AIAA'PAPER

NO. 76-406

ON IHE DESIGN OF SLIBSONIC AIRFOILS FOR H I G H LIFT

by
ROBERT H. LIEBECK
Douglas Aircraft Coepany
Long Beach, C a l i f o r n i a

4
4
tj SAN DIEGO, CALIFORMlAlJULY 14-1G, 1976
Q
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contact th8 Amerlcer! Institute of A8ronautlcs and Astronautics.
For permission 15 copy or r%p~Iblish.
1290Avenueof th8AmerlcBs. New York. N . Y . 1 W 9 .

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 ON T H E DESIGN O F
SUSSONIC AIRF0IL.S FOR HIGH L I F T *
R o b e r t H. Liebeck**
Douglas .4ircraft C o m p a n y
Mc Donne11 Douglas C o r p o r a t i o n
r Long Beach, C a l i f o r n i a
Abstract
A unique a p p r o a c h t o s u b s o n i c a i r f o i l d e s i g n
has been developed which r e s u l t s i n s i g n i f i c a n t
p e r f o r m a n c e i m p r o v e m e n t s . F o r a given s e t of
d e s i g n conditions including the Reynolds n i u n b e r
and Mach n u m b e r , an o p t i m i z e d p r e s s u r e d i s t r i -
bution i s defined, and a n i n v e r s e potential flow
p r o g r a m is u s e d t o d e t e r m i n e the c o r r e s p o n d i n g
a i r f o i l shape. Extension t o the m u l t i - e l e m e n t
a i r f o i l d e s i g n pt'oblern h a s been studied. and a
r e s t r i c t e d s e t of trial solutions h a s been ob-
tained. Wind tunnel t e s t s and d i r e c t app1ica:ions
h a v e validated the analysis. E x a m p l e a p p l i c a t i o n s
include long e n d u r a n c e a i r c r a f t , p r o p e l l e r s . fans,
and r a c e c a r wing$.
Natation
-_.
i n t e g r a t i o n c o n s t a n t s , s e e Eq. (8)
airfoil chord
l i f t coeliicient = L / ( I / ~ ~ p + c
u p p e r s u r f a c e lift coefficient
p r e s s u r e coefficient= IP-P.~II /ZIPV?
p r e s s u r e c o e f f i c i e n t defined by Eq. f41
f r e e s t r e a m Mach n u m b e r
static pressure
f r e e s t r e a m R e y n o l d s n u m b e r ba5.d on
airfoil chord = V , c / u
Reynolds n u m b e r defined by Eq. (101
Reynolds n u m b e r defined by Eq. 141
location of leading-edge stagnation point
f r e e s t r e a m velocity
l o c a l velocity o n a i r f o i l s u r f a c e
i n t e g r a l s defined by Eq. 0)
d i s t a n c e along c h o r d line
c i r c u l a t i o n about the a i r f o i l
r a t i o of s p e c i f i c h e a t s
kinematic viscosity
density
independent v a r i a b l e f o r S t r a t f o r d equations
r e f e r e n c e length f o r S t r a t f o r d r e l a t i o n e
f r e e s t r e a m conditions
conditions a t the a i r f o i l t r a i l i n g e d y r
conditions at velocity peak on a i r f o i l
upper surface
I. Introduction
T h e a u t h o r ' s introductinn t o a i r f o i l d e s i g n
c a m e about as a r e s p o n s e to a g e n e r a l q u e s t i o n
f r o m A. M. 0. Smith: "What i s t h e m a x i m u m i i f t
which c a n be obtained f r o m an airfoil. and what
i s the s h a p e of chat a i r f o i l ? " U s e of t h e w o r d
m a x i m u m i m p l i e s that s a m e f o r m of o p t i m i z a t i o n
technique m u s t b e err.ployed, and c a n s e q u e n f i y
t h e solution of such a prob:em wili be s t r o n z l y
i n f l u e n c e d by the v a r i o u s c o n s t r a i n t s which a r e
imposed. T h e r e f o r e , i n o r d e r to c l a s s i f y thc
::The a i r f o i l design techniques and a i r f o i l s h a p e s i n t h i s p a p e r a r e c o v e r e d by a pending Mc&nnell
i
Douglas patent.
*:*Senior Scicntist. Aerodymamics Subdivision
A s s o c i a t e F'cllow. AlAA
---r
Comright C A m c r u m I n \ i i i i i i c a f Aeronauiics and
Ailronaulicc. Inc.. IY76.,411 i i s h i i icrervcd
p r o b l e m m o r e specifically it w a s r e q u i r e d that the
a i r f o i l be c o m p o s e d of a s i n g l e e l e m e n t and that
p o w e r e d l i f t would not be c o n s i d e r e d . Two
additional c o n s t r a i n t s w e r e that the flow r e m a i n
u n s e p a r a t e d and subsonic e v e r y w h e r e on the
airfoil.
T h e p r o b l e m of designing a n a i r f o i l which i s
optirnized f o r a p a r t i c u l a r s e t of s p e c i f i c a t i o n s h a s
b e e n solved, i n a g e n e r a l s e n s e , e a c h t i m c a n e w
a i r p l a n e h a s been designed. T h e r e e x i s t two b a s i c
a p p r o a c h e s t o a i r f a i l design: d i r e c t and i n v e i s e .
F o r the d i r e c t method, one begins with a n a i r f o i l
g e o m e t r y and c a l c u l a t e s a n d / o r t e s t s t o obtain the
p e r f o r m a n c e . T h e g e o m e t r y i s t h e n modified and
r e - t e s t e d until Zcceptable r e s u l t s a r e obtained.
A l t e r n a t i v e l y , the i n v e r s e a p p r o a c h beeins with a n
a i r f o i l p r e s s u r e ( o r velocity1 d i s t r i b u t i o n which
p r o v i d e s the d e s i r e d p e r f i r r n a n c e . A n " i n v c r s c "
c a l c u l a t i o n p r o c e d u r e i s then used to obtain t h e
c o r r e s p o n d i n g a i r f c i l shape. While any given
airfoil geometry has a corrssponding pressure
d i s t r i b u t i o n ( a t l e a s t i n t e r m s of potential flowl, an
a r b i t r a r i l y p r e s c r i b e d p r e s s u r e d i s t r i b u t i o n cannot
be g u a r a n t e e d a p r i o r i to p r o v i d e a c l o s e d and
non- r e e n t r a n t airfoil. ConsFquentIy, the d e s i r e d
p r e s s u r e d i s t r i b u t i o n m u s t be a d j u s t e d until a
p h y s i c a l l y m e a n i n g f u l a i r f o i l s h a p e i s obtained.
M o s t m o d e r n a i r f o i l d e s i p s a:* a product o f using
both b a s i c d e s i g n methods, h o w e v e r , they rypically
rely m o r e heavily on the d i r e c t approach.
A m a j o r i t y of the a i r f o i l d e s i g n w o r k t o be
d i s c u s s e d i n t h i s p a p e r i s b a s e d on the i n v e r s e
a p p r o a c h . T h r e e r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s t u d i e s which u s e
t h e i n v e r s e technique a r e t h o s e of Lighthill [ I ] ,
W o r t m a n n [2], and C o l d s t e i n and bfager [3].
L i g h t h i l l ' s w o r k c e n t e r s p r i m a r i l y o n the develop-
m e h t of t h e i n v e r s e potential f l o w c a l c u l a t i o n
m e t h o d i t s e l f , and s o m e s a m p l e d e s i g n s for high
l i f t a r e p r c s e n t e d . On the o t h e r hand. I\'ortm.ann
c o n c e n t r a t e s on the d e v e l o p m e n t of a p r e s s u r e
d i s t r i b u t i o n which provides a low d r a g a i r f o i l for
s a i i p l a n e applications. T h e s u c c e s s of h i s w o r k is
evidenced by t h e fact t h a t a Wortmann a i r f o i l is
u s e d on a l m o s t e v e r y m o d e r n h i g h - p e r f o r m a n c e
sailplane. C o l d s t e i n and LLager a p p r o a c h e d t h e
p r o b l e m of m a x i m i z i n g the c i r c u l a t i o n of a i r f o i l s
i n c a s c a d e , and t h e i r b a s i c d e s i g n philosophy was
quite s i m i l a r t o t h a t t o bc d i s c u s s e d i n the p r e s e n t
paper. Unfortunately, t h e i r r e s u l t s w e r e c o m -
p r o m i s e d b) t h e l a c k of m o d e r n potential flow and
b o u n d a r y - l a y c r t h e o r i e s and c a l c u l a t i o n m.ethods.
A l i n e a r i z e d solution t o A . M . 0. S m i t h ' s
q u e s t i o n was f i r s t obtained i n P.efercnce 1 .where
C L w a s e x p r e s s e d i n t e r m s of / C dx with the
f r e e s t r z a r n aligned with the x - a x i s . ?he a.pproach
was t o o p t i m i z e th.: p r e s s u r e d i s t r i b u t i o n C 1x1
P
 u s i n g b o u n d a r y - l a y e r and potential flaw t h e o r y
t o g e t h e r with t h e c a l c u l u s of v a r i a t i o n s , and t h e
s e c o n d - o r d e r i n v e r s e a i r f o i l t h e o r y of Weher [ S j
was u s e d to c a l c u l a t e t h e c o r r e s p o n d i n g shape. !t
w a s found that the a i r f o i l d e s i g n s r e s u l t i n g f r o m
t h i s s t u d y w e r e highly c a m b e r e d which s u g g e s t e d
that linearized theory was inadequate f o r a thor-
ough solution of t h e problem. R e f e r e n c e 4 did,
h o w e v e r , d e m o n s t r a t e that s u c h a p r o b l e m could
be f o m u l a t e d and solved.
Guided by the a n a l y s i s and r e s u l t s of R e f c r -
ence 4, the n o n l i n e a r p r o b l e m w a s f o r m u l a t e d and
solved i n R e f e r e n c e 6 . I n t h i s c a s e , C L was ex-
p r e s s e d i n t e r m s of q v d s w h e r e v is t h e v e l o c i t y
on t h e a i r f o i l s u r f a c e and s i s the a r c l e n g t h along
the a i r f o i l s u r f a c e . Llsing s a s t h e independent
v a r i a b l e ( a s opposed tr, x, m e a s u r e d along the a i r -
foil c h o r d ) i s e s s e n t i a l f o r the a c c u r a t e application
of boundar,y-layer theory. Also. since the t r u e
l o c a t i o n of the c h o r d l i n e is unknown until the a i r -
f o i l s h a p e h a s b e e n c a l c u l a t c d , s p e c i f i c a t i o n of t h c
v e l o c i t y (or p r e s s u r e ) d i s t r i b u t i o n a s a function of
s i * f a r m o r e p r e c i s e when an "exact" solution i s
being sought. I n a s i m i l a r m a n n e r t s the a n a l y s i s
of R e f e r e n c e 4, the a i r f o i l v e l o c i t y d i s t r i b u t i o n
v f s )w a s o p t i m i z e d with s e v e r a l r e f i n e m e n t s o v e r
the e a r l i e r work. The e x a c t nonlinear i n v e r s e
a i r f o i l t h e o r y of J a m e s [ 7 ] was then u s e d t o c a l c u -
l a t e t h e c o r r e s p o n d i n g a i r f o i l shape. Tun of the
resulting a i r f o i l s w e r e t e s t e d i n a wind tun.-l [ 8 ]
and t h e i r p c r f o r r n a n c e exceeded the t h e o r e t i c a l
p r e d i c t i o n s . A t t h e design lift c o e i f i c i r n t , t h t ~d r a g
was l o w e r than the t h e o r e t i c a l value. and the l o w
d r a g r a n g e o l t h e a i r l o i l s w a s e x t r e m e l y wide.
The m e t h o d of R e f e r e ~ c cb h a s b e e n extended t o
soive a wide v a r i e t y of a i r f o i l d e s i g n p r o b l e m s
s u c h as I n w i m i e i n g a i r f o i l t h i c k n e s s f o r a s p e c i -
fied l i f t coefficient. P r o b a b l y one of the m o s t
._, ' p r o m i s i n $ e x t e n s i o n s of t h i s work i n v o l v e s t h e
d e s i g n of o p t i m i z e d a i r f o i l s f o r o p c r a t i o n i n c o m -
p r e s s i b l e s o b s o n i c flow.
T h e p r o b l e m of designing a m a x i m u m lift
a i r f o i l h a s r e c e n t l y r e c e i v e d the attention of
s e v e r a l r e s e a r c h e r s and the followine a r e
s o m e examples. A theoretical approach s i m i l a r
t o that ai R e f e r e n c e b w a s u s e d by O r m s b e e and
Chen [ 9 ] , and an a i r f o i l designed using t h e i r
m e t h o d w a s s u b s e q u e n t l y t e s t e d i n a wind t u n n e l
[IO]. The r e s u l t s s h o w a d r a g r i s e at h i g h e r lift
coefficients which a p p e a r s t o be a consequence of
t h e i r f o r m u l a t i o n of the t r a i l i n g edge condition;
however. the o v e r a l l p e r f o r m a n c e of t h i s a i r f o i l
s u b s t a n t i a t e s the viability of t h e b a s i c a p p r o a c h .
Another s i m i l a r study was conducted b y P i c k and
L i e n [ I l l w h e r e i n addition to dcsigning f o r m a x i -
mum l i f t , i t w a s r e q u i r e 6 that t h e r e s u l t i n g a i r f o i l
h a v e a specified t h i c k n e s s d i s t r i b u t i o n . Thin
a i r f o i l t h e o r y was u s e d to g e n e r a t e t h e i r i n i t i a l
solutions which w e r e then r e f i n e d using t h e e x a c t
n o n l i n e a r method of J a m e s [7]. T h e r e s u l t i n g
a i r f o i l was t e s t e d i n a wind t u n n e l with good r e -
sults. S t r a n d [ I ] h a s developed a m o d i f i c a t i o n
t s the i r r r e r s e m e t h a d of A r l i n g r r [ I 3 1 which he
uses t o d e r i v e the a i r f o i l designed by P i c k and
L i e n a s a t e s t c a s e t o r e t h e r with s o m e s i m i l a r
I
airfoil d e s i g n s . At t h i s w r i t i n s , it is not h o w n
if a n y of S t r a n d ' s a i r f o i l s have bcen t e s t e d .
F i n a l l y , Wortmann [ 141 h a s a p p r o a c h e d t h e p r o h -
lem of m a x i m u m lift a i r f o i l d e s i g n o n t h e b a s i s of
obtaining t h e m i n i m u m s i n k r a t e f o r a sailplane.
V~
His a n a l y t i c a l a p p r o a c h is e n t i r e l y d i f f e r e n t f r o m
that employed i n the r e f e r e n c e s above, however,
t h e r e s u l t i n g a i r f o i l s h a v e shown s a o d p e r f o r -
m a n c e in wind tunnel t e s t s . A c o m p a r i s o n of the
wind t u n n e l r e s u l t s of R e f e r e n c e s 10. 11, and 1 4
with t h o s e of R e f e r e n c e 8 i s given i n Section Ill.
If t h e r e s t r i c t i o n to a s i n g l e e l e m e n t i s
removed f r o m the m a x i m u m l i f t p r o b l e m , a con-
siderable i n c r e a s e in the attainable lift becomes
possible. The method of R e f e r e n c e 6 h a s been
extended to s t u d y t h e optimization o f multi-
e l e m e n t a i r f o i l s . and the p r e l i m i n a r y designs
obtained thus f a r a p p e a r p r o m i s i n g . The analysis
s u g g e s t s the o p t i m u m n u m b e r ol e i c m e n t s and
t h e i r r e s p e c t i v e c h o r d - l e n g t h s f o r a given
Reynolds n u m b e r and Mach n u m b e r together with
t h e rpecifica:ion of the T r e s s u r e d i s t r i b u t i o n for
e a c h oi the e l e m e n t s . Using a combination i n v e r s e -
d i r e c ! t e c h n i q , w , the a u t h o r h a s developed some
two-element high-lift a i r f o i l d e s i g n s which have
been s u c c e s s f u l i n application as r a c e c a r wings.
P r o g r e s s i n t h i s w o r k h a s been l i m i t e d by the
l a c k of a viable i n v e r s e s o l u t i o n technique for
m u l t i - e l e m e n t a i r f o i l design. F o r t u n a t e l y . 3ames
[ l j ] h a s r e c e n t l y developed a two-element a i r f o i l
d e s i g n rntthod usinE c o n f o r m a l mapping techniques.
The method i s e x a r t and quite v e r s a t i l e in that it
i s c a p a b l e o f handlins the mixed boundary-value
p r o b l e m , n a m e l y : the s p c c i f i c a t i o n oi t h e p r e s s u r e
d i s t r i b u t i o n on one e l e m e n t and the s h a p e of the
o t h e r e l e m e n t . A t t h i s time t h e method h a s yet t o
he deve!oped into an o p e r a t i o n a l desiKn tool. how-
e v e r , thc t h e o r y i s con?.plete and s e v e r a l check
c a s e s h a v e b e e n s u c c e s s f u l l y solved. Once the
method b e c o m e s opera!ional. it u i l l be ideal f o r
use i n t h e m u l t i - e l e m e n t o p t i m i z a t i o n problem.
Another promxsing m u l t i - r l ? n , e n t invr:rse method
i s that f o r m u l a t c d by !\'ilkinson [ I f , ] and developed
by N a r r a m o r e and i',catty[l7]. O r m s b e e and
Chen 1.1 have a l s o i n v e s t i g a t e d the o p t i m u m multi-
e l e m e n t a i r f o i l d e s i g n p r o b l e m . and t h e i r initial
r e s u l t s show p r o g r e s s on a n o t h e r i n v e r s e c a l c u l -
lation method. A v e r y thorough d i s c u s s i o n of the
g e n e r a l m u l t i - e l e m e n t d e s i g n p r o b l e m i s given by
Smith i n R e f e r e n c e 18.
T h e l i m i t e d applications o f oprimized a i r f o i l s
iboth s i n g l e and n , u l t i - c l r m e n t l hasf been
encouraging. E x a m p l e s inc!ude a i r c r a f t w i n g s .
f a n s , p r o p e l l e r s , and r a c e c a r winss. The r e s u l t s
ohtained f r o m the p r a c t i c a l e x p e r i e n c e have been
e x t r e m e l y useiul i n guiding the c o u r s e oi this work.
In t h c follouinS s e c t i o n s of t h i s p a p e r , the
t h e o r e t i c a l development and testin:: of optimized
a i r f o i l d e s i g n s at Douglas over t h e past nine y e a r s
i s d e s c r i b e d . T h i s i n c l u d e s an outline of the
t h e o r e t i c a l a p p r o a c h , e x a m p l e solutions and wind
tunnel t e s t r e s u l t s t o g e t h e r with t h e r e s u l t s i r o m
s o m e applications. At s e v e r a l points, recornmen-
datiqns f o r f u r t h e r a n d / o r m o r e d e t a i l e d s t u d i e s
a r e ofiered.
-11. Development of the S i n g l e - E l e m e n t Airfoil"
* S e v e r a l p o r t i o n s of the followin2 development have
been taken d i r e c t l y f r o m R e f e r e n c e 8. They a r e
included i n t h i s p a p e r i n the i n t e r e s t of continuity
and completeneiis.
2
 2.1 General Formulation

