MAE3303

Aerodynamics of
Compressible Flow
Syllabus
Introduction to
Aerodynamics
Compressible flow
Incompressible flow
Type of Flows
low-speed flow,
Incompressible flow
where the fluid velocity is much less that its speed of sound.
Density is constant!
Compressible flow
high-speed flow,
The density changes in response to changes in
pressure and/or temperature
where the fluid speed is comparable to its speed of sound.
Compressible flows are difficult to obtain in liquids.
is the fractional change in volume of the fluid element
per unit change in pressure.
Compressibility of a fluid
p
P+dp
v
V-dv
In general, the compressibility of gases is
several orders of magnitude larger than that
of liquid.
Bulk Modulus
Density change versus pressure
change
If the fluid is liquid, density changes will be small.
For a low-speed gas flow, pressure changes are small.
If the fluid is a gas, density changes can be large.
Incompressible
Mach No. < 0.3
Compressible
Mach No. > 0.3
Gas flows
can be classified with respect to the flow Mach number
Density changes will be more than 5% if M>0.3.
Mach number
Choking
Shock waves
Effects of compressibility
---wherein the duct flow rate is shapely limited
by the sonic condition
---which are nearly discontinuous
property changes in a supersonic
flow
Flow Regions
Subsonic flow (M<1 everywhere)
Transonic flow (mixed regions
where M < 1 and M> 1)
Supersonic flow (M>1 everywhere)
Hypersonic flow (M>5)
Aerodynamic Characteristic of Airfoil and Wings
The following sections develop some of the terminology
and basic aerodynamic fundamentals of airfoil and wings.
What is an airfoil?
Airfoil Nomenclature
Mean camber line: the locus of points halfway between the upper and lower
surfaces as measured perpendicular to the mean camber itself.
An airfoil can be defined with mean camber line and thickness distribution
Thickness is the distance between the upper and lower surfaces measured
perpendicular to the camber line.
Airfoil Nomenclature
Chord Line: the straight line connecting the leading and trailing edges.
Camber (Maximum Camber): the maximum distance between the mean camber
line and the chord line, measured perpendicular to the chord line. Cambered vs.
symmetric.
Geometric Angle of attack (Angle of Attack): angle between the chord
and the direction of the undisturbed, free-stream flow.
Leading and trailing edges: the most forward and rearward points of the
mean camber line.
NACA Airfoils
There are a variety of classifications, including NACA four-digit wing
sections, NACA five-digit wing sections, and NACA six-digit wing sections.
The first integer indicates the maximum camber in percent of the chord.
NACA four-digit wing section: NACA 0012, NACA 4412
The second integer indicates the distance from the leading edge to the
maximum camber in tenths of the chord.
The last two integers indicate the maximum section thickness in percent of
the chord.
The first integer when multiplied by 3/2 gives the design lift coefficient in
tenths.
NACA five-digit wing section: NACA 23012
The next two integers when divided by 2 give the location of maximum
camber along the chord from LE in percent of the chord.
The last two integers indicate the maximum section thickness in percent of
the chord.
Airfoil Nomenclature
The first integer simply identifies the series.
NACA 6-series wing section: NACA 65-218
The second integer gives the location of the minimum pressure in tenths of
the chord from the leading edge (for the basic symmetric thickness
distribution at zero lift).
The third integer is the design lift coefficient in tenths.
The last two integers indicate the maximum section thickness in percent of
the chord.
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) Airfoil Coordinates
Database:
http://www.ae.illinois.edu/m-selig/ads/coord_database.html
NACA Four Digit Airfoils
Thickness distribution along the chord
First derived by Abbott and von Doenhoff in 1932.
The mean camber line is defined by two parabolic arcs tangent at the
maximum camber ordinate.
The leading-edge radius is
where, t is the maximum thickness as a fraction of the chord c and .
Where m is the maximum camber as a fraction of c, and p is the value of
x/c corresponding to this maximum.
Aerodynamic Forces and Moments
No matter how complex the body shape may be, the aerodynamic forces and
moments on the body are due entirely to two basic sources:
Pressure distribution over the body surface
Shear stress distribution over the body surface
Aerodynamic Forces and Moments
Resultant force and moment
Body-oriented force components: Normal force N and Axial force A.
Flight path-oriented force components: Lift L and Drag D.
Aerodynamic Forces and Moments
Two-dimensional body ---Airfoil
Sign convention for
p
l
and p
u

and
Aerodynamic Forces and Moments
Two-dimensional body ---Airfoil
p
l
, and p
u

and
Aerodynamic Forces and Moments
The aerodynamic moment (pitching moment), M,
depends on the moment center.
- Moment about the leading edge
Dimensionless Aerodynamic Forces and Moments
Let

and U

be the density and velocity, respectively in the free-stream.

