Nasaruddin Salam, Rustan Tarakka, Lukman Kasim, Muhammad Agung, Hamsa
Vertical stabilizers and rudder are important components in maintaining aircraft stability and aerodynamic control, especially in yaw maneuvers and lateral stability. This study aims to identify the characteristics of side forces, drag forces, flow separation, and pressure contours on the vertical stabilizer and rudder models of the PPH-Unhas microlight aircraft. Two models were made according to the PPH-Unhas prototype and tested using experimental methods conducted in a low-speed wind tunnel and computational methods using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) FLUENT 6.3.26 software. Tests were conducted at three airflow velocities, namely 10 m/s, 16 m/s, and 22 m/s. Each speed level was treated with 10 (ten) changes in aircraft rudder deflection angle (δ) from 0ºto 45º. The results showed that the highest side force (FS) and drag force (FD) were achieved at 2.008 N and 1.010 N, respectively, at an angle of δ = 45ºwith V = 22 m/s. The maximum side force coefficient (CS) of 1,903 was obtained at δ = 25º with V = 22 m/s, while the highest drag coefficient (CD) of 1,090 occurred at δ = 45ºwith V = 10 m/s. At V = 22 m/s, flow separation at an angle of δ = 5ºoccurs early at tapping point 7 with pressure coefficient (CP) = −0.028, at δ = 25ºat tapping point 9 with CP = −0.056, and at δ = 45ºat tapping point 10 with CP = −0.444. The best pressure contour is obtained at δ = 25º, so the optimal angle for the rudder is δ = 25º. © (2025), (International Journal of Mechanical Engineering and Robotics Research). All Rights Reserved.
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Hasanuddin University, Gowa, Indonesia; Mechanical Vocational Technology Education, Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Negeri Makassar, Indonesia