In o r d e r t o study t h e p r o b l e m of m a x i m i z i n g
t h e l i f t of a s i n g l e e l e m e n t a i r f o i l s o m e definitions
and c o n s t r a i n t s mildt f i r s t be e s t a b l i s h e d . The
b a r i c a p p r o a c h is t o o p t i m i z e and s p e c i f y a veloc-
v i t y ( o r p r e s s u r e 1 d i s t r i b u t i o n which m a x i r c i z e s the
l i f t , and then compute t h e c o r r e s p o n d i n g a i r f o i l
shape. T h i s velocity d i s t r i b u t i o n m u s t s a t i s f y
three ;riteria:

1. T h e flow r e m a i n s s u b s o n i c and
u n s r p a r a t e d everywhere.

2. The c o r r e s p o n d i n g a i r f o i l s h a p e
is physically possible.

3. Maximum C L is obtained.

The f i r s t c r i t e r i o n i m p l i e s two r e q u i r e m e n t s which

a r e j u s t i f i e d a s follows. It i s well k n o r n that even
I though-an a i r f o i l m a y be o p e r a t i n g a t a r e l a t i v e l y
low flight s p e c d , thc l o c a l v e l o c i t y of t h e flow on
the u p p e r s u r f h c e of t h e a i r f o i l c a n b e c o m e s u p e r -
s o n i c when the a i r f o i l is near i t s m a x i m u m l i f t .
S u p e r c r i t i c a l flow u n d e r t h i s condition i s probably Fig. I G e n e r a l f o r m of a i r f o i l velocity
not v e r y efficient. and t h e r e f o r e the r e s t r i c t i o n to distribution.
subscmic flow i s made. F o r t h e p u r p o s e of analy-
sis, t h e flow is i n i t i a l l y taken as i n c o m p r e s s i b l e
in t e r m s o f b o u n d a r y - l a y e r s e p a r a t i o n , however,
and the e f f e c t s of c o m p r e s s i b i l i t y a r e s u b s e q u e n t l y certain basic airfoil g e o m e t r y factors associated
accounted f o r bv an e x t e n s i o n of the method. With with c r i t e r i o n no. 2 will be d i s c u s s e d f i r s t . I n
r e g a r d t o the s e p a r a t i o n condition, m o s t a i r f o i l s
t e r m s of potential flow. V I S I m u s t have a leadin5
a r e p a r t i a l l y s e p a r a t e d when t h e y r e a c h t h e i r
edge stagnation point s = sp, and it m u s t a l s o
a b s o l u t e m a x i m u m l i f t , however. o p e r a t i o n a t t h i s
s a t i s f y the tiuttx condition at the t r a i l i n g e d s r .
condition i s u s u a l l y c o n s i d e r e d i n i p r a c t i c a l . .More-
Referring t o F i g u r e 2 , two p o s s i b i l i t i e s e x i s t at
o v e r , the a n a l y s i s o f s e p a r a t e d flows h a s not
t h e t r a i l i n g edxe: i f the t r a i l i n g edce angle is non-
r e a c h e d a l e v e l of s o p h i s t i c a t i o n w h e r e a n optimi-
z e r o the v e l o c i t y m u s t go t a z e r o t h e r e , whiie if
zatjon technique can be applied.
the angle is zero la c u s p l , t h e u ? p r r and l o w e r
s u r f a c e v e l o c i t i e s m u s t a s s u m e the s a m e v e l o c i t y
T h e second c r i t e r i o n r e l a t e s to the potential
( n a m e l y , s l i g h t l y l e s s than the f r e e s t r e a m v a l u e )
flaw p r o b l e m o i a n a r b i t r a r i l y s p e c i f i e d v e l o c i t y
a s the t r a i l i n g edKe i s approached. LVhen the
d i s t r i b u t i o n not c e c r s s a r i l y providing a c l o s e d and
n o n - r e e n t r a n t a i r f o i l shape. I n addition, the a i r -
foil should havc a rounded leading edge and a
t h i c k n e s s d i s t r i b u t i o n which i s s t r u c t u r a l l y a c c e p t -
able. dependinq on t h e , application. Finally. the
third requirement simply states that the velocity I
d i s t r i h u t i o n i s to be o p t i m i z e d f o r m a x i m u m lift I
while s a t i s f y i n g r e q u i r e m e n t s I and 2. T h i s h a s I,
b e e n c a s t as a v a r i a t i o n a l p r o b l e m w h e r e m e x t r e -
m u m of C L i s sought s u b j e c t t o a s e t of c o n s t r a i n t s I
defined by I and 2.

T h e g e n e r a l f o r m of a n a i r f o i l v e l o c i t y d i s t r i -
bution is s h o w i n F i g u r e 1 w h e r e 5 , the a r c l e n g t h
along t h e a i r f o i l s u r f a c e , i s c h o s e n a s the indepen-
d e n t v a r i a b l e , Since the only known point of an
a i r f o i l y e t t o bc designed i s the t r a i l i n e e d s e , t h i s
i s c h o s e n a s the o r i g i n with 5 proceding c l o c k w i s e
a r o u n d t h e a i r f o i l s u r f a c e to the u p p e r s u r f a c e a t
the t r a i l i n g edge. T h e total p e r i m e t e r of t h e a i r -
foil is normaliz,ed to unity which i m p l i e s a non-unit
chord. As mentioned i n t h e I n t r o d u c t i o n , s i s the
n a t u r a l c h o i c e f o r the independent v a r i a b l e f o r the
m o s t a c c u r a t e application of b o u n d a r y - l a y e r theory.
The 1.ALL
:s.
coefficient. e x p r e s s e d i n tcrnis 0: ;he
circulation about the a i r f o i l i s given by

--
w h e r e v ( s ) i s the v e l o c i t y d i s t r i b u t i o n on the s u r -
f a c e of t h e airfoil. C r i t e r i o n no. I c o n s t r a i n s v ( s )

