An empirical correlation between lift and the properties of leading-edge vortices

Using data from numerical simulations, we show that the lift experienced by both impulsively started and surging airfoils correlates well with the sum of the circulation of the leading-edge vortices truncated at the trailing edge. Therefore, we suggest that reasonable estimates of the lift can be obtained using only two vortex parameters, i.e., its circulation and its position. In addition to being convenient for non-intrusive estimation of forces from PIV measurements, we show that this approach can be used to derive low-order models for the analysis of vortex-lift configurations. In particular, we apply this correlation to model high-amplitude surging, which allows us to quantify the effect of wake-capture mechanisms and to determine the flow parameters that drive optimal lift.