OpenVSP/VSPAero Slat Modeling

[Emilee Weir]

Hello all,

I am an undergraduate senior and have modeled an MD-11 for... reasons y'all can probably guess from recent events. I want to get the aerodynamic characteristics of the slats but am not sure if I'm doing so effectively. I currently have two modeled configurations:

1) Trim the wing LE and add separate angled geometries, and

2) Utilize separate airfoils for the slat section (modeled in XFLR5 by adding a LE flap to the DAT file).

Between each slat segment is a transition segment of Span = 0.0005 (0.5mm).

Which of these would be more effective for VSPAero? Do you have any other configuration suggestions? (I saw Erik Olson's paper on modeling high-lift devices, but I'm not sure how/where to modify the airfoil like that. Maybe a MATLAB script?)

Furthermore, how many wake iterations should I look at? Anything fewer than 10 looks weird, 20 produces negative drag.

Any insight would be appreciated!

Emilee Weir