3
b o u n d a r y l a y e r i s added, t h e flow outside the
b o u n d a r y l a y e r p a s s e s thc t r a i l i n g r d g c with a con-
t i n o u s n o n z e r o t r a i l i n g e d g e velocity. Consequently,
a nonzero value i s used ir. the following analysis.
R e f e r r i n g a s a i n to F i g u r e 1 , the s i g n conven-
t i o n and g e n e r a l fo:m of v l s l i s explained.
The
flow d i r e c t i o n on the l o w e r s u r f a c e i s always oppo-
s i t e t o the d i r e c t i o n of i n c r e a s i n g s , and t h e r e f o r e
v is a l w a y s negative t h e r e . S i m i l a r l y , v is positive
e v e r y w h e r e on the u p p e r s u r f a c e . [Xote that t h e
t e r m "lo..uer s u r f a c e " r e f e r s to the region d e f i n e d
by 0 S s c sp, and "upper s u r f a c e " r e f e r s to the
r e g i o n defined by S P 5 s C 1. Also, s p d o e s not
n e c e s s a r i l y l i e a t t h e g e o m e t r i c leading edge of an
ai rf oi i.)
Expanding Eq. ( 1 ) to s e p a r a t e the u p p e r and
l o w e r s u r f a c e flow9 g i v e s .
w h e r e s i s the leading edge s t a g n a t i o n point.
C o n s i d e p e a as a v a r i a t i o n a l p r o b l e m , CL can bP
w r i t t e n as t h e functional
T h a t is. i t i s d e s i r e d to f i n d th? d i s t r i b u t i o n
v(s)/V,, the s t a g n a t i o n point location sp. and t h e
c h o r d l e n g t h c which m a x i m i z e s CL. v ( s i / V , ,
=P'
a n d c cannot be chaser. independently aince t h e y
a r e i m p l i c i t y connected by a i r f o i l theory.
R e f e r r i n g t o Eq. ( 2 ) i t will p r o v e convenient
to define t h e norma:ized i n t e g r a l s le and I, by t h e
relations
(3)
. sP
F r o m t h e standpoint of m a x i m i z i n g CL". the r a t i o
(1 - s P ) l c will be s l i g h t l y g r e a t e r than unity, and
t h e a c t u a l s p e c i f i c a t i o n of s and t h e i m p l i c i t
P .
s p e c i f i c a t i o n c will be d e t e r m i n e d i n the i n v e r s e
p o t e n t i a l s o l u t i o n f o r the a i r f o i l shape. C o n s e q u -
ently, the p r o b l e m of m a x i m i z i n g C L now ~
b e c o m e s that of m a x i m i z i n g I,. By a s i m i l a r
a r g u m e n t . the r a t i o s I'c will a l s o be c l o s e to
P
unity and CLZ will be m a x i m i z e d by mnrirnirirag
It. T h u s tlic p r o b l e m of m a x i m i z i n g C L i s ex-
p r e s s e d i n t e r m s of m a x i m i z i n g the n o r m e l i z e d
i n t e g r a i s I! and I, s u b j e c t to the s e p a r a t i o n and
c o m p r e s s i b i l i t y r e s t r i c t i o n s of c r i t e r i o n no. 1
with s l e f t a s a p a r a m e t e r to be used to obtain
t h e sat?s(actory a i r f o i l ahape a s called f3r i n
c r i t e r i o n no. 2. The a i r f o i l c h o r d c will be im-
plied b y t h e s p e c i f i c a t i o n of a p a r t i c u l a r v(s) and
'Ir
S i n c e v ( s ) 5 0 e v e r y w h e r e on t h e l o w e r
s u r f a c e , I t will b e m a x i m i z e d b y keeping 4 s ) as
c l o s e t o s t a g n a t i o n a s possible. Alternatively,
v ( s ) 2. 0 on t h e u p p e r s u r f a c e irnples that v ( s )
s h o u l d b e m a x i m i z e d t h e r e to obtain a maxim.-
4
f o r I,. The maximization of l e i s unlikely to be
a f f e c t e d b y the r e s t r i c t i o n s of c r i t e r i o n no. 1, and
t h e r e f o r e v ( s l is left unspccified on the l o w e r s u r -
f a c e at thie s t a g e o f the a n a l y s i s . The following
s e c t i o n d e s c r i b e s the application of b o u n d a r y - l a y e r
t h e o r y and the c a l c u l u s of v a r i a t i o n s to the d e t e r -
mination of the velocity d i s t r i b u t i o n v ( s ) which
m a x i m i z e s I,.
2 . 2 Optimization of the Upper S u r f a c e Velocity
Distribution.
R e f e r r i n g again t o F i g u r e 1, the f o r m of t h e
u p p e r s u r f a c e velocity d i s t r i b u t i o n c a l l s f o r an
a c c e l e r a t i o n f r o m stagnation up t o some peak
v e l o c i t y followed by a d e c e l e r a t i o n ( p r e s s u r e re-
c o v e r y ) back down to vte/V, < 1. It is d e s i r e d to
m a x i m i z e t h e a r e a under :he v l V r v e r s u s s c u r v e
s u b j e c t t c the c o n s t r a i n t that the boundary layer
d o e s not s e p a r a t e . S t r a t f o r d [19] h a s developed an
a n a l y t i c a l method which p r o v i d e s a p r e s s u r e r e -
c o v e r y ( d e c e l e r a t i o n ) d i s t r i b u t i o n which continu-
o u s l y avoids s e p a r a t i o n b y a constant s p e c i f i e d
margin. T h i s f o r m of p r e s s u r e r e c o v e r y in prin-
c i p l e r e c o v e r s a given A C p i n the s h o r t e s t
p o s s i b l e d i s t a n c e , or it can be i n t e r p r e t e d a s
r e c o v e r i n g the m a x i m u m ACp. in a given d i s t a n c e .
T h e r e f o r e . the S t r a t f o r d i m m i n e n t s e p a r a t i o n
p r e s s u r e r e c o v e r y d i s t r i b u t i o n a p p e a r s t o he i d e a l
for maximizing C L ~ . S t r a t f o r d [20] h a s r x p e r i -
m e n t a l l y checked a f l o w using h i s p r e s s u r e
r e c o v e r y d i s t r i b u t i o n and found that it did not
s e p a r a t e and exhibited "a good m a r g i n of stability':
S t r a t f o r d ' s t h e o r y i s d c r i v e d for the c a n o n i c a l
p r e s s u r e d i s t r i b u t i o n shown i n F i S u r e 3 which
c o n s i s t s o f a cnnstant p r e s s u r e region f o r a d i s -
t a n c e u o followed by a region of p r e s s u r e
r e c o v e r y that begins at U = (r and continues down-
0.
s t r e a m . The boundary l a y e r 1s taken as t u r b u l e n t
o v e r t h e e n t i r e region. R e f e r r i n g t o F i g u r e 3, a
p r e s s u r e coefficient and Reynolds n u m b e r ape
defined by
-c p = -
P-Po
, ReL% =
vo uo
- (4)
Y
l12Pvo
w h e r e po and vo a r e the s t a t i c p r e s s u r e and
v e l o c i t y along the constant p r e s s u r e region.
S t r a t f o r d ' s solution is given by t h e r e l a t i o n s
0 G-=cr, u-
F i g . 3 Canonical f o r m f o r S t r a t f o r d [ I 9 1
p r e s s u r e recovery distribution
 E q u a t i o n s ( 5 ) and 16) r e p r e s e n t a p r e s s u r e
r e c o v e r y d i s t r i b u t i o n f o r which b o u n d a r y - l a y e r
s e p a r a t i o n i s i m m i n e n t but does not o c c u r o v e r
t h e e n t i r e l e n g t h of the p r e s s u r e r e c o v e r y region.
T h e c o x y t a n t s a-and b i n Eq. ( 6 ) a r e chosen to
m a t c h C p and d C p l d u when C p = 417.
-..
T h e p r o b l e m c o n s i d e r e d i n t h i s study r e q u i r e s
t h a t t b e flow o r i g i n a t e s f r o m stagnation a t s = s p
a n d t h e v e l o c i t y monotonically i n c r e a s e s t o s o m e
m a x i m u m v e l o c i t y v =vo at 3 = s o . S t r a t f o r d h a s
p r o v i d e d two i n t e g r a ; r e l a t i o n s t o account f o r t h i s
s o t h a t E q s . ( 5 ) and ( 6 ) which a r e based on t h e
v e l o c i t y d i s t r i b u t i o n of F i g u r e 3 m a y be applied to
the airfoil problem. These integral relations a r e
d e r i v e d f r o m t h e r e q u i r e m e n t that t h e boundary-
l a y e r m o m e n t u m t h i c k n e s s f o r t h e c a s e ol a i a m i -
n a r a c c e l e r a t i o n region, the c a s e of a turbulent
a c c e l e r a t i o n region. and the constant v e l o c i t y
regiofi of F i g u r e 3 is t h e s a m e a t t h e beginning of
t h e d e c e l e r a t i o n region f o r all t h r e e c a s e s . F o r
a t u r b u l e n t b o u n d a r y - l a y e r a c c e l e r a t i o n region
this y i e l d s a p p r o x i m a t e l y
(7)
=P
and f o r a l a m i n a r b o u n d a r y - l a y e r a c c e l e r a t i o n
r e g i o n it g i v e s
In e f f e c t , Eqs. (7)and ( 8 ) p r o v i d e a lengthening of
t h e d i s t a n c e f r o m s = s to s so o v e r the distance
P
f r o m ' " = 0 t o u =To =,her. an a c c e l e r a t i o n region
e x i s t s as opposed t o a c o n ~ t a n tv e l o c i t y region
( F i g u r e 4). s r e p r e s e n t s the a c t u a l d i s t a n c e along
t h e a i r f o i l s u r f a c e . and u r e p r e s e n t s a d i s t a n c e
from a n o r i g i n which is located a t a d i s t a n c e uo
behind the v e l o c i t y peak oil the u p p e r s u r f a c e of
t h e a i r f o i l . T h i s lengthening i s a consequence of
t h e f a c t t h a t a boundary l a y e r , e i t h e r l a m i n a r o r
t u r b u l e n t , t h i c k e n s m o r e slowly i n an a c c e l e r a t i n e
flow than i n a region of constant velocity, and a
l a m i n a r b o u n d a r y l a y e r thickens m o r e slowly than
a t u r b u l e n t b o u n d a r y l a y e r when both e x p e r i e n c e
t h e s a m e v e l o c i t y distribution. A combination of
E q s . i 7 ) and (81 applies when t r a n s i t i o n o c c u r s a t
s o m e i n t e r m e d i a t e point of the region u p s t r e a m no.
Using t h e i r r e a p e c s v e definitions, C p can be
e x p r e s s e d i n t e r r s s of Cp a s
and the conditions a t the t r a i l i n g edge give
(9)
- -
w h e r e Cpbe = C [ i u / U ) ] as given by Eqs. ( 5 )
and (6). T h u s !&. 0 te
( 9 ) p r o v i d e s a s i m p l e re!ation
b e t w e e n t h e l e n g t h of the r e c o v e r y region,
[ r / u) , t h e magnitude of t h e p r e s s u r e peak,
./ CPm&'='i - ivo/V )*; and the t r a i l i n g edge p r e s -
s u r e , Cpte, f o r t h e S t r a t f o r d i m m i n e n t s e p a r a t i o n
5
p r e s s u r e r e c o v e r y distribution. T h e Reynolds
n u m b e r Reuo u s e d i n Eq. i 5 ) is r e l a t e d to a m o r e
conventional f o r m ( F i g u r e I )
(10)
b y using Eq. ( 9 ) t o obtain
/l - cmeyh UO
(11)
--y- Res_
P
-
It is noted that the d i s t a n c e I s p will be only
s l i g h t l y g r e a t e r than the a i r f o i l c h o r d , and t h e r e -
f o r e Re,, will be effectively e q c i v a l e n t t o the
conventional f r e e s t r e a m Reynolds n u m b e r ,
Re, = V_clv.
T w o bounding c a s e s a r e : a t u r b u l e n t b o u n d a r y
l a y e r existing over :he e n t i r e u p p e r s u r f a c e of the
a i r f o i l , and a l a m i n a r bou;ldary l a y e r existing f r o m
the leading stagnation point I to the m a x i m u m
v e l o c i t y point so, with i n s t a n p a n e m s t r a n s i t i o n t o
a t u r b u l e n t b o u c d a r y l a y e r at so. The f o r m f o r the
u p p e r s u r f a c e v e l o c i t y d i s t r i b u t i o n lor t h e s e hound-
ing c a s e s is shown i n F i g u r e 4. T h i s a m o u n t s to an
a r b i t r a r y a c c e l e r a t i o n region f r o m s = s to 9 = s o ,
P.
followed by the S t r a t f o r d d e c e l e r a t i o n region f r o m
s = s o to s = l .
Expanding I, gives
5..
1" =
1 - 3
P
and the p r o b l e m i s to m a x i m i z e 1, while satisfying
Eqs. ( 7 ) and (8). The p a r a m e t e r s Reuo and vtc/V_
a r e left f r e e at t h i s point; and, s i n c e a S t r a t f o r d
d e c e l e r a t i o n d i s t r i b u t i o n h a s b e e n a s s u m e d . the
second i n t e g r a l t e r m of Eq. 112) i s known a s a
function of Remo and vte/Vx , i. e.,
w h e r e I i s independent of the t r a n s i t i o n point
location. The p a r a m e t e r ( f f / c r o J t e r e p r e s e n t s the
length of the p r e s s u r e r e c o v e r y r e q i o n and it is
r e l a t e d t o the magnitude of the p r e s s u r e r e c o v e r y
by Eq. ( 9 ) .
R e f e r r i n g t o F i g u r e 4, i t can b e s e e n that t h e
-
n o r m a l i z i n g d i s t a n c e I s p m a y be c o n s i d e r e d as
a function of t w o things: f i r s t , t h e f o r m of t h e
a c c e l e r a t i o n velocity d i s t r i b u t i o n which d e t e r m i n e s
the d i s t a n c e S O - s according t o E q s , ( 7 ) n n d l o r
la); and, second, Fhe magnitude of the p r e s s u r e
r e c o v e r y which d e t e r m i n e s the d i a t a n c e l s o -
a c c o r d i n g to Eq. (9). Consequently, although it
might at f i r s t a p p e a r that I, would be m a x i m i z e d
by the f u r t h e s t possible extent of an a c c e l e r a t i n g
velocity distribution. the dependence of t h e
-
n o r m a i i z i n g d i s t a n c e 1 s on t h e a c c e l e r a t i o n
distribution precludes SUCK an assumpiion.
I n o r d e r t o m a x i m i z e I,, a v a r i a t i o n a i p r o b -
l e m i s c o n s i d e r e d w h e r e i t is sought t o d e t e r m i n e
the f c r m of the a c c e l e r a t i n g v e l o c i t y d i s t r i b u t i o n
V(S)IVm, S P ' S 5 SO' and t h e value o f the p a r a m e t e r
 ( u / u o ) t e which provide the d e s i r e d e x t r e m u m .
-*1
T h e two p a r a m e t e r s vte/Vz and Remo a r e left
f r e e : vte/V, will be needed t o a d j u s t the velocity
d i s t r i b u t i o n to obtain a r e a l i s t i c a i r f o i l shape, and
Remo will S e specified b y Eq. ( 11) t o obtain the
d e s i r e d f r e c s t r e a m Reynolds n u m b e r Re,.

-4

-2

3.I
LAUP&?R d L r.cd
3 .+ -1

F i g . 4 Upper s u r f a c e velocity distribution

with a S t r a t f o r d recovery.
0

Applying the calculus of v a r i a t i o n s yields t h e

b a s i c solution that a flat rooftop velocity l o r
p r e s s u r e 1 distribution m a x i m i r e s 1, f a r a r b i t r a r y ,J
location of the t r a n s i t i o n point an the rooitop. Fig. 5 F a m i l y of optimized upper s u r f a c e
T h e r e e x i s t s an iniinitr f a m i i y o f such flat rooftop p r e s s u r e distributions.
d i s t r i h u t i o n s lor a fixed s e t of the p a r a m e t e r s
vte/V, and Rcuo. and the v a r i a t i o n a l solution
a l s o s p e c i f i e s tha: value of ( d m o ) t e which defines introduction to the 5eveT.e i n i t i a l S t r a t f o r d gra-
the p a r t i c u l a r m e m b e r of the f a m i l y which maxi- dient. The p r o p e r shaping of t h e t r a n s i t i o n rexion
, m i z e s 1, ( F i g u r e 5). I t should be noted that, f o r is e x t r e m e l y c r i t i c a l a t Reynolds n u m b e r s below
a fixed s e t of the p a r a m e t e r s vte/Vz and R e v o , IO6, and this will b e d i s c u s s e d l a t e r i n t h i s paper.
the resulting optimum velocity d i s t r i b u t i o n f o r a Since t h e s e m o d i f i c a t i o n s r e s u l t i n a rooftop
l a m i n a r rooftop will h a v e a longer and h i g h e r which is no l o n g e r flat, the length and height
r o o f t o p region than f o r a Lurbulent rooftop. of the modified r o o f t o p could, in p r i n c i p l e . be
i n c r e a s e d a c c o r d i n g to Eqs. 17) and 18). In
2 . 3 G e n e r a l F o r m for "Optimized m o s t c a s e s t h i s c o r r e c t i o n -711 be s m a l l ,
Velocity Distribution:' and r.eglecring it sirr.ply c a u s e s the v e l o c i t y
d i s t r i b u t i o n t o b e a bit m o r e c o n s e r v a t i v e .
T h e a n a l y s i s of the preceding section has
indicated that C L will be m a x i m i z e d b y a velocity
d i s t r i b u t i o n of the f o r m shown by the solid line
i n F i g u r e 6. T h i s d i s t r i b u t i o n i s m a d e up of
v(s)/V, = 0 o v e r the e n t i r e l o w e r s u r f a c e and
vls)/Vz given by a f l a t rooftop plus S t r a t f o r d d i s -
tribution on the upper s u r f a c e . While this d i s t r i -
bution i s s a t i s f a c t o r y in t e r m s of the boundary-
l a y e r r e q u i r e m e n t s oi c r i t e r i o n m. 1, i t will not
s a t i s f y c i i t e r i o n no. 2 ana provide a n a i r f o i l
shape. T h e discontinuities i m p l i e d at t h e leading
and t r a i l i n s er?ges and tho fact t h a t t r u e s t q n a -
tion c a n o n l y o c c u r a t a single point prevent a
meaningful potential flow solution.

