Non-intrusive determination of the unsteady surface pressure and aerodynamic loads on a pitching airfoil

The unsteady surface pressure distribution and aerodynamic loads on a pitching airfoil are determined non-intrusively using PIV measurements. An experimental test case is considered where the flow around the airfoil is mostly attached while the unsteady effects on the aerodynamic loads are significant. The surface pressure is calculated from the flow velocity measurements in the vicinity of the airfoil surface, that are obtained with a robotic PIV system, by using relations from unsteady potential flow and thin airfoil theory. The proposed approach is a robust and computationally efficient approach to obtain non-intrusive measurements of the unsteady surface pressure distribution and the aerodynamic loads, that are in good agreement with reference data from installed pressure transducer sensors.