Editing Vortex generator (section)

{{short description|Aerodynamic device}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2023}}
{{Use American English|date=March 2023}}
[[File:VortexGenerators01.JPG|300px|thumb|upright=1.14|Aftermarket Micro AeroDynamics vortex generators mounted on the wing of a [[Cessna 182 Skylane#Variants|Cessna 182K]]]]

[[File:Wind Turbine Vortex Generator.jpg|thumbnail|Sketch describing how vortex generators improve flow characteristics on a wind turbine]]
[[File:Cessna182withVotexGenerators02.jpg|thumb|1967 Model [[Cessna 182]]K in flight showing after-market vortex generators on the wing leading edge]] 
[[File:TA-4SU Skyhawk cockpits.jpg|thumb|[[A-4SU Super Skyhawk|TA-4SU Super Skyhawk]] showing the row of vortex generators on the drooped [[leading edge slats]].]]
[[File:SA-160VortexGenerators03.jpg|thumb|right|The [[Symphony SA-160]] was designed with two unusual vortex generators on its wing to ensure aileron effectiveness through the stall]]

A '''vortex generator''' ('''VG''') is an [[aerodynamic]] device, consisting of a small [[wikt:vane|vane]] usually attached to a lifting surface (or [[airfoil]], such as an [[aircraft|aircraft wing]])<ref name="Peppler"/> or a rotor blade of a [[wind turbine]].<ref name="WindTurbineVortexGenerators">[http://www.upwindsolutions.com/upgrades/wind-turbine-vortex-generator/ Wind Turbine Vortex Generators], UpWind Solutions.</ref> VGs may also be attached to some part of an aerodynamic vehicle such as an aircraft fuselage or a car.  When the airfoil or the body is in motion relative to the air, the VG creates a [[vortex]],<ref name="Peppler">Peppler, I.L.: ''From The Ground Up'', page 23. Aviation Publishers Co. Limited, Ottawa Ontario, Twenty Seventh Revised Edition, 1996. {{ISBN|0-9690054-9-0}}</ref><ref name="MicroHow">{{cite web|url = http://www.microaero.com/pages/v_howvgswrk.html|title = How Micro VGs Work|access-date = 2008-03-15|last = Micro AeroDynamics|year = 2003}}</ref>  which, by removing some part of the slow-moving boundary layer in contact with the airfoil surface, delays local [[flow separation]] and [[Stall (fluid dynamics)|aerodynamic stalling]], thereby improving the effectiveness of wings and [[Wing configuration#Tailplanes and foreplanes|control surfaces]], such as [[Flap (aeronautics)|flaps]], [[Elevator (aeronautics)|elevators]], [[aileron]]s, and [[rudder]]s.<ref name="MicroHow"/>