T h t r e f o r e , the velocity d i s t r i b u t i o n h a s been

modified a s shown by the b r o k e n lina i n F i g u r e 6.
The s l o p e + l s , ) a f i c c t s the leading edge radius and
t h i c k n e s s of the resltlting a i r f o i l shape. and the
r e m a i c i n g portion of thp ~ p p e rsurface rooftop
region is shaped t o allow f o r o p e r a t i o n at angles
of a t t a c k above the d e s i g n value. A boundary-layer
t r a n s i t i o n r a m p h a s been l o c a t e d a t the rooftop Fig. 6 O p t i m u m a i r f o i l velocity d i s t r i b u t i o n
peak f o r those c a s e s w h e r e thc rooftop is l a m i n a r , and modification r e q u i r e d t o
and a l s o to e a s e a turbulent b o u n d a r y l a y e r ' s obtain an a i r f o i l shape.

6
 F o r t h e m a x i m u m l i f t problem. the lower
s u r f a c e d i s t r i b u t i o n i s m o d i f i e d according to
two g e n e r a l c o n s t r a i n t s : f i r s t , the velocity
r e m a i n s a s l o w a s p o s s i b l e i n o r d e r t o obtain
m a x i m u m l i f t , and second, the flow continuously
a c c e l e r a t e s i n t h e i n t e r e s t of minimizing the
d r a g . N e a r the s t a s n a t i o n point, the d i s t r i b u -
t i o n i s s h a p e d to provide good o i f - d e s i g n p e r -
f o r m a n c e a t l o w c r a n s i e s of attack.
A v e r y i m p o r t a n t p a r a m e t e r is the t r a i l i n g
edge velocity vte/V.. . The choice of a high
value f o r vte/V, i s v e r y d e s i r a b l e f r o m the
standpoint of i n c r e a s i n g the u p p e r s u r f a c e l i f t
CLU. ( F o r e x a m p l e , a 1 0 5 i n c r e a s e i n vt,lV,
m a y i n c r e a s e C L a~s much a s 15%). However,
vte/Vx i s s e v e r e l y !im.itcd by the c o n s i d e i a t i o n
of obtainine a p b p c r t r a i l i n p edge g e o m e t r y .
According to potential flow theory, the value of
vte/V= at the t r a i l i n g edge of a cusped a i r f o i l
i s a l w a y s less than one. For a given family
of a i r f o i l s of v a r y i n g t h i c k n e s s , reducing the
t h i c k n e s s r e s u l t s in a c c r r e s p o n d i n g i n c r e a s e
i n t h e value o f q e / V , . In the c a s e of a s y m -
m e t r i c a i r f o i l a t z e r o a n s l e of attack, vte/V,
b e c o m e s unity as the t h i c k n e s s g o e s to zero
which c o r r e s p o n d s . to a flat plate. T h i s i s the
only c a s e \where vte!V, = I. Any t h i c k n e s s or
l i f t r e q u i r e s that v t e / Y x < 1. I t i s possible i n
potential flow to have v!V, > 1 just u p s t r e a m
of the t r a i l i n g edge, however. t h i s i m p l i e s a
l a r g e t r a i l i n g edge a n g l e a s shown i n F i g u r e 2.
T h i s will e n c o u r a g e t h e rea: flow t c s e p a r a t e
u p s t r e a m of the t r a i l i n % edge which will r e s u l t
i n a n i n c r e a s e i n d r a g and a l o s s o f l i f t due
t o a modified Kutta condition. I n the p r e s e n t
- ~, study. i t h a s b e e n found that a c c e p t a b l e v a l u e s
o f vte/!,> lie brhvvren 0.80 and 0.95 depending
p r i m a r i l y on the a i r f o i l thickixess.
In s u m m a r y . t t e a i r f o i l velocity d i s t r i -
bution h a s b e s n optimized s a t i s f y i n s boundary-
l a y e r t h e o r y , and then modi:ied in the i n t e r e s t
of satisfying potential i l o w theory. The f r e e
p a r a m e t e r s include: the slope v'csj/V, at
s = s the value of s , and vte/Vx t o g e t h e r
with ?;e s h a p e of the power su:face d i s t r i b u t i o n
and the u p p e r and l o w e r s u r f a c * a c c e l e r a t i o n
regions. The v e l o c i t y d i s t r i b u t i o n a s modified
i n t h e d i s c u s s i o n above c a n no l o n g e r be c a l l e d
optimum i n a p u r e l y m a t h e m a t i c a l senss. F o r
t h e l a c k o f a b e t t e r p h r a s e . they will be
r e f e r r e d to a s "optimized velocity d i s t r i b u t i o n s "
with the understanding that t h i s q u a l i f i c a t i c n
exist9.
2.4 Inverse A i r f o i l Sointion.
Occe a d e s i r e d o p t i m u m a i r f o i l velocity
d i s t r i b u t i o n h a s been developed, it r e m a i n s t o
d e t e r m i n e :he c o r r e s p o n d i n g airfoil's shape.
J a m e s [ 7 ] h a s developed a powcrful i n v c r s e
a i r f o i l d e s i g n p r o g r a m which provides e s s e n -
t i a l l y e x a c t SGlUtiOns f o r the a i r f o i l d e s i g n
problem. T h i s p r o g r a m u s e s a s input t h e a i r -
foil v e l o c i t y d i s t r i b u t i o n as a function of s as
shown i n F i g u r e 1. A p r e s c r i b e d velocity
d i s t r i b u t i o n will not n e c e s s a r i l y c o n f o r m t o a
/
c l o s e d a i r f o i l with the p r o p e r flow conditions
a? infinity. T h e r e f o r e s o m e cornpro.yise to
the input d i s t r i b u t i o n i s inevitable, a n d the
7
J a m e s p r o g r a m r e t u r n s as output a s h a p e and
v e l o c i t y u h i c h are an exact solution pair where
the v e l o c i t y i s changed to m e e t t h e c l o s u r e and
infinity conditions b y p r e s e r v i n g t h e input d e t a i l s
while modifying c e r t a i n o f the o v e r a l l c h a r a c -
teristics. Since t h e b a s i c t h e o r y of t h i s m e t h o d
depends c n the i m p l i c i t mapping of the a i r f o i l
t o t h e unit c i r c l e d o m a i n , the source of t h i s
c o m p r o m i s e i s through modification of a
F o u r i e r t r a n s f o r m a s s o c i a t e d with the input
velocity. The f i r s t two t e r m s of t h i s t r a n s -
f o r m a r e modified b y the closure and infinity
conditions. and i n the 3rn3.2 that t h e F o u r i e r
t r a n s f o r m is a t r u n c a t i o n , the e x a c t solution
p a i r could be s a i d to r e p r e s e n l the " c l o s e s t "
fit t o the input conditions i n a l e a s t s q u a r e s
sense - but i n the c i r c l e domain. By c o m p a r -
ing the input and resulting m o d i f i e d (output)
v e l o c i t y d i s t r i b u t i o n , the input d i s t r i b u t i o n is
e a s i l y a d j u s t e d ( b y v a r y i n g vtefV,,, sp. ,the
l e v e l of t h e l o w e r s u r f a c e v c l o c i t y d i s t n b u t i o n ,
e t c . ) 9 0 that a g r e e m e n t between t h e input and
output d i s t r i b u t i o n i s obtained.
In addition t o t h e v e l o c i t y d i s t r i b u t i o n , the
J a m e s p r o g r a m r e q u i r e s that t h e d e s i r e d a i r -
foil t r a i l i n g edpe angle a l s o be input explicity.
This. in p r i n c i p l e , a m o u n t s t o an o v e r s p e c i f i e d
p r o b l e m s i n c e the v e l o c i t y d i s t r i b u t i o n i t s e l f
i m p l i c i t l y defines the t r a i l i n g edge angle.
H o w e v e r , i n r e a l i t y , i t i s not p r a c t i c a l to
e x p e c t that an input v e l o c i t y d i s t r i b u t i o n will
contain enough d e t a i l i n t h e l a s t two p e r c e n t
of t h e c h o r d to provlde an a c c u r a t e d e f i n i t i o n
of t h e t r a i l i n g edge angle. S i n c e t h e input
d i s t r i b u t i o n will be modified t o provide a
c l o s e d a i r f o i l a s d e s c r i b e d above. the m i n o r
a d j u s t m e n t of the v e l o c i t y d i s t r i b u t i o n n e a r t h e
t r a i l i n g edge which is r e q u i r e d i n o r d e r t o
obtain a s p e c i f i e d t r a i l i n g edge angle b e c o m e s
insignificant a s Lon5 a s the s p e c i f i e d angle i s
not too l a r g e and no rea: a t t e m p t i s m a d e b y
t h e d e s i g n e r t o i n s i s t or. d e t a i l s of the i n p u t
v e r y c l o s e to t h e t r a i l i n g edge.
P r o b a b l y the m a i n v i r t u e of t h e J a m e s
method o v e r other exact i n v e r s e calculation
p r o c e d u r e s i s i t s utility. The " m a n - i n - t h e -
loop" i n t e r a c t i o n h a s been m i n i m i z e d in that
t h e input a n d output v e l o c i t y d i s t r i b u t i o n s a r e
s i m p l y c o m p a r e d and the new input d i s t r i b u -
tion is adjusted accordingly as discussed
above. N o intermediate jndgements O P deci-
s i o n s by the d e s i g n e r a r e r e q u i r e d i n the
calculation procedure. Also, the capability
f o r inputing the velocity d i s t r i b u t i o n i n the
p h y s i c a l plane ( a s opposed tQ, f o r e x a m p l e .
t h e c i r c l e plane) e l i m i n a t e s m u c h of t h e
a m b i g u i t y i n the c h o i c e of a n input d i s t r i b u -
tion. F i n a i l y , the c a r e f u l and e x a c t t r e a t m e n t
of t h e leading edge and t r a i l i n g edge singu-
l a r i t i r s provides for very a c c u r a t e analysis
of t h e s e i m p o r t a n t r e g i o n s . This is essential
good off-design p e r f o r m a n c e , and f o r obtaining
t h e d e s i r e d b e h a v i o r of t h e b o u n d a r y la)-er a t
t h e t r a i l i n g edee. The t h e o r e t i c a l tool p r o -
vided b y t h e J a m e s method h a s p r o v e d
invaluable in t h e d e s i g n of t h e a i r f o i l s
d e s c r i b e d i n this paper.
 2.5 E x a m p l e Solutions f o r the Maximum
Lift Design P r o b l e m .
S t a t e d i n t h e i r s i m p l e s t f o r m . the r e q u i r e -
m e n t s on thc a i r f o i l g e o m e t r y a r e t h a t it i s non-
r e e n t r a n t and that it h a s a rounded leading edge
and s h a r p t r a i l i n g edge. According to the v a r i -
ational a n a l y s i s , f o r m a x i m u m lift i t i s d e s i r a b l e
t o obtain an a i r f o i l v e l o c i t y d i s t r i b u t i o n which i s
as c l o s e as p o s s i b l e to that indicated b y t h e solid
h e i n F i g u r e 6. By s t r i c t l y following t h i s
a p p r o a c h , the a i r f o i l s h a p e and c o r r e s p o n d i n g
velocity d i s t r i b u t i o n of F i g u r e 7 was obtained f o r
a l a m i n a r rooftog, with a f r c e s t r e a m Reynolds
n u m b e r of 5 x 10 . T h i s r e s u l t m a y be r e g a r d e d
as significant f r o m a purely t h e o r e t i c a l point of
view: i t i m p l i e s that t h e m a x i m u m l i f t coefficient
which can be obtained f r o m a s i n g l e - e l e m e n t a i r -
foil in an u n s e p a r a t e d i n c o m p r e s s i b l e flow a t a
Reynolds n u m b e r of five million i s about 3.0 with
a t h e o r e t i c a l l i f t to d r a g r a t i o of 600!
2%
-
Y
V,
* IC
0
-10 _I
a2 0.4 a6 ou /D
s I . O x I O g ( a i r f o i l L1003, F i g u r e 91 and a t u r b u l e n t
Fig. 7 Maximum lift a i r f o i l and v e l o c i t y
distiibu:ion.
F r o m a p r a c t i c a l standpoint, a i r f o i l LIOOl of
l i g u r e 7 m a y r:ot be v e r y usefui. I t s s h a r p l e a d -
ing edge will tend t o c a u s e s e p a r a t i o n when t h e
a i r f o i l i s o p e r a t e d z t a n g l e s of a t t a c k o t h e r t h a n
the design value, and i t i s probably too thin as f a r
2 s structural cocsiderations a r e concerned. It i s
p o s s i b l e that attached flow could n e v e r be achieved
o n t h i s a i r f o i l b e c a u s e of nonsteady p r o b l e m s
a s s o c i a t e d with ohtaining the r e q u i r e d circulation.
The a i r f o i l is s o thin that a l a r g e p r e s s u r e s p i k e
will e x i s t at the leading edge i f the d e s i g n a n e l e of
a t t a c k and c i r c u l a t i o n a r e not m e t , and it i s not
c l e a r that the p r o p e r c i r c u l a l i o n could be e s t a b -
l i s h e d by s i m p l y o r i e n t i n g the airfoil a t t h e d e s i g n
angle. Co'nsequelitly. a s a m p l e a i r f o i l d e s i g n h a s
been computed w h e r e a reduction i n the v a l u e of
the lift coefficients h a s b e e n a c c e p t e d i n o r d e r to
obtain r e a s o n a b l e p e r f o r m a n c e o v e r an a n g l e of
a
a t t a c k range t o g e t h e r with a n a i r f o i l s h a p e which
i s s t r u c t u r a l l y f e a s i b i e , and the r e s u l t . a i r f o i l
L.1002, is shown i n F i g u r e 8. T h e m a i n d i f f e r e n c e
between the a i r f o i l s LlOOl and L l 0 0 2 involves the
s l o p e of the v e l o c i t y d i s t r i b u t i o n a t the leading
edge s t a g n a t i o n point. a n d the m a g n i t u d e of the
v e l o c i t y on the l o w e r s u r f a c e . I t should be noted
t h a t t h e a i r f o i l LIOOZ h a s b e e n thickened a r b i t r a r -
ily, and a t h i n n e r v e r s i o n would p r o v i d e m o r e li[t
with t h e l i m i t being a i r f o i l LlOO1.
20
-
V
v,
LO
0
-10 8 - 7
02 a
0. 06 0-9 l0
3 .
Fig. 8 A i r f o i l of F i g u r e 7 with a m o r e
practical thickness distribution.
2.6 Experimental Evaluation
A l i m i t e d n;lmber of wind tunnel t e s t s have
been conducted i n the i n t e r e s t of v e r i f y i n 5 the
t h e o r e t i c a l approach. T h e s e include the t e s t a i
a l a m i n r r o o f t o p a i r f o i l a t a Reynolds n u m b e r of
r o o f t o p a i r f o i l a t a Reynolds n u m b e r of 3.0 x l o 6
( a i r f o i l L1004, F i g u r e I O 1 i n the McDonnell
Douglas 8.5 x 1 2 foot L o w S p e e d Wind T u n n e l in
St. L o u i s with i n s e r t s u s e d t o obtain a 2 x 8.5 foot
t w o - d i m e n s i o n a l channel. A d e t a i l e d d e s c r i p t i o n
of the r e s u l t s of t h e s e t e s t s i s given in R e f e r e n c e
8. M a r e r e c e n t l y , t h r e e a i r f o i l s d e s i g n e d f o r
Reynolds n u m b e r s of l e s s t h a n 0 . 5 0 ~106 w e r e
t e s t e d i n the Douglas Long B e a c h 'Wind T u n n e l and
the r e s u l t s a r e given i n R e f e r e n c e 21. The b e s t
of the t h r e e airfoi:s ( a i r f o i l L P 2 5 6 6 ) is shown in
F i g u r e 11. A l u m i n u m p r e s s u r e i n s t r u m e n t e d
m o d e l s w e r e used f o r all of t h e t e s t s a n d the d r a g
w a s obtained u s i n g wake p r e s s u r e data.
I t w a s intended t h a t a i r f o i l s L1003 and L1004
would i n e f f e c t bound t h e d e s i g n p o s s i b i l i t i e s f o r
the Reynolds n u m b e r r a n g e of 1 . 0 ~ 1 0to~ 3 . 0 ~ 1 0 ~ .
A i r f o i l L 1 0 0 3 was d e s i g n e d y i t h the r e q u i r e m e n t s
that l a m i n a r flow be m a i n t a i n e d over t h e e n t i r e
r o o f t o p region, and p r e m a t u r e t r a n s i t i o n should
i n p r i n c i p l e r e n d e r t h e bounZary l a y s r incapable
. ~- -3

