Airfoil Design Challenge

Eligibility: Open to undergraduate students from any recognized college or university. Only individual participation is permitted. Any CAD and simulation software may be used, including ANSYS, SolidWorks, CATIA, OpenFOAM, and similar tools. Finalists must be present in person at BITS Pilani on 13 April 2026. Competition Structure: Round 1 – CAD Modelling (Online): Participants must design a 3D CAD model within the constraints provided in the problem statement. What To Deliver: A complete 3D solid model. Airfoil profile selection with a brief justification. Compliance with chord length, span, thickness, and angle-of-attack limits. Watertight geometry suitable for CFD meshing with no open surfaces or intersecting bodies. Submission: CAD files in native format along with exported .stp, .ige, or .f3d formats. If using ANSYS, participants must submit the .wbpj file along with its _files folder, zipped together. A brief design report in PDF format with a maximum of 3 pages explaining the design choices. Round 2 – CFD Analysis: Problem statement released on 5 April 2026. Participants must perform a complete CFD simulation of their airfoil design under the specified flow conditions. Key Requirements: Create a computational domain representing a wind tunnel with appropriate dimensions. Generate a high-quality mesh with inflation layers on surfaces for boundary layer resolution. Use a suitable turbulence model such as k-ω SST or Spalart-Allmaras with second-order discretization. Achieve convergence with residuals below 10⁻⁴ and stable lift and drag coefficient monitors. Conduct a mesh independence study with at least three mesh densities. Results To Extract: Lift coefficient (Cl), drag coefficient (Cd), and Cl/Cd ratio. Pressure contours, velocity streamlines, and wall shear stress plots. Residual and force monitor convergence plots. Submission: Simulation project files in the native format of the software used, zipped together. CFD results report in PDF format with a maximum of 10 pages including all plots and analysis. Round 3 – In-Person Presentation (Grand Finale): Date: 13 April 2026. Venue: BITS Pilani Campus. Format: 10–12 minute presentation followed by a 5–8 minute Q&A session. Presentation Content: Design rationale explaining the chosen airfoil profile and geometry. CAD walkthrough highlighting key features and dimensional compliance. Mesh strategy including mesh type, inflation layers, refinement zones, and quality metrics. CFD setup covering boundary conditions, turbulence model, and convergence approach. Aerodynamic results including Cl, Cd, Cl/Cd values, contour plots, and streamlines with interpretation. Structural feasibility demonstrating that the design is manufacturable. Judging Criteria: Round 1 – CAD Modelling: Geometric accuracy and constraint compliance (30%). Design quality and innovation (25%). Structural feasibility (20%). Watertight and mesh-ready geometry (15%). Design report clarity (10%). Round 2 – CFD Analysis: Aerodynamic performance including Cl, Cd, and Cl/Cd ratio (30%). CFD setup and boundary conditions (20%). Mesh quality and mesh independence study (20%). Convergence and residual monitoring (15%). Post-processing and visualization (15%). Round 3 – Presentation And Defence: Technical depth and understanding (30%). Presentation quality and clarity (25%). Design justification and innovation (20%). Response to Q&A (15%). Team coordination (10%). Overall Score Distribution: Round 1 – CAD Modelling: 25%. Round 2 – CFD Analysis: 40%. Round 3 – Presentation: 35%. Rules And Regulations: Only individual participation is permitted. All designs must be original and created during the competition window. Use of pre-existing standard airfoil datasets is prohibited unless explicitly permitted. Participants must strictly follow the turbulence model, boundary conditions, and convergence criteria specified in the problem statement.