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Introduction

In modern transport aircraft, underwing engine nacelle installation is the most common design
choice. Here, the engine nacelles which are tightly coupled with the wing have a huge impact on the
maximum lift and stall angle of the wing. With the usage of larger by-pass ratio engines over the
years, the adverse e>ects of the nacelle on the wing’s performance have increased dramatically,
especially so when the high lift devices are deployed.

The nacelles hamper the wing’s desired performance by triggering premature massive Aow
separation on the main element and decrease the CL_max and stall angle. We cover more of this is
in our earlier article Engine Nacelle Aerodynamics (https://blog.gridpro.com/engine-nacelle-
aerodynamics/).

In order to attenuate the negative inAuence of nacelle, most aircraft manufacturers employ vortex
generators called strakes or more popularly known as chines at appropriate locations on the
nacelle.

Nacelle strakes are small delta-shaped or triangular panel sheets positioned strategically on the
nacelle to induce longitudinal vortices. In short –  vortex generators mounted on nacelles are called
strakes.

Usually, a pair of strakes are mounted on the nacelles to generate additional vortices to control the
Aow separation on the wing. Depending on the mounting location and the nacelle-pylon-wing Aow
Qeld, the generated strake vortices can avoid the generation of slower nacelle vortex or sometimes
even interact with nacelle vortex and increase their axial core speed. Thus they a>ect the position
and strength of the installation vortices leading to an increase in maximum achievable lift. Since
strakes directly inAuence the wing’s lift generation capabilities, their design demands careful
attention.

Figure 2: a. Aircraft vortex generators: Single strake. b. Double strake. Image source Ref [1].

Effectiveness of strake installation

For underwing nacelle conQgurations without strakes, at alphas near to stall, a large zone of low
energy Aow gets set above the main wing. The creation of this low energy zone is due to the nacelle
blocking the Aow from passing over the upper surface of the wing at high alphas. Any further
increase in the angle of attack results in premature Aow separation.

Figure 3: Surface oil Fow visualization. Reduction in upwash Fow. a. Strake oI. b. Strakes on. Images
source Ref [3].

When strakes are installed, the Aow Qeld is made more conducive for achieving higher lift by two
mechanisms. Firstly, the nacelle strakes reduce the nacelle upwash and thereby relieve the adverse
Aow e>ects at the wing-pylon intersection. Figure 3 and 4 shows the reduction in upwash and the
reduction in cross-Aow separation on the nacelle near the pylon junction.

Figure 4: Aircraft vortex generators: Nacelle strakes particle traces. Image source Ref [3].

By a second mechanism, the strakes vortices provide a downwash on the upper surface of the wing
which energizes the boundary layer and eliminates the low energy zone. This happens as the strake
vortex with high kinetic energy passes through the low energy zone and the neighboring high total
pressure air rushes into the low energy zone. In this way, the Aow gets reenergized and the Aow
separation gets delayed. This positive e>ect of strake installation can clearly be seen in Figure 5. For
an alpha beyond stall, the conQguration without strake gets stalled, while in the conQguration with
strake, the Aow separation is suppressed and the stall is delayed.
 Figure 5: Total pressure coePcient contours. a. Without strake. b. With strake. Image source Ref [4].

This positive e>ect of strake installation can also be seen in the Cp distribution, as shown in Figure
6. Here we can notice the elimination of Aow separation on the upper surface of the main wing and
the Aap with the strakes mounted. As an outcome, the lift on the main wing and Aap is recovered.
Further, the maximum lift is enhanced and the stall is delayed. Studies show that nearly 60 to 70%
loss in maximum lift can be recovered and an improvement in lift coe[cient by 0.3 and stall angle
by 3 degrees is possible by using strakes.

In one study, usage of a

single strake showed
improvement in the stall
angle by 1 degree but
without any larger change
in maximum lift. However,
adding another strake was
observed to increases the
maximum lift from 2.26 to
2.3. When a third strake on
the nacelle lip was
introduced, the maximum
lift became 2.34 and the
Figure 6: Cp distribution at 35% spanwise station. Image source Ref [4].
stall angle further
increased by 1 degree.

Parametric design of nacelle strake

The e>ectiveness of the strakes is directly related to the strake’s geometry and installation location.
The strength and trajectory of the strake vortex depend on the strake area, deAection angle, axial
position, and azimuth location.

Figure 7: Parametric variants of nacelle strakes. Variants generated based on changing

axial position and area. Image source Ref [4].