6,

-2

Fig. IO A i r f o i l L1004 and i t s p r e s s u r e

d i s t r i b u t i o n at t h e design
I angle of a t t a c k .
Fig. 9 A i r f o i l L1003 and i t s p r e s s u r e
distribution a t the d e s i g n s o l u t i o n 01 Referent. 2 3 with the b o u n d a r y - l a y e r
angle of a t t a c k . c a l c u l a t i o n of R e f e r e n c e 24. I n all c a s e s , the
flow was p r e d i c t e d t o r e m a i n a t t a c h e d not only a t
of negotiating the p r e s s u r e r e c o v e r y rcgioii. t h e d e s i g n condition but over I . significant angle
A l t e r n a t i v e l y , a i r f o i l L100-1 was designed to allow of a t t a c k range. T h i s was t h e f i r s t indication of
f o r the'boundary Layer being f u l l y :drbulcnt f r o m s o m e c o n s e r v a t i s m in the S t r a t f o r d r e c o v e r y
t h e leading edge, and the flow should r e m a i n distribution. Moving the t h e o r e t i c a l t r a n s i t i o n
a t t a c h e d inde3endent of the location of t r a n s i t i o n .
T h e d e g r a d a t i o n of potential p e r l o r m a n c e of a i r f o i l
L1004 8 s c o m p a r e d t o a i r f o i l L1003 i s e a s i l y s e e n
b y c o m p a r i n g F i g u r e s 10 and 9.

When the design Reynolds n u m b e r i s 1 . 0 ~10'

a n d below, the p r o b l e m shift3 f r o m prolonging
l a m i n a r flow to that 01 obtaining p r o p e r t r a n s i t i o n
t o a turbulent b o u n d a r y l a y e r . T h r e e t e s t a i r f o i l
w e r e designed f o r a Reynolds n u m b e r oi 0 . 2 5 ~108,
e a c h with a s l i g h t l y different d e s i g n philosophy f o r
t h e shaping of the rooftop region. All t h r e e w e r e
d e s i g n e d with r e l a t i v e l y l a r g e t h i c k n e s s f o r high
a s p e c t r a t i o applicatian. A i r f o i l L A 2 5 6 3 (not
s h o w n ) w a s designed using t h e m a x i m u m l i f t u p p e r
s u r f a c e velocity distribution and a r e l a t i v e l y s h o r t
t r a n s i t i o n ramp. Due t o the low d e s i g n Reynolds
n u m b e r , this r e s u l t e d i n a v e r y s h o r t rooftop '1
l e n g t h of a p p r o x i m a t e l y ZOO'c chord. In t h e i c t c r z s t
of obtaining a h i g h e r value f o r the local Reynolds
n u m b e r at t h e rooftop p r a k to h e l p p r o m o t e t r a n -
s i t i o n , a i r f o i l L.A2564 (not showni w a s d s s i g n e d
which had a l o n g e r rooftop of a p p r o x i m a t e l y 35%
c h o r d and a s h o r t t r a n s i t i o n r a m p . ( I t t u r n s out
t h a t even though the r w f t o p level i s reduced when
t h e length i s extended zs shown i n F i g u r e 5. t h e
local Rrvnolds n u m b e r is i n c r e a s e d ) . F i n a l l y ,
a i r f o i l L.A2566 ( F i g u r e 11) was designed with a
long t r a n s i t i o n r a m p and t h i s a i r f o i l is o t h e r w i s e
i d e n t i c a l t o a i r f o i l LA2564.
d
T h e p e r f o r m a n c e of all of t h e t e s t a i r f o i l s was Fig. 11 A i r f o i l L2566 a n d i t s v e l o c i t y
c h e c k e d using the Douglas MADAAM c o m p u t e r d i s t r i b u t i o n at t h e d e s i g n
p r o g r a m [22] which c o m b i n e s t h e potential f l o w angle of a t t a c k .

9
 point f o r w a r d of the rooftop peak on t h e l a m i n a r i m p l i c a t i o n would be that a p r o p e r optimization

(--A
rooftop airfoils eventually caused separation to h a d not b e e n achieved.
b e p r e d i c t e d , while the t u r b u l e n t r o o f t o p a i r f o i l
(1,1004) w a s u n a f f e c t e d i n t e r m s of s e p a r a t i o n .
'"1
.- In t h s c a s e of a i r f o i l s LA2563, LAZ564, and
LA2566, a s h o r t laminar s e p a r a t i o n bubble with IC I
t u r b u l e n t r e a t t a c h m e n t was p r e d i c t e d a t the s t a r t
o f t h e r e c o v e r y r e ion a t t h e d e s i g n Reynolds
%
n u r c b e r of 0.25, I O f o r a l l t h r e e a i r f o i l s .

T h e r e s u l t s of t h e wind-tunnel t e s t s of a i r -
f a i l s L1003 and LlOOl a r e shown i n F i g u r e s 1 2 - 1 5 .
I t w a s n e c e s s a r y to conduct m o s t o f t h e t e s t i n g of
a i r f o i l L1003 ( l a m i n a r r o o f t o p ) at R e 2 1 . 0 ~I 0 6
b e c a u s e f r e e s t r e a m t u r b u l e n c e in the tunnel t e s t
s e c t i o n c a u s e d p r e m a t u r e t r a n s i t i o n c n the roof-
t o p region when the tunnel w a s o p e r a t e d at h i g h e r
Reynolds n u m b e r s . T h i s was v e r i f i e d using
c h i n a clay. T u n n e l t u r b u l e n c e did not s i g n i f i -
c a n t l y a f f e c t the p e r f o r m a n c e of a i r f o i l L1004
which w o r k e d about e q u a l l y we11 a t Reynolds
n u m b e r s f r o m one to t h r e e million.

F i g . 13 E x p e r i m e n t a l d r a g p o l a r and lift
c u r v e f o r a i r f o i l L1004.

A f a m i l y of t n e o r c t i c a l and e x p e r i m e n t a l c h o r d -
w i s e p r e s s u r e d i s t r i b u t i o n s iti given i n F i F u r e I 5
f o r a i r f o i l L1004. The t h e o r e t i c a l d i s t r i b u t i o n s a r e
b a s e d on t h e potential flow calculation of Referent-
2 2 without a n y c o r r e c t i o n f o r b o u n d a r y - l a y e r thick-
n e s s . T h e s e r e s u l t s indicate that the flaw r e m a i n e d
a t t a c h e d all t h e way to the t r a i l i n g edge. A l a m i n a r

- 07

F i g . I 2 E x p e r i m e n t a l d r a g p o l a r and l i f t
c u r v e f o r a i r f o i l L1003.

F i g u r e 1 4 s h o w s t h e e f f e c t of t r a n s i t i o n
s t r i p 3 placed at v a r i o n s l o c a t i o n s on the rooftop
region f o r a i r f o i l L1004. Also shown a r e t h e
t h e o r a t i c a l l y p r e d i c t e d v a l u e s of C D f o r the two II
e x t r e m e s : l a m i n a r flow o v e r t h e r o o f t o p region
a n d the I o w e r s u r f a c e . and t u r b u l e n t flow o v e r
t h e e n t i r e a i r f o i l . ( T h e e a r l y s t a l l fcr the m o s t
f o r w a r d t r a n s i t i o n s t r i p loc'ation is p a r t i a l l y
a t t r i b u t e d to t h e s t r i p being too tbick.) F o r a i r -
foil L1003 the addition o f a t r a n s i t i o u s t r i p on
t h e r o o f t o p r e g i o n n e a r t h e leading edge r e d u c e d
the airfoil's C L t o about
~ ~
1.0 T h i s w a s ex- Fig. 14 E x p e r i m e n t a l d r a g p o l a r s sho.z,ing
p e c t e d since t h i s a i r f o i l was optimized a s s u m i n g the effect of t r a n s i t i o n s t r i p s
a l a m i n a r rooftop. If i t had not s t a l l e d e a r l y , the on a i r f o i l L1004.

!O
 -40,
i
F l o w v i s u a l i z a t i o n using napthalene and a c a m - !
p a r i s o n of the chordtvise p r e s s u r e d i s t r i h u t i o n s
r e v e a l e d that a v e r y s h o r t (2T0 c h o r d ) Laminar
s e p a r a t i o n bubble existed a t the rooitop peak and
t h i s w a s removed by the t r a n s i t i o n s t r i p . Evi-
dently, while the C L and ~
b a s i c ~p r e s s~u r e
d i s t r i b u t i o n a r e unaffected by the p r e s e n c e of the
small bubble, i t d o e s s e e m to i n c r e a s e t h e bound-
a r y Layer t h i c k n e s s and thus i n c r e a s e the d r a g .
T h e d r a g p o l a r s and lift c u r v e s f o r Re, = 0.25 I( I O 6
a n d 0 . 5 0 ~I O 6 a r e shoxxm i n F i g u r e 16.

I t should b e noted t h a t the t u r b u l e n c e l e v e l of

the tunnel w a s e x t r e m e l y l o w and the m o d e l
q u a l i t y w a s v e r y smooth f o r t h e s e t e s t s . .4n
NACP.1115 a i r f o i l which w a s t e s t e d a5 a b a s e l i n e
showed t r a n s i t i o n c o n s i d e r a b l y f u r t h e r aft than
p r e d i c t e d by theory. Consequently, i t i s felt that
a i r f o i l LA2566 m a y p e r f o r m quite well without a
t r a n s i t i o n s t r i p in m o s t applications. N a t u r a l
t r a n s i t i o n witinout a l a m i n a r bubble is not g u a r a n -
teed, but i t i s l i k e l y to occur. On the b a s i s of the
r e s u l t s obtained thus f a r , i t a p p e a r s t h a t a Lon3
rooftop and long t r a n s i t i o n r a m p a r e r e q u i r e d ,
h o w e v e r , m u c h m o r e testing n e e d s to b e done i n
t h i s flow regime.