Freestream dynamic pressure
Lift coefficient:
Drag coefficient:
Normal force coefficient:
Axial force coefficient:
Moment coefficient:
Reference Quantities:
Also, define S as a reference area and as a reference length.
Dimensionless Aerodynamic Forces and Moments
For a two dimensional body, such as an airfoil section, the forces and moments
are for unit span section, S = c(1) = c,
The dimensionless pressure and shear stress are defined as follows,
Pressure coefficient
Skin friction coefficient
Coefficients are denoted by lowercase letters.
Dimensionless Aerodynamic Forces and Moments
NACA0012, M

=0.345, =3.93, Re=3.245x10

5
Dimensionless Aerodynamic Forces and Moments
Dimensionless Aerodynamic Forces and Moments
Dimensionless Aerodynamic Forces and Moments
Neglecting the shear stress contribution, at small angle of attack
Load distribution
Example Problem: Calculation of aerodynamic coefficients
Consider an airfoil with chord length c and the running distance x measured along
the chord. The leading edge is located at x/c = 0 and the trailing edge at x/c =1.
The pressure coefficient variation over the upper and lower surfaces are given,
respectively, as
Calculate the normal force coefficient.
Example Problem: Calculation of aerodynamic coefficients
For the airfoil section shown, compute the lift, drag and pitching moment about
the leading edge coefficients for angle of attack of 10
0

