Optimizing an RC Wing with OpenFOAM: An airFlow Walkthrough

Introduction

Last weekend, I designed a new wing profile for my 1.5m wingspan F3K glider. Instead of guessing how it would perform or wrestling with raw configuration files, I ran a steady-state aerodynamic solve natively on my Mac using airFlow simulation. Here is exactly how it went.

Setup & Domain Configuration

I exported the wing geometry as an STL file from FreeCAD. In airFlow simulation’s Fusion 360-style interface, I imported the STL directly. The real-time 3D viewport rendered the geometry instantly under clean studio lighting.

Next, I configured the computational domain. airFlow simulation auto-generated the bounding box extents, which I quickly tweaked via the editable boundaries input panel. I selected air as the fluid medium, set the inlet velocity to 15 m/s (my typical glider launch speed), and set the inlet flow direction to simulate a fixed 6° Angle of Attack (AoA).

Meshing Natively with snappyHexMesh

To partition the domain, I selected the Standard mesh quality preset. airFlow simulation orchestrated the local snappyHexMesh execution natively on my Apple Silicon CPU. Rather than writing long meshing dictionaries, the GUI automated the boundary cells, creating a clean, structured mesh around the airfoil profile.

Local steady-state Solving with simpleFoam

Once the mesh completed, I launched the solver. airFlow simulation uses a native, local execution of OpenFOAM’s steady-state solver, simpleFoam, with the k-omega SST turbulence model.

The solve was executed on a single CPU core, matching the local workspace limitations. The GUI displayed a live residual convergence chart, letting me watch the residuals drop steadily until the simulation converged at iteration 280.

Post-Processing: Contour Plots & Force Outputs

Once converged, I opened the results view. Rather than loading an external visualizer, I used airFlow simulation’s movable slice-plane. I positioned the plane along the span of the wing to inspect:

1. Velocity and Pressure Contours: Visually confirming the low-pressure suction zone over the upper camber.
2. Streamlines: Tracing particle paths to check for boundary layer separation near the trailing edge (which appeared clean, confirming no stall at 6° AoA).

Finally, I checked the aerodynamic force output pane. The solver calculated the pressure-based lift and drag force estimates (excluding viscous skin friction):

• Lift Force: 4.2 N
• Drag Force (pressure-based): 0.18 N

I exported a high-resolution PNG of the velocity slice plane view for my design records and saved the project as an .fs file for future adjustments.

Conclusion

airFlow simulation turned what used to be an afternoon of command-line dictionary editing into a 15-minute native macOS workflow. The glider wing is now cut from foam and waiting for its first contest flight.

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