T h e f o r m of the p r e s s u r e d i s t r i b u t i o n of a i r -
Fig. 15 T h e o r e t i c a l and e x p e r i m e n t a l foil LA2566 m a y have an additional v i r t u e in
p r e s s u r e distributions t e r m s of low Reynolds n u m b e r operation. A n a i r -
for a i r f o i l L100.1. foil s u c h a5 an SACA1415 h a s a m o r e o r l e s s
c o n s t a n t a d v e r s e g r a d i e n t extending f r o m the
p r e s s u r c peak n e a r :he leading edge a l l the way
s e p a r a t i o n bubble a p p e a r s on the l o w e r s u r f a c e t o the t r a i l i n p edge. The b o u n d a r y l a y e r s e e s t h e
n e a r the leading e d g e a t a = Oo, a n d t h i s a c c o u n t s same a d v e r s e g r a d i e n t continuous!y znd the t r a n -
f o r t h e d r a g r i s e below C L 2 0.6 ( F i g u r e 13). s i t i o n point location b e c o m e s a s t r o n g function of
f r e e - s t r e a m turbulence and s u r f a c e roughness.
T h e m e c h a n i s m of the s t a l l i n s of the a i r f o i l s Changes i n the location of t r a n s i t i o n in t u r n have
., w a s o b i e r v c d using y a r n tuits Located on the upper a significant efivct on d r a g and p o s s i b l y C[,,max.
s u r f a c e p r e s s u r e r e c o v e r y region. Both a i r f o i l s Alternatively. a i r f o i l s like L.42566 should not b e
e x h i b i t e d t h e s a m e b e h a v i o r in that t h e floa. re- as s e n s i t i v e to turbulence l e v e l and s u r f a c e
m a i n e d c o m p l e t e l y attached until the stalling r o u g h n e s s b e c a u s e the r o o f t o p r e g i o n h a s a f a v o r -
a n g l e w a s r e a c h e d a t which point t h e e n t i r e a b l e g r a d i e n t . and i t is unlikely that p r e m a t u r e '
r e c o v e r y r e g i o n s e p a r a t e d instantaneously. Re-
d u c i n g t h e anglu of a t t a c k l e s s than one half a
d e g r e e r e s u l t e d i n a n i n s t a n t a n c o u s and c o m p l e t e
r e a t t a c h m e n t indicatinz a l m o s t a t o t a l l a c k of
h y s t e r e s i s effect on s t a l l r e c o v e r y . A s an a s i d e ,
i t is m e n t i o n e d t h a t the p r e s e n c e of the y a r n t u f t s
a n t h e r e c o v e r y region had no a p p a r e n t effect on
t h e a i r f o i l ' s p e r f o r m a n c e in t e r m s of i n c r e a s e d
d r a g o r r e d u c e d Ci.max, T h r o u g h o u t the t e s t i n g ,
t h e flow on the r e c o v e r y region a p p e a r e d e x t r e m e l y
s t a b l e u p t o t h e point w h e r e s t a l l o c c u r r e d .

T h e t h r e e low Reynolds n u m b e r a i r f o i l s w e r e
t e s t e d a t Reynolds n u m b e r s of 0.5Ox I O 6 and 0.25
x IO6. A i r f o i l L h 2 5 t 3 r e q u i r e d a t r a n s i t i o n s t r i p
a t the r o o f t o p peak i n o r d e r t o r e m a i n a t t a c h e d i
a t t h e d e s i g n a n ~ l e 31 a t t a c k a t Re, = 0.5. 106 ,
a n d Re, = 0.35, I O 6 w a s the l o w e s t Reynolds n u n -
b e r a t which the a i r f o i l o p e r a t e d p r o p e r l y . A i r f o i l
L A 2 5 6 ~ lr e m a i n e d attac,hed without a t r a n s i t i o n i
s t r i p a t Re, = O.50x IOo, hut r e q u i r e d a s t r i p a t
Re, z 0.25 x I O 6 . F r o m a n a p e r a t i o n a l point oi
view, n e i t h e r of t h e s e a i r f o i l s could tb: r e g a r d e d
2 5 a r r e p t . a h l r h e l o w He, = 0 . 5 0 ~ 1 0 ~ .

A i r f o i l LA2566 p e r f o r m e d q u i t e well without

a t r a n s i t i o n s t r i ? a t R e 2 = 0.25, I O 6 , a n d the a d d i -
&
t i o n a i a s t r i p midivay a l o n g the t r a n s i t i o n r a m p
o n l y s c r w d to r e d u c e the d r a g s l i g h t l y a t t h e lower Fig. 16 E x p e r i m e n t a l d r a g p o l a r s and l i f t
lift cocfficients u i t h C L r e m~a i n i n g~ unchanged.
~ c u r v e s f o r a i r f o i l LA251.6,

