Rather than hijack existing threads with similar themes running through them I thought it best to start a new one.
I am not advocating or suggesting anybody do this, but I am trying to hash through the issues associated with increasing strake volume by making the top and bottom of the strake more curved and less flat. I’m not suggesting anything as extreme as the King Cozy but more along the lines of what Robert and Valerie are doing.
The issues I think are most significant are Aero, CG location, and construction difficulty.
Aero:
I really don't think that making a slightly curved top or bottom will change much. My reasoning is that the strakes are essentially a low aspect ratio delta wing with a rounded leading edge. The lift curve slope for this type of wing is shallower than a high aspect ratio wing (main and canard). The high aspect ratio main wings should stall long before the strakes do. It is possible that the center of lift of the strake relative to AOA could move some. My only concern is that it could affect the CG range adversely. I don't think it would, but I don't know for sure.
Deep stall: I have often wondered if putting a sharp leading edge on the strakes would help this problem. It would allow the strakes to move into the vortex region of lift generation at a lower angle of attack thus shifting the CL aft and helping to push the nose down......Don't have a wind tunnel in my back yard to try it out. Since the leading edge is already rounded, I don't think rounding the top and bottom a little would make much difference in this area.
Drag: probably a slight increase to no different. More wetted area, possibly a more efficient shape who knows.
CG:
Anybody contemplating this would need to make sure that the center of volume of the tank is somewhere near the CG of the airplane. A WB analysis would need to be made to make sure you were not causing problems here.
There is also the more difficult fabrication issue, but I am going to make that go away with a lot of arm waving.
Any other thoughts?
Thanks,
Monty