Numerical Integrations
Consider pressure only
Given: x, y, and p (or C
p
) at nodes
Numerical Integrations
Numerical Integrations
Pitching Moments
The pitching moment is measured about some definite point on the airfoil chord.
For some particular purpose, it may be desirable to know what it is about other
point.
Known: Ma To Know: Mx
Taking moment for each case
about the leading edge
Then
Converting to coefficient form gives
In terms of , (a = 0)
Center of Pressure
Force-and-Moment
Single Force
or
For small ,
Aerodynamic Center
There is one point on the airfoil about which the moment is independent of
angle of attack; such a point is defined as the aerodynamic center (AC). It is
close to, but not generally on, the chord line, between 23% ~ 25 % of the chord
from the L.E.
(x=x
ac
)
For small ,
a = c/4
Pitching Moment about AC
For small ,
Let
If is made zero,
That is, the pitching moment coefficient about an axis at zero lift is equal to the
constant pitching moment coefficient about the aerodynamic center.
AC vs CP
For small ,
c
m,ac
is almost invariably negative, so the center of pressure is behind the
aerodynamic center.
Let x = x
ac
and a = x
cp
. Then
Aerodynamic Forces and Moments
Airfoil Characteristics
During the 1930s and 1940s, the NACA carried out numerous measurements of
the lift, drag, and moment coefficients on the standard NACA airfoils.
Airfoil data are frequently called infinite wing data.
As becomes large, the flow tends to
separate from the top surface.
At a certain angle 15 to 20, the flow is separated completely from the upper
surface. The airfoil is said to be stalled: Lift drops off markedly, drag increases
markedly, and the airfoil is no longer flyable.
At low-to-moderate angle of attack,
cl varies linearly with ; the flow
moves smoothly and is attached to
the surface.
Cl vs.
Airfoil Characteristics
The maximum lift coefficient, c
l,max
occurs just prior to the stall.
The value of when lift equals zero is
called the zero-lift angle of attack,
L=0
.
For symmetric airfoils,
L=0
= 0.
For all airfoils with positive camber,
L=0
is a negative value, usually on the order of
-2 or -3
0
.
Airfoil Characteristics
The lift slope
0
is not affected by Re.
c
l,max
is dependent upon Re.
The moment coefficient is also
insensitive to Re except at large .
When Re= 3.1x10
6
,
L=0
-2.1
0
,
c
l,max
1.6, and the stall occurs at
16
0
.
Experimental results for lift and moment coefficients for the NACA 2412 airfoil:
Viscous Effects:
Airfoil Characteristics
Drag coefficient for the NACA 2412 airfoil.
The physical source of this drag coefficient is
both skin friction drag and pressure drag.
The sum of skin friction and form drags
yields the profile drag coefficient, c
d
for
the airfoil.
c
d
is sensitive to Re as expected.
c
m,ac
does not change with and Re.
Pressure drag has several distinct
contributions: form drag (BL), wave drag
(SW), and induced drag (3D Vortex).
General Thin Airfoil Theory
The essential assumptions of thin-airfoil theory are,
(3) Irrotational incompressible flow.
(1) that the airfoil is operating at a small angle of attack
(2) Ratios of camber to chord and maximum thickness to chord are small.
Circulation and the Generation of Lift
For a lifting airfoil, the pressure on the lower surface of the airfoil is, on the
average, greater than the pressure on the upper surface.
Thus, the flow around the airfoil can be represented by the combination of a
translational flow from left to right and a circulating flow in a clockwise
direction,
The rounded leading edge prevents flow separation there, but the sharp trailing
edge causes a tangential wake motion that generates the lift.
Kutta-Joukowski Law
For any two-dimensional object of any cross- sectional shape placed in a
uniform, inviscid stream, the lift per unit span is
The direction of the lift is 90
0
from the stream direction, rotating opposite to
the circulation.
The circulation is determined around any closed curve containing the body,
The Kutta Condition
Nonuniqueness of the potential flow theory solution.
The case (c) best simulates
a real airfoil flow.
The Kutta Condition: the
circulation around an airfoil
is just right value to ensure
that the flows from the
upper surface and the
lower surface join smoothly
at the trailing edge.
General Thin Airfoil Theory
In thin-airfoil theory, the airfoil is replaced with its mean camber line.
A vortex sheet is placed along the mean camber line to produce the
required velocity jump, and its strength is adjusted so that the camber line
becomes a stream line and the Kutta condition is satisfied.
The velocity pattern, then, is composed of a uniform stream plus the field
induced by the vortex sheet.
Thin, Flat-Plate Airfoil (Symmetric Airfoil)
The lift per unit span (from Kutta-Joukowski Law) is
The section lift coefficient is
Lift slope:
Circulation:
Thin, Flat-Plate Airfoil (Symmetric Airfoil)
The section moment coefficient about the leading edge is given by
The center of pressure , x
cp
, is the x coordinate, where the resultant lift force
could be placed to produce the pitching moment about the leading edge, i.e.
The result is independent of the angle of attack and is therefore independent
of the section lift coefficient.
The quarter-chord point is both the CP and AC.
the quarter-chord
or
Thin, Flat-Plate Airfoil (Symmetric Airfoil)
The following important theoretical results for a symmetric airfoil are
obtained:
1. The sectional lift coefficient is directly
proportional to the geometric angle of
attack and is equal to zero when the
angle of attack is zero.
2. Lift slope = 2
3. The center of pressure (CP) is at
the quarter-chord point for all
values of the lift coefficients.
The quarter-chord point is both the CP and AC.
Thin, Cambered Airfoil
The method of determining the aerodynamic characteristics for a cambered
airfoil is similar to that followed for the symmetric airfoil.
Lift slope =
and
The values of A
n
depend on the shape of the mean camber line and ,
with the coordinate transformation:
It is a general result from thin airfoil theory that the
lift slope is equal to 2 for any shape of airfoil.
Setting , the angle of zero lift is obtained as
For a symmetric airfoil,
The more highly cambered the airfoil, the larger will be the absolute
magnitude of .
The lift coefficient can be rewritten as,
Thin, Cambered Airfoil
Following a similar process, the moment coefficient about the leading edge can
be obtained as
in terms of the lift coefficient,
The center of pressure position behind the leading edge is found by:
The position of the center of pressure will vary as the lift coefficient varies.
Thin, Cambered Airfoil
The quarter chord is the theoretical location of the aerodynamic center for a
cambered airfoil.
The moment coefficient about the quarter chord
independent of
Thin, Cambered Airfoil
Experimental Results
indicate remarkable agreement with the foregoing formulas based on thin airfoil
theory.
Re = 9x10
6
Example Problem: Theoretical aerodynamic coefficients for a
cambered airfoil
Consider the airfoil NACA 2412. The equation for the mean camber line is defined
in terms of the maximum camber and its location. Forward of the maximum
camber position, the equation of the mean camber line is
while aft of the maximum camber position,
Calculate the aerodynamic properties of the airfoil section.
NACA Four Digit Airfoils
Thickness distribution along the chord
First derived by Abbott and von Doenhoff in 1932.
The mean camber line is defined by two parabolic arcs tangent at the
maximum camber ordinate.
The leading-edge radius is
where, t is the maximum thickness as a fraction of the chord c and .
Where m is the maximum camber as a fraction of c, and p is the value of
x/c corresponding to this maximum.
The aerodynamic properties of airfoils are the same as the properties of a wing of
infinite span.
However, all airplanes have wings of finite span. And the flow over the finite wing
is 3D.
An airfoil is simply a section of a wing. And the flow over an airfoil is 2D.
Wings of Finite Span
By placing the airfoil sections discussed in the preceding section in span-wise
combinations, wings, horizontal tails, vertical tails, canards, and/ or other lifting
surfaces are formed.
WING GEOMETRY PARAMETERS
The planform of a wing is its shape seen on a plan (top) view of the aircraft.
Its area is called Wing Area (S).
Wing Span (b): the distance between two wingtips.
Average Chord ( ), is determined from the equation that the product of the
span and the average chord is the wing area ( ).
Mean Aerodynamic Chord (mac) is used together with S to non-
dimensionalize the pitching moments.
WING GEOMETRY PARAMETERS
Aspect Ratio (AR), is a measure of the narrowness of the wing planform. It
is defined as
For a rectangular wing,
Typical aspect ratios vary from 35 for a high-performance sailplane to 2 for a
supersonic jet fighter.
Taper Ratio, is the ratio of the tip chord to the root
chord:
Root Chord, is the chord at the wing centerline, and the Tip Chord, is
measured at the tip.
A rectangular wing has a taper ratio of 1.0 while the pointed tip delta wing
has a taper ratio of 0.0.
WING GEOMETRY PARAMETERS
Sweep Angle, is usually measured as the angle between the
line of 25% chord and a line perpendicular to the root chord.
Dihedral Angle, is the angle between a horizontal
plane containing the root chord and a plane midway
between the upper and lower surfaces of the wing. If
the wing lies below the horizontal plane, it is termed
an Anhedral Angle.
Geometric twist defines the situation where the chord
lines for the spanwise distribution of airfoil sections do
not all lie in the same plane (AOA of all sections is not a
constant). Wash-in vs. Wash-out
and
WING GEOMETRY PARAMETERS
Wing planforms
Wings of Finite Span
Wings of Finite Span
Wings of Finite Span: Downwash and Induced Drag
A trailing vortex is created at each wing tips.
These wing-tip vortices downstream of the wing induce a small downward
component of velocity in the neighborhood of the wing itself.
This downward component is called downwash.
The downwash combines with the free stream velocity to produce a local relative
wind which is canted downward in the vicinity of each airfoil section of the wing.
Wings of Finite Span: Downwash and Induced Drag
The presence of downwash over a finite wing reduces the angle of attack by
i

