What are flaps ?

Flaps are devices used to improve the lift

characteristics of a wing and are mounted on the trailing edges of the wings of a fixed-wing aircraft to reduce the speed at which the aircraft can be safely flown and to increase the angle of descent for landing.

How do flaps work ?

They shorten takeoff and landing distances. 2. Flaps do this by lowering the stall speed and increasing the drag during landing and increasing the pressure under the wing thus generating more lift.
1.

Why flaps are used ?

Extending flaps increases the camber or curvature of

the wing, raising the lift generated by the wing during takeoff. Extending flaps increases drag which can be beneficial during approach and landing because it slows the aircraft while landing.

Gridgen's anisotropic tetrahedral extrusion

Types of flaps
1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6) 7) 8) 9) 10) 11)

Plain flap Split flap Slotted flap Fowler flap Junkers Flap Fairey-Youngman flap Zap Flap Leading edge droop Krueger flap Gurney flap Blown flaps

Plain flaps
The rear portion of airfoil rotates downwards on a

simple hinge mounted at the front of the flap. Due to the greater efficiency of other flap types, the plain flap is normally only used where simplicity is required.

Split flaps
In this type of flaps the rear portion of the lower surface of

the airfoil hinges downwards from the leading edge of the flap, while the upper surface stays immobile. Like the plain flap, this can cause large changes in longitudinal trim, pitching the nose either down or up, and tends to produce more drag than lift. At full deflection, a split flaps acts much like a spoiler, producing lots of drag and little or no lift. It became common in the 1930s and was then quickly superseded.

Slotted flaps
Any flap that allows air to pass between the wing

and the flap is considered a slotted flap. The gap between the flap and the wing forces high pressure air from below the wing over the flap helping the airflow remain attached to the flap, increasing lift compared to a split flap. Some flaps use multiple slots to further boost the effect.

Fowler flaps
They are the split flap that slides backward flat, before

hinging downward, thereby increasing first chord, then camber. The flap may form part of the upper surface of the wing, like a plain flap. Like a split flap but it must slide rearward before lowering.

Junkers Flaps
Its a slotted plain flap where the flap is fixed below

the trailing edge of the wing, rotating about its forward edge. When not in use, it has more drag than other types but is more effective at creating additional lift than a plain or split flap, while retaining their mechanical simplicity.

Fairey-Youngman flaps
The flaps drop down (becoming a Junkers Flap) before

sliding aft and then rotating up or down. When in the extended position, it could be angled up (to a negative angle of incidence) so that the aircraft could be dived vertically without needing excessive trim changes.

Zap flaps
The leading edge of the flap is mounted on a track,

while a point at mid chord on the flap is connected via an arm to a pivot just above the track. When the flap's leading edge moves aft along the track, the triangle formed by the track, the shaft and the surface of the flap (fixed at the pivot) gets narrower and deeper, forcing the flap down.

Leading edge droop

In these flaps, the entire leading edge of the wing

rotating downward, effectively increasing camber but slightly reducing chord. Most commonly found on fighters with very thin wings unsuited to other leading edge high lift devices.

Krueger flap
These are hinged flap which folds out from under the

wing's leading edge while not forming a part of the leading edge of the wing when retracted. This increases the camber and thickness of the wing, which in turn increases lift and drag. This is not the same as a leading edge droop flap, as that is formed from the entire leading edge.

Gurney Flap
The Gurney Flap (or wickerbill) is a small flat tab

projecting from the trailing edge of a wing. Typically it is set at a right angle to the pressure side surface of the airfoil, and projects 1% to 2% of the wing chord. This trailing edge device can improve the performance of a simple airfoil to nearly the same level as a complex high-performance design.

Blown flap
Blown flaps, also known as Boundary Layer Control

Systems, are systems that blow engine air over the upper surface of any of the previously mentioned types of flap to improve lift characteristics. Two types exist - the original type blew air out of channels or holes in the surface of the flap, while newer systems simply blow engine exhaust over the top of the flap. These require ample reserves of power and are maintenance intensive thus limiting their use but they provide lots of lift at low airspeeds.

Innovation in flaps
A modern variation on the plain flap exploits the

ability of composites to be designed to be rigid in one direction, while flexible in another. When such a material forms the skin of the wing, its camber can be altered by the geometry of the internal supporting structure, allowing such a surface to be used either as a flap or as an aileron. While most currently use a complex system of motors and actuators, the simplest such installation uses ribs.

Some other applications of flaps

Flaps in F1 car.

Thank you.