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Abstract: The propulsive efficiency of a plunging NACA0012 airfoil is maximized by means of a simple numerical optimization method based on the response surface methodology (RSM). The control parameters are the amplitude and the reduced frequency of the harmonic sinusoidal motion. The 2D unsteady laminar flow around the plunging airfoil is computed by solving the Navier-Stokes equations for three Reynolds number values (Re=3.3×10³, 1.1×10⁴, and 2.2×10⁴). The Nelder-Mead algorithm is used to find the best control parameters leading to the optimal propulsive efficiency over the constructed response surfaces. It is found that, for a given efficiency level and regardless of the considered Re value, it is possible either to obtain high thrust by selecting a high oscillation frequency or to reduce the input power by adopting a low plunging amplitude.

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