and creates a component of drag
the induced drag D
i

The induced drag coefficient,
Total drag coefficient for a wing
- 2D drag coef.
Wings of Finite Span: Lifting-Line Theory
No geometric twist, unswept wing: Superposition of an infinite number of
horseshoe vortices coincident along a single line, called the lift line.
The strength of each trailing vortex is equal to the change in circulation along
the lifting line
Wings of Finite Span: Lifting-Line Theory
The three main aerodynamic characteristics of a finite wing:
1. The lift distribution is obtained from the Kutta-Joukowski theory:
2. The total lift of the wing
and the lift coefficient
3. The induced drag per unit span is
The total induced drag:
The coefficient of the total induced drag:
Wings of Finite Span: Elliptical Lift Distribution
For an elliptical lift distribution, the chord c(y) must vary elliptically along the
span --- wing planform is elliptical.
Since
Wings of Finite Span: General Lift Distribution
For all wings in general,
where, e is called span efficiency factor. For elliptical lift plan forms, e=1
(yields the minimum induced drag); for all other planforms, e< 1. Typical
values for e are between 0.6 and 0.95.
The induced drag coefficient is directly proportional to the square
of the lift coefficient (drag due to lift ) and inversely proportional to
aspect ratio.
Aspect ratio varies from about 6 to 22 for subsonic airplanes and sailplanes.
Induced drag is typically 25% of the total drag.
Wings of Finite Span: General Lift Distribution
The lift slope for an airfoil is defined as
The lift slope for a finite-wing is defined as
Clearly, the effect of a finite wing is to reduce the lift slope.
Wings of Finite Span: General Lift Distribution
Also, note that at zero lift, there are no
induced effects; that is,
Thus, when C
L
= 0,
As a result,
L=0
is the same for the finite
wing and the infinite wing.
Wings of Finite Span
In summary, a finite wing introduces two major changes to the airfoil data:
1. Induced drag must be added to the finite wing:
2. The slope of the lift curve for a finite wing is less than that for an infinite wing,
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