View Video Presentation: https://doi.org/10.2514/6.2023-0054.vid

A computational analysis of using an equilateral triangle as a boundary layer tripping device on a MAV-scale Eppler E423 at an angle of attack of five degrees and a chord-based Reynolds number of 40,000 is presented. The high-order large eddy simulation (LES) solver, hpMusic, was utilized. The results indicate that tripped configurations with a height greater than two times the local boundary layer thickness significantly improved the aerodynamic efficiency of the airfoil over the baseline geometry. It was shown that the trip height of 2xDelta provided the optimal flight efficiency for the tested angle of attack. To understand the causality of the trip in increasing flight efficiency, metrics such as separation bubble profiles, streamwise skin friction coefficients, and localized flow direction near the trip were presented. It was shown that in addition to reducing the extent and severity of the primary laminar separation bubble (LSB) on the suction side of the airfoil, airfoils with a trip height greater than 1xDelta showed reductions of the pressure side separation bubble.