11
 t r a n s i t i o n could o c c u r t h e r e a t low Reynolds
n u m b e r s . i n f a c t , i t is p o s s i b l e that a m o d e r a t e
l e v e l o f t u r b u l c n c e a n d / o r r o u g h n e s s would im-
prove the perfarrr.ance of s u c h a i r f o i l s a s
mentior;ed above.
T h e p r e s e n c e of a l a m i n a r bubble o r a t r a n -
s i t i o n s t r i p did not a p p e a r t o a f f e c t the stability
of the flow on the r e c o v e r y region. which suggests
t h a t t h e S t r a t f o r d d i s t r i b u t i o n m a y be somewhat
c o n s e r v a t i v e - p a r t i c u l a r l y a t low Reynolds n u m -
bers. If t h i s i s t r u e , n a r r o w i n g the m a r g i n of
c o n s e r v a t i s m could i m p r o v e the p e r f o r m a n c e of
the a i r f o i l . I n c r e a s i n g t h e d e s i g n Reynolds n , m -
b e r t o between 0 . 5 0 ~ 1 0 6and 1.OxlOb will resuit
i n a S t r a t f o r d d i s t r i b u t i o n whose m a r g i n f r o m
at 0.25 x bo b.
s e p a r a t i o n ' s reduced when t h e a i r f o i l is o p e r a t e d
In addition, the rooitop length and
l e v e l will be i n c r e a s e d , and t h i s will provide a
h i g h e r l o c a l Reynolds n u m b e r at the rooftop peak
which i n t u r n r e d u c e s p r o b a b i l i t y of a l a m i n a r
bubble forming. A s a n e x a m p l e , a "second
genegation" low Reynoids n b e r a i r f o i l h a s been
Y
d e s i g n e d at Re = 0.6Ox 10 f o r operation a t
R.e, = 0 . 2 5 ~IO6: and t h e r e s u l t , a i r f o i l LA5055,
is shown in F i g u r e 17. T h i s should only be
r e g a r d e d a s a next p o s s i b l e s t e p in an a r e a of
a i r f o i l d e s i g n which h a s r e c e i v e d r e l a t i v e l y l i t t l e
attention,
a 10
-O
/ B T s , be shoum that the effective lift / C p u of the ccn-
Fig. 17 Airfoil LA5055 and i t s velocity
distribution at the
d e s i g n angle of a t t a c k .
2 . 1 C o m m e n t s on t h e S t r a t f o r d Distribution
A: point i t -<?I be pre!uI t o di.scuna the
S t r a t f o r d r e c o v e r y d i s t r i b E t i o n as i t h a s been
found to apply t o t h e a i r f o i l d e s i g n problem. Con-
s i d e r e d i n t h e f o r m shoum i n F i g u r e 4 f o r the
u p p e r s u r f a c e v e l o c i t y d i s t r i b u t i o n , it provides a
unique path i n t h e v-s plane . f r o m the rooitop peak
at vo t o t h e t r a i l i n g edge a t vie. T h a t is, the
Stratl'ord d i s t r i b u t i o n is t h e only way to get f r o m
12
t h e rooftop peak t o t h e t r a i l i n g edge without s e p a r a -
tion. Obviously a s t e e p e r initial portion a i the
c u r v e will c a u s e s e p a r a t i o n . On the o t h e r hand, if
a m i l d e r i n i t i a l g r a d i e n t is u s e d s e p a r a t i o n will not
o c c u r i n t h a t region, however, a much s t e e p e r g r a -
dient will eventually b e required i n o r d e r t o r e a c h
the t r a i l i n g edge v e l o c i t y vte, and :his w i l l cause
s e p a r a t i o n s o m e w h e r e along the aft portion of the
r e c o v e r y region.
I n s t e a d of thinking of t h e S t r a t f o r d d i s t r i b u t i o n
a s i m m i n e n t l y s e p a r a t i n g e v e r y w h e r e , it c a n be
i n t e r p r e t e d a s a r e c o v e r y d i s t r i b u t i o n which avoids
s e p a r a t i o n by a c o n s t a n t m a r g i n along i t s e n t i r e
length. The b o u n d a r y l a y e r m a y be c o n s i d e r e d a s
being no m o r e ready t o s e p a r a t e at the t r a i l i n g edge
than i t i s n e a r the beginning o f the r e c o v e r y region.
S i m i l a r l y , the s t a l l i n g behavior d e s c r i b e d in the
previous s e c t i o n i n d i c a t e s that when s a i d m a r g i n i s
u s e d up, s e p a r a t i o n o c c u r s s i m u l t a n e o u s l y e v e r y -
w h e r e on t h e r e c o v e r y region. In p r i n c i p l e , a
S t r a t f o r d r e c o v e r y r e g i o n extends to d o w n s t r e a m
infinity with a continuously d e c r e a s i n g g r a d i e n t a s
shown by t h e b r o k e n l i n e s i n F i g u r e 18. T h i s i s a n
o v e r s i m p l i f i c a t i o n and i t is only intended to d e s c r i b e
the c h a r a c t e r of a S t r a t f o r d r e c o v e r y distribution.
Fig. 18 C o m p a r i s o n of p r e s s u r e r e c o v e r y
distributions.
F i g u r e 18 shows a c o m p a r i s o n of a S t r a t f o r d
distribution. a modified S t r a t f o r d distribution, and
a convex p r e s s u r e r e c o v e r y distribution. All
t h r e e d i s t r i b u t i o n s have been d e r i v e d on the b a s i s
of proceeding a s f a r aft a s possible at the s p e c i f i e d
r o o f t c p C p ' l e v e l , and then recovering t o a s p e c i -
fied t r a i l i n g edge vaiue of Cp without s e p a r a t i o n .
F o r r e l a t i v e l y low rooftop levels (CF,X -1.0) i t can
vex d i s t r i b u t i o n can b e equivalen- t o :hat of the
S t r a t f o r d distribu:ion. -4s t h e r o o f t o p l e v e l r e a c h e s
C p = -2.0 and h i g h e r , the S t r a t f o r d r c c o v e r y
b e c o m e s c l e a r l y s u p e r i o r in t e r m s of upper s u r f a c e
lift. N e v e r t h e l e s s . the convex d i s t r i b u t i o n at the
l o w e r rooftop levels a c sketched i n F i g u r e 18
a p p e a r s to c.cntredict the c l a i m s abeut t h e unique
path of t h e S t r a t f o r d d i s t r i b u t i o n until t h e follow-
ing d i s t i n c t i o n is made.
i'he convex d i s t r i b u t i o n 0: F i g u r e 18 h a s been
d e r i v e d usin t h e C e b e c i turbuient boundary l a y e r
p r o g r a m [24f s u c h that s e p a r a t i o n i s p r e d i c t e d a t
the t r a i l i n g edge. An i n c r e a s e ir. a i r f o i l angle of
a t t a c k is quite l i k e l y t o c a ~ s ethe s e p a r a t i o n p i n t
t o m o v e f o r w a r d f r o m the t r a i l i n g edge, and t h i s
 r e s u l t s i n t h e c h a r a c t e r i s t i c roundover of the
lift c u r v e and i n c r e a s e in d r a g a t h i g h e r l i f t
coefficients.
In t h e c a s e of an a i r f o i l v;ith a S t r a t f o r d r e -
c o v e r y d i s t r i b u t i o n , an i n c r e a s e in the angle of
a t t a c k s i m p l y r e d u c e s the m a r g i n f r o m s e p a r a t i o n
along :he e n t i r e r e c o v e r y region. T h e r e is no
r o u n d - o v e r i n the l i f t c u r v e and no significant
i n c r e a s e i n d r a g , and t h i s h a s been s u b s t a n t i a t e d
by t h e t e s t r e s u l t a d e s c r i b e d i n the previous s e c -
tion. If t h e angle of a t t a c k is i n c r e a s e d t o t h e
point w h e r e the m a r g i n g o e s t o zero. the e n t i r e
r e c o v e r y r e g i o n s e p a r a t e s a s o b s e r v e d i n the
wind tunnel t e s t s .
T h e t e r m " m a r g i n " as used i n the above d i s -
c u s s i o n i s d i f f i c u l t t o define p r e c i s e l y using. con-
v e n t i o n a l b o u n d a r y l a y e r p a r a m e t e r s . and it h a s
been u s e d h e r e t o h e u r i s t i c a l l y d e s c r i b e the b e -
h a v i o r of t h e S t r a t f o r d r e c o v e r y distribution. l t
i s c o n t r o l l e d b y an e m p i r i c a l l y d e r i v e d c o n s t a n t
m u l t i p l i e r of the Reynolds n u m b e r t e r m i n t h e
b a s i c e q u a t i o n s o f S t r a t f o r d . and the value used i n
t h e d e s i g n of t h e a i r f o i l s d i s c u g s e d i n this p a p e r
is t h a t r e c o m m e n d e d by S t r a t f o r d . Specifying a
h i g h e r d e s i g n Reynolds nurnher i n effect r e d u c e s
t h e m a r g i n when the a i r f o i l i s o p e r a t e d at a
l o w e r R e p i o l d s n u m b e r . The modified S t r a t f o r d
d i s t r i b u t i o n shown i n F i g u r e IS is a s a m p l e
r e s u l t of r e d u c i n g the m a r g i n .
At t h i s writing i t i s not c l e a r what t h e i d e a l
m a r g i n s h o u l d b e , and it i s likely t o v a r y with the
applicaiiqn. I t would a p p e a r that a c a r e f u l e x p e r i -
m e n l a l s t u d y of t h e b o u n d a r y l a y e r i n a S t r a t f o r d
r e c o v e r y distribiition i s i n o r d e r . Also, addi-
tion,al f o r m s of p r e s s u r e r e c o v e r y d i s t r i b u t i o n s
Y should be s t u d i e d both t h e o r e t i c a l l y and e x p e r i -
m e n t a l l y . T h e powerful t h e o r e t i c a l method of
C e b e c i , e t a1 [25] which c a l c u l a t e s the p r e s s u r e
d i s t r i b u t i o n r e q u i r e d to produce a specified skin
f r i c t i o n d i s t r i b u t i o n should be v e r y useful in s u c h
work
111. E x t e n s i o n of Single-Element
Design Method
The previous section has discussed the theore-
t i c a l f o r m u l a t i o n and solution t o g e t h e r with t h e
e x p e r i m e n t a l e v a l u a t i o a of the s i n g l e - e l e m e n t
m a x i m u m lift d e s i g n p r o b l e m i n i n c o m p r e s s i b l e
flow. In t h e p r e s e n t s e c t i o n , s o m e extensions and
r e f i n e m e n t s of t h e m e t h o d will be d i s c u s s e d which
include t h e d e s i g n f o r m o r e s p e c i f i c c o n s t r a i n t s
and t h e i n i t i a l d e v e l o p m e n t of the solution f o r
c o m p r e s s i b l e flow.
3.1 Modification f o r I n c r e a s e d Low-Drag Range,
A i r f o i l L l O O 3 exhibited a r e l a t i v e l y wide
C L - r a n g e (0.7 :a 2.2) o v e r which the d r a g r e m a i n -
e d l o w a5 shown i n the wind tunnel r e s u l t s of
F i g u r e 12. Below C L = 0.7, a p r e s s u r e s p i k e on
the l o w e r s u r f a c e of the a i r f o i l causes a l a m i n a r
s e p a r a t i o n bubble to f o r m which i n t u r n r e s u l t s in
a l a r g e i n c r e a s e i n d r a g . E y slightly modifying
t h e leading e d g e on t h e l o w e r s u r f a c e a s shown i n
F i g u r e 1 9 , t h e low d r a g r a n g e h a s been extended
J
down t o CL = 0.4, and adding a 17% c h o r d flap
with n e g a t i v e deflection d r o p s the low d r a g r a n g e
t o CL = 0. T h e leading edge modification could
h a v e b e e n i n c l u d e d i n the o r i g i n a l v e l o c i t y d i s t r i -
13
bution which was input i n the J a m e s p r o g r a m t o
obtain a i r f o i l L1003. However, i t h a s been found
that s u b t l e t i e s of oif-design p e r f o r m a n c e consid-
e r a t i o n s s u c h as this a r e not p a r t i c u l a r l y v i s i b l e
at the d e s i g n condition itself w h e r e the v e l o c i t y
d i s t r i b u t i o n i s specified. It i s m o r e s t r a i g h t -
f o r w a r d to take a design s u c h as a i r f o i l LlOO3,
check i t s t h e o r e t i c a l p e r f o r m a n c e using the
MADAAM a i r f o i l anaiysis p r o g r a m [22], and then
modify the g e o m e t r y t o obtain t h e d e s i r e d r e s u l t .
In s o m e c a s e s , i t m a y be n e c e s s a r y t o r e t u r n t o
the J a m e s p r o g r a m with a new d e s i g n v e l o c i t y
d i s t r i b u t i o n i n o r d e r to obtain a s a t i s f a c t o r y
a i r f o i l design.
LEALnffi-€aCE
MoimcarmN
F i g . 19 Modification of a i r f o i l L 1 0 0 3 to
obtain a i r f o i l L1003bl.
T h e r e s u l t i n g d r a g p o l a r f o r a i r f o i l L1003M
( t h e modified v e r s i o n o f L1003) i s shown i n
F i g u r e 20 alonz with the p o l a r s cf s e v e r a l a i r -
foils with s i m i l a r design g o a l s . W o r t m a n n ' s
a i r f o i l FX74-CL5-10 w a s d e s i g n e d f o r high l i f t
i n o r d e r t o obtain m i n i m u m sinking s p e e d f o r a
s a i l p l a n e [14], and the t e s t r e s u l t s w e r e obtained
i n his low Reynolds n u m b e r wind tunnel a t the
U n i v e r s i t y of Stuttgart. A i r f o i l Ul-1720 w a s
developed by O r m s b e e , e t a1 a t t h e U n i v e r s i t y of
l l l i n o i s [ l o ] using a method s i m i l a r t o t h a t o r
R e f e r e n c e 6, and t e s t e d in t h e U n i v e r s i t y of
l l l i n o i s low s p e e d wind tunnel. The a i r f o i l
deveioped by P i c k and Lien [ 111 f o r long e n d u r -
a n c e uses a d e s i g n philosophy s i m i l a r to that of
R e f e r e n c e 6 but with additional c o n s t r a i n t s on
the t h i c k n e s s distribution, and the t e s t i n g w a s
cbnducted i n the Boeing two-dimensional r e s e a r c h
tunnel.
The c o m p a r i s o n s shown i n F i g u r e 20 should be
judged s o m e w h a t cautiously. E a c h a i r f o i l was
t e s t e d i n a d i f f e r e n t wind tunnel facility, and i n
Some c a s e s at different Reynolds n n m b e r s .
Typically, a n i n c r e a s e i n Reynolds n u m b e r will
r e d u c e the d r a g and i n c r e a s e the CL,*= of t h e s e
a i r f o i l s , however. f a c t o r s s u c h as tunnel t u r b u l -
e n c e and flow quality, modal quality. and t e s t i n g
technique a r e of course f u n d a m e n t a l t o t h e c o m -
p a r i s o n of s u c h r e s u l t s . The r e s u l t s shown i n
F i g u r e 70 d o indicate that t h e r e h a s been good
p r o g r e s s i n t h e design af a i r f o i l s f o r low d r a g
a t high lift coefficients.
3.2 Design fDr Other C o n s t r a i n t s .
The v a r i a t i o n a l a n a l y s i s d e s c r i b e d i n the
t h e o r e t i c a l development of Section 2.2 showed
a p a r t i c u l a r f l a t rooftop plus S t r a t f o r d r e c o v e r y
v e l o c i t y d i s t r i b u t i o n provides m a x i m u m u p p e r
s u r f a c e lift. However, o t h e r m e m b e r s of t h e
infinite f a m i l y of p r e s s u r e d i s t r i b u t i o n s shown i n
F i g u r e 5 a r e a l s o useful. A v e l o c i t y d i s t r i b u t i o n
whose r o o f t o p l w e i is less than that of t h e m a x i -
m u m lift d i s t r i b u t i o n m a y be i n t e r p r e t e d a s
p r o v i d i n g the m a x i m u m lift subject t o the con-
s t r a i n t t h a t t h e velocity d o e s not e x c e e d Some
s p e c i f i e d value. A s i m i l a r i n t e r p r e t a t i o n is that
s u c h a d i s t r i b u t i o n c a r r i e s the rooftop velocity
l e v e l a s f a r aft o n the a i r f o i l a s possible, a n d
t h i s h a s v i r t u r e in t e r m s of obtaining l o w drag.
T h e r e f o r e , the rooftop l e v e l ( o r length) i s a
u s e f u l p a r a m e t e r which i s available f o r a i r f o i l
d e s i g n . I t i s unlikely that rooftop l e v e l s above
t h e maximum lift value would be v e r y useful.
7 rr-
Fig. 20 Drag polais of v a r i o u s high-litt
a i r f o i l designs.
A n o t h e r k e y p a r a m e t e r in the s p e c i f i c a t i o n of
the u p p e r s u r f a c e velocity d i s t r i b u t i o n i s the
a s s u m e d location o f the t r a n s i t i o n point. It i s
e s s e n t i a l t h a t l a m i n a r flow be maintained a t l e a s t
a s f a r aft a s the specified location of the t r a n s i -
t i o n point. I f t r a z s i t i o n m o v e s f o r w a r d of this
l o c a t i o n , the airfoil. m a y s t a l l p r e m a t u r e l y
p o s s i b l y b e f o r e reaching i t s d e s i g n lift coefficient.
T h i s w a s d e m o n s t r a t e d i n the testing of a i r f o i l s
L1003 a n d L1004 d e s c r i b c d in Section 2 . 6 . A l t e r -
natively, if 1amir.ar Cow extends beyond the
s p e c i f i e d t r a n s i t i o n location, tht: a i r f o i l ’ s p e r f o r -
m a n c e should improv: o v e r the d e s i g n condition
i n t e r m s of reduced d r a g and a possible i n c r c a s e
i n C L ~ At ~ Reynolds
. n u m b e r s below I O h , i t i s
p o s s i b l e t h a t t h e r e %!.ellb e difficv!!y in obtaipjng
n a t c r a l t r a n s i t i o n a s w a s shown in the testing of
airfoil LA2566, however the p r e s e n t d i s c u s s i o n
wil! h e c o n c e r n e d witli Reynolds n u m b e r s on the
o r d e r of 3 I 106 a n d above w h e r e avoiding e a r l y
t r a n s i t i o n i s the Troblem.
T h e f o l l o u i n e e x a m p l e d e s i s n s a r e intended t o
d e m o n s t r a t e the r a n g e of a i r f o i l d e s i g n s which the
additional p a r a m e t e r s a r e c a p a b l e of providinp.
F o r a given s e t o i d e s i g n conditions ( e . g. Reynolds
n u m b e r , CL, t r a n s i t i o n point l o c a t i o n ] e a c h of the
a i r f o i l s have b e e n d r s i e n e d to be a s thick as pos-
sible, and the leadins e d r e r a d i u s h a s h z e n made
a s l a r g e a s p o s s i b l e i n o r d e r t o m a x i m i z e the loiv
d r a g range. It should be m e n t i o n e d t h a t e a c h a i r -
foil i s to some extent a p r o d u c t o f s u b j e c t i v e
judgement and intuition involving the t h i c k n e s s
d i s t r i b u t i o n and ieading e d g e r a d i u s . These con-
s i d e r a t i o n s c a n s e r v e to c a u s e v a r i a t i o n s i n the
+
a i r f o i l ’ s m a x i m u m t h i c k n e s s of a s m u c h as 2%.
Consequently. the a i r f o i l s should b e viewed with
the u n d e r s t a n d i n s that the a i r f o i l g e o m e t r y a t a
p a r t i c u l a r d e s i g n point could p o s s i b l y h e a d j u s t e d
f u r t h e r t o fit a s e t of additional r e q u i r e m e n t s .
T h e e f f e c t on a i r f o i l t h i c k n e s s of v a r y i n g the
d e s i g n lift coefficient is given in F i g u r e 2 1 .
L a m i n a r flow o v e r the e n t i r e rooftop region mas
a s s u m e d f o r the f o u r a i r f o i l s shown i n the f i g u r e .
These results sueges: that a practical upper
bound f o r the d e s i s n lift coefficient i s on the o r d e r
of 2.0 f o r a R e y n o l d s n u m b e r of 3 x I O 6 , p a r t i c u -
l a r l y since these airfoils have been dcsigned
a s s u m i n g the b e s t p o s s i b l e condition f o r the
-307
-
7
30
DF3GM e,
Fig. 2 1 E f f e c t of d e s i g n C L on
airfail thickness.
14