Figure 7 shows a parametric study where the axial location and the area were varied. Strake 2 is
observed to achieve higher lift compared to other conQgurations. Strake 2, 1, and 4 have the same
area, but their axial positions are sequentially increased from the nacelle’s trailing edge. As can be
observed in Figure 8a, the maximum lift coe[cient also decreases in the same order. What this
implies is that strakes axial location is a key factor in determining the stall-delay capabilities of
strakes. The closer the strake placement to the nacelle trailing edge, the higher is the achievable lift
coe[cient.

Also, strake 2 and strake 3 have the same exact position, but strake 3 has an area that is two-thirds
that of strake 2. Since the location is the same, there is hardly any di>erence in lift coe[cients
between strake 2 and 3, before stall. However, after the stall, the strake with a smaller area (strake
3) produces an abrupt drop in lift coe[cient.
Figure 8: a. CL vs alpha plot. b. Total pressure coePcient contours for diIerent strakes geometries. Image
source Ref [4].

From Figure 8b, we can observe that strake 4 is least e>ective in controlling the Aow. Careful
observation reveals that the vortex generated by strake 2 is strongest among all while that from
strake 4 is the weakest. From Figures 8a and 8b we can conclude that the strength of the strake
vortex is another key factor that a>ects the strake’s performance. And there is a direct correlation

between the strake vortex axial strength and its installation location.

Figure 9: Surface streamlines around diIerent strake variants. Image source Ref [4].

Studies of the local Aow Qelds using surface streamlines reveal that the circumferential velocity
component decreases when the distance between the strake and the nacelle trailing edge increases.
This means the strength of the strake vortex is determined by the strake’s local angle of attack. It is
for this reason that, strake 2 vortex is strongest while the strake 4 vortex is weakest.

With these observations, we can conclude that the axial positioning of the strake determines the
circumferential component of the Aow, which in turn determines the strake’s local angle of attack.
For a Qxed azimuth positioning, the local alpha is a key factor inAuencing the strength of the vortex.
In turn, strake’s vortex strength is a key factor in strake’s e>ectiveness in delaying the stall.

Figure 10: Multi-block surface mesh using GridPro on the nacelle in the near vicinity of the strakes.
 Figure 11: Multi-block structured surface mesh on the strakes using GridPro.

Parting thoughts

Even though aircraft vortex generators, the nacelle strakes are proven devices to enhance lift for
underwing mounted nacelle conQgurations, they are observed to be less e>ective for larger UHBR
nacelles. For larger bypass ratio engines, they are unable to energize the Aow su[ciently and make
the Aow remained attached to the wing surface. For such nacelles, researchers are working on
developing active Aow control devices such as pulsed jet blowing to control Aow separation.

Nevertheless, strakes which are successfully deployed by all aircraft manufacturers around the
world for many decades, will continue to be in use for small and medium-sized aircraft because of
their simplicity, cost-e>ectiveness, and more importantly for their e>ectiveness in controlling the
Aow.

Further Reading

1. Engine Nacelle Aerodynamics (https://blog.gridpro.com/engine-nacelle-aerodynamics/)

2. Role of Vortex Generators in Di>user S-Ducts of Aircraft (https://blog.gridpro.com/role-of-
vortex-generators-in-di>user-ducts-of-aircraft/)

References

1. “Modelling the aerodynamics of propulsive system integration at cruise and high-lift conditions
(https://dspace.lib.cranQeld.ac.uk/handle/1826/7945)”, Thierry Sibilli, PhD Academic Year: 2011-
2012, CranQeld University.

2. “CFD Prediciton of Maximum Lift E>ects on Realistic High-Lift-Commercial-Aircraft-ConQgurations

within the European project EUROLIFT II (https://www.tu-
braunschweig.de/Qleadmin/Redaktionsgruppen/Forschung/FOR1066/Veroe>entlichungen/SWNS_2010/20-
Schade_2010.pdf)”, H. Frhr. v. Geyr et al, Second Symposium “Simulation of Wing and Nacelle Stall”,
June 22nd – 23rd, 2010, Braunschweig, Germany.

3. “Navier-Stokes Analysis of a High Wing Transport High-Lift ConQguration With Externally Blown
Flaps (https://www.nas.nasa.gov/assets/nas/pdf/sta>/Rogers_S_Navier-
Stokes_Analysis_of_a_High_Wing_Transport_High-
Lift_ConQguration_with_Externally_Blown_Flaps.pdf)”, Je>rey P. Slotnick et al, NASA.
4. “Numerical Research of the Nacelle Strake on a Civil jet
(http://www.icas.org/ICAS_ARCHIVE/ICAS2012/PAPERS/542.PDF)“, Wensheng Zhang et al, 28TH
International Congress of the Aeronautical Sciences, ICAS 2012.