry as defined on the input file and will write the results to the input file in
a new page. After this, the program will ask if the user permission to display figures related to
simulation. Typing ‘y’ and pressing the ‘Enter’ key will generate the figures previously outlined (Pg.
2). Typing ‘n’ and pressing the ‘Enter’ key will close and exit the program.

If option ‘4’ is selected, first the program will request the name of the input file for the horizontal
geometry. Once this has been submitted as per instructed in the previous paragraph, the program
will perform the analysis and write the results to the horizontal geometry input file. Next, the
program will ask if the user permission to display figures relevant to simulation. As explained
previously, this can be accepted or dismissed. Accepting this prompt will display the figures from the
simulation for the horizontal surfaces only. Next the program will request the name of the input file
for the vertical geometry. Once this has been submitted, the program will perform the analysis
again, on the vertical geometry, and write the results to the vertical geometry input file. Again, the
program will request permission to display the figures relevant to the simulation. Accepting this
prompt will display the figures from the simulation for the vertical surfaces only. Finally, the program
will request the user permission to display the full geometry plot. Accepting this prompt will display
the figures from the simulation for the horizontal surfaces only. Upon completion, the program will
close, and another input geometry may be submitted for analysis again.

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