F i g . 2 2 C o m p a r i s o n of a i r f o i l g e o m e t r i e s
f o r varying d c s i g n CL.
boundary l a y e r o n the rooftop region li. e . 100vo
l a m i n a r i . T h e a . i r f u ~ ld r s i q n e d f o r C L = 2.4 i s
p r o b a b l y too thin f a r a prac:ical wing d e s i g n , a n d
t h e C ~ - r a n g eo v e r which i t would provide Low
drag will be q u i t s n a r r u w .
T h e r e s u l t s shown in F i g u r e 21 indicating a
r r d u c t i u n i n lift a s t h e a i r f o i l t h i c k n e s s is
i n c r e a s e d m a y a t f i r s t a p p e a r to c o n t r a d i c t the
c l a s s i c NACA r e s u l t s w h e r e t h i c k e r a i r f o i l s of a
p a r t i c u l a r f a m i l y tend t o p r o v i d e h i g h c r m a x i m u m
lift. T h i s i s e a s i l y explained with the a i d o f
Fir. 2 3 E f f e c t of b o u n d a r v - l a v e r t r a n s i t i o n
F i g u r e 2 2 which s h o w s the t o p t h r e e a i r f o i l s
of F i g u r e 21 plotted on the s a m e c h o r d line.
T h e u p p e r surface s h a p e s of t h e a i r f o i l s a r e
a l m o s t identical, and t h i s i s a consequence of the
u p p e r s u r f a c e velocity d i s t r i b u t i o n b e i n g v i r t u a l l y
t h e s a m e f o r a l l t h r e e a i r f o i l s . T h e r e f o r e any
t h i c k n e s s 3erves t o d e c a m b c r t h e a i i f o i l and h e n c e
r e d u c e s i t s lift. In the c a s e of a f a m i l y o f NACA
a i r f o i l s , the c a m b e r l i n e is held fixed as the
t h i c k n e s s d i s t r i b u t i o n i s i n c r e a s e d . At h i p h e r l i f t
c o e f f i c i e n t s , additional t h i c k n e s s s e r v e s to m a s k
the leading edge SinRularity [ s e v e r e negative
C p - s p i k e ) and t h i s tends to i n c r e a s e t h s
of the a i r f o i l a s the t h i c k n e s s i s i n c r e a s e d ,
T h e e f f e c t of b o u n d a r y - l a y e r t r z n s i t i o n point
location on t h e resultinp a i r f o i l t h i c k n e s s f o r a
fixed d e s i g n C L of 1.0 and 1.5 i s shou,n i n F i g u r e s
2 3 and 24. T h e a i r f o i l t h i c k n e s s i n c r e a s e s a s t h e
extent of l a m i n a r f l o w i s i n c r e a s e d . a n d t h i s e f f e c t
b e c o m e s m o r e pronounced a s the d e s i g n lift c o e f -
ficient i s i n c r c a s e d . T h e s e r e s u l t s d e m o n s t r a t e
that, in addition t o the r e d u c t i o n i n d r a g p r o v i d e d
b y l a m i n a r f l o w , a v e r y s i s n i f i c a n t i n c r e a s e in
a i r f o i l t h i c k n e s s can b e obtained.
0
0 25 M 75 /m
% LAMNAP FLOW
gV WOFTOP
Fig. 2 4 Effect o f b o u n d a r y - l a y e r t r a n s i t i o n
on airfoil thickness.
cL = 1.5, He, = 3 x 1 0 $
 F i g u r e 2 5 shows the e f f e c t of reducing the
peak velocity (and hence extending the r o o f t o p
l e n g t h ) on the a i r f o i l t h i c k n e s s a t a fixed C L o f
1.5. Rrducing the m a x i m u m velocity will in-
c r e a s e the Mach n u m b e r at which c o m p r e s s i b i l i t y
e f f e c t s begin to d e g r a d e t h e a i r f o i l ' s p e r f o r m a n c e ,
and F i g u r e 2 5 i n d i c a t e s that t h e r e i s v e r y little
loss i n t h i c k n e s s of a i r f o i l R l 5 0 6 with vmax/Vw =
2.0. In fact, a i r f o i l R1506 h a s a t h i c k n e s s d i s -
t r i b u t i o n which m a y be m o r e appealing f r o m a
s t r u c t u r a l point of view. However, the extended
r o o f t o p of this a i r f o i l , t o g e t h e r with i t s reduced
leading edge r a d i u s , will tend t o n a r r o w the r a n g e
of lift c o e f f i c i e n t s o v e r which the d r a g r e m a i n s
low and the C L will~ p r o b~a b l y be
~ l e s s than that
of a i r f o i l R I S I L . T h e c o m p a r i s o n s b e c o m e f a r
m o r e vivid when a i r f o i l R1528 with vmax/V, = 1.6
is c o n s i d e r e d .
- 0
1 ducted thus far, a v e r y s i m p l e approximation has
14 16 /a 2ff
G7.m
Fig. 2 5 E f f e c t of m a x i m u m rooftcp
velocity on a i r f o i l t h i c k n e s s .
Finally. F i g u r e 26 which i s taken d i r e c t l y
f r o m R e f e r e n c e 18 gives a c o m p a r i s o n o i t h e
m a x i m u m t h i c k n e s s of a s y m m e t r i c a l s t r u t using
a Joukowski a i r f o i l and a s t r u t using the StFatford
r e c o v e r y . In the c a s e of t h e Joukowski s t r u t ,
t h e t h i c k n e s s was i n c r e a s e d until s e p a r a t i o n w a s
p r e d i c t e d a t the t r a i l i n g edge a c c o r d i n g t o the
C e b c c i boundary l a y e r p r o g r a m [24]. Both s t r u t s
a s s u m e l a m i n a r flow u p t o t h e c a l c u l a t e d
16
t r a n s i t i o n points indicated i n F i g u r e 26. A d e t a i l e d
d i s c u s s i o n of the d e s i g n t r a d e - o f f s and options of
t h e type shown in F i g u r e s 2 1 through 26 i s g i v e n
in R e f e r e n c e 26,
-30,
Fig. 26 C o m p a r i s o n of m a x i m c n t h i c k n e s s
s t r u t s having fully a t t a c h e d flow.
3 . 3 D e s i g n f o r c o m p r e s s i b l e Flow.
All of the a i r f o i l d e s i g n s d i s c u s s e d t h u s f a r
have been developed a s s u m i n g i n c o m p r e s s i b l e
n o w . If the flat rooftop plus S t r a t f o r d r e c o v e ~ y
v e l o c i t y d i s t r i b u t i o n i s viewed f r o m t h e s t a n d -
point of providing m a x i m u m l i f t for a s p e c i f i e d
.maximum r o o f t o p velocity l e v e l , it a p p e a r s that
s u c h a d i s t r i b u t i o n could b e useful in t h e d e s i g n
of an a i r f o i l f o r o p e r a t i o n i n a s u b c r i t i c a l
c o m p r e s s i b l e flow.
S t r a t f o r d ' s t h e o r y [ I S ] w a s developed f o r
i n c o m p r e s s i b l e flow, and t h e r e f o r e t h e a p p l i c a -
tion t o c o m p r e s s i b l e flow r e q u i r e s s o m e con-
s i d e r a t i o n . For the p r e l i m i n a r y s t u d i e s con-
b e e n u s e d with good r e s u l t s , namely: the v e l o c i t y
d i s t r i b u t i o n is defined such t h a t the c o m p r e s s i b l e
p r e s s u r e d i s t r i b u t i o n c o r r e s p o n d s to t h a t of t h e
i n c o m p r e s s i b l e Stratford r e c o v e r y distribution.
T h i s is a c c o m p l i s h e d using t h e c o m p r e s s i b l e i l o w
r e l a t i o n between the v e i o c i t y and p r e s s u r e c o e f -
f i c i e n t w h e r e the p r e s s u r e coefficient p r e s c r i b e d
b y t h e S t r a t f o r d d i s t r i b u t i o n is input i n Eq. ( 1 2 1 to
obtain the corresponding velocity distribution. A
possible justification f o r this relates to the fact
that t h e p o r t i o n of the b o u n d a r y l a y e r c l o s e s t t o
the a i r f o i l s u r f a c e is t h e m o s t c r i t i c a l i n t e r m s
of s e p a r a t i o n , and the flow t h e r e i s within the
 i

i n c o m p r e s s i b l e r a n g e a s lone a s the flow a t the

edge of the b a u n d a r y l a y e r r e m a i n s s u b c r i t i c a l .
Thus. i f t h e p r e s s u r e d i s t r i b u t i o n i s p r e s c r i b e d
a c c o r d i n s t o t h e S t r a t f o r d theory, :he i n n e r p o r -
tion of the b n u n l a r y l a y e r s h m l d behave p r o p c r l y . t
T r i a l d i s t r i b u t i o n s s o d e r i v e d have b e e n checked
using t h e C e b e c i c o m p r e s s i b l e t u r b u l e n t boundary
l a y e r p r o g r a m 1241, and s e p a r a t i o n i s not
predicted.

The Jhmes [ 7 ] i n v e r s e a i r f o i l d e s i g n p r o g r a m
u s e d in the i n c o m p r e s s i b l e a i r f o i l work h a s the
c a p a b i l i t y f o r calcuiating a p p r o x i m a t e s o l u t i o n s t o
t h e s u b c r i t i c a l c o m p r e s s i b l e d e s i g n problem.
T h i s a p p r o x i m a t e method i s b a s e d on the idea of
u s i n g a c o m p r o m i s e function between the two
functions r e q u i r e d by the c o m p r e s s i b l e i s e n t r o p i c
flow equations s u c h that t h e s e equations b e c a m e
C a u c h y - R i e m a n n eqdations involving a n e w veloc-
i t y v a r i a b l e dependent on Mach number. B e c a u s e
of t h i s s p e c i a l s t r u c t u r e . a l l of the m e t h o d s of
c o m p l e x variables become available f o r solution
including the flow calculation about a given a i r f o i l
a n d the design o f an a i r f o i l f o r a p r e s c r i b e d
v e l o c i t y d i s t r i b u t i o n . F i g u r e 27 shows a c o m p a r -
i s o n of the r e s u l t s ohtained f r o m t h e a p p r o x i m a t e
J a m e s method with the e x a c t , lifting s u p e r c r i t i c a l
c a s e of Nieuwland [27]. C o n s i d e r i n g that the flow !
i s s u p e r c r i t i c a l . t h e a g r e e m e n t is r e m a r k a b l y
goad. The James n e t h o d will not work f o r no"-
i s e n t r o p i c flows w h e r e shocks a r e p r e s e n t .
10 Y
F i g . 28 A i r f o i l RP107 and i t s p r e s s u r e
d i s t r i b u t i o n s at v a r i o u s Mach nurr.bers
as c a l c u l a t e d by t h e method of R e f e r e n c e 28.

flow is s u p e r c r i t i c a l o v e r the e n t i r e rooftop region.

Fig. 2 7 C o m p a r i s o n of J a m e s a p p r o x i m a t e
d e s i g n method with t h e e x a c t solution
f o r a lifting s u p e r c r i t i c a l Nieuwland airfoil.
As an e x a m p l e . a i r f o i l 1.1003 h a s b e e n r e -
d e s i g n e d for M,= 0.4 using the J a . n e s c o m p r e s -
s i b l e p r o g r a m and the r e s u l t is airfoi: RP107
shown i n F i g u r e 28. At t h e d e s i e n Mach n u m b e r ,
t h e flow is s u b c r i t i c a l e v e r p v h e r e . A v e r y
i n t e r e s t i n g r e s u l t was obtained by analyzing a i r -
foil RP107 using t h e method of R a u e r , G a r a b e d i a n
4
a n d K o r n [ 2 8 ] . F i g u r e 28 shows the c a l c u l a t e d
p r e s s u r e d i s t r i b u t i o n s f o r ,Mach n u m b e r s of 0.001
( i n c o m p r e s s i b l e ) , 0.475, and 0.500 with the a i r f o i l
a t i t s d e s i g n angle of attack. At M, i 0.500. the
and a shock is l o c a t e d a t the beginning of t h e p r e s -
sure r e c c v e r y region. H o w e v e r , a t ?&.,:0.475, while
t h e flow i s s u p e r c r i t i c a l on the rooftop region. no
s h o c k wave is a p p a r e n t . If a s h o c k e x i s t s , i t is im-
bedded i n the s t e e p i n i t i a l g r a d i e n t of t h e p r e s s u r e
r e c o v e r y distribution. The q u e s t i o n which c o m e s
t o m i n d is: whether o r not a s h o c k e x i s t s , will the
b o u n d a r y layer s u r v i v e t h e s t e e p i n i t i a l g r a d i e n t ?
k c c o r d i n g t o the t h e o r e t i c a l m e t h o d of C e b e c i [ 2 4 ] .
it will. T h e s e t h e o r e t i c a l r e s u l t s t h e n s u g g e s t t h a t
a s u p d r c r i t i c a l r e g i o n can b e s u c c e s s f u l l y r e c o v e r e d
f r o m using a S t r a t f o r d - t y p e d i s t r i b u t i o n , and it is
p o s s i b l e that t h i s r e c o v e r y i s i s e n t r o p i c . I f t h i s is
t r u e , a new a p p r o a c h to s u p e r c r i t i c a l a i r i o i l d e s i g n
may be available. I t is s t r e s s e d t h a t t h i s a r g u m e n t
is b a s e d on s o m e v e r y l i m i t e d t h e o r e t i c a l r e s u l t s .
An e x t e n s i v e t h e o r e t i c a l study is m o s t c e r t a i n l y in
o r d e r , and t h i s should be coupled with a thorough
e x p e r i m e n t a l evaluation.
A s e c o n d c o m p r e s s i b l e a i r f o i l d e s i g n i s shown
i n F i g u r e 29. A i r f o i l L F l O l w a s d e s i g n e d f o r
e x t e n s i v e l a m i n a r flow at hizh Reynolds n u m b e r s .
i
Fig. 29 Airfoil L F l O l designed f o r extensive
l a m i n a r flow a t high Reynolds n u m b e r s .

17
F a v o r a b l e p r e s s u r e g r a d i e n t s e x i s t continuously
on both s u r f a c e s f r o m t h e leading edge s t a g n a t i o n
point t o the t r a n s i t i o n points i n d i c a t e d i n the
f i g u r e . A t a Reynolds n u m b e r of 70 x l o 6 , the
e x i s t e n c e of a favorable g r a d i e n t i s not sufficient
i n i t s e l f t o m a i n t a i n l a m i n a r flow, T h e magnitude
of the g r a d i e n t m u s t be g r e a t e r than a s p e c i f i c
valtie which i n c r e a s e s a s the l o c a l Reynolds n u n -
b e r i n c r e a s e s . A m a j o r difficulty i n d e s i g n i n s "
an a i r f o i l with a f a v o r a b l e g r a d i e n t f a r a f t on both
s u r f a c e s i s that t h e leading edge r a d i u s t e n d s to-
w a r d iero, and a i r f o i l L F l O l r e f l e c t s t h i s problem. */
T h e o r e t i c a l calculations u s i n ? the m e t h o d of
C e b e c i [ 2 4 ] and checking on t r a n s i t i o n using the
Michel-Smith c r i t e r i o n (291 indicate t h a t t r a n s i t i o n
o c c u r s at t h o s e pcints indicated i n F i g u r e 29.
?'his o f c o u r d e a s s u m e d that the a i r f o i l i s p e r f e c t l y
s m o o t h and without waviness. P.t t h e d e s i g n con-
dition, t h e f1o.s i s s u b c r i t i c a l e v e r y w h e r e .

"tJp:-..
I
C, -35-4.0

T h e d e s i g n of m u l t i - e l e m e n t a i r f o i l s y s t e m s
o r d i n a r i l y involves t h e m o d i f i c a t i o n of a c r u i s e
a i r f o i l in o r d e r to provide high l i i t f o r takeoff and
landins. E x t r e m e l y rigid c o n s t r a i n t s r e l a t i n g t o
m e c h a n i c a l r c t r a c t a h i l i t y serve t o l i m i t t h e
a e r o d y n a m i c i s t ' s f r e e d o m i n t e r m s of both the
shape and o r i e n l a t i o n of the a i r f o i l e l e m e n t s . T h e
a p p r o a c h to m u l t i - e l e m e n t a i r f o i l d e s i g n t o b e
d i s c u s s e d h e r e i s r e l a t i v e l y u n c o n s t r a i n t r d when
c o m p a r e d with the d e s i g n p r o b l c m m e n t i o n e d
above. In addition t o any d i r e c t a p p l i c a t i o n s of the
'resultinp: a i r f o i l d e s i g n s , it i s felt t h a t the b a s i c
a p p r o a c h m a y b e uspiul in guiding t h e d e s i g n of a
p a r t i c u l a r e l e m e n t of an othertbise r e s t r i c t e d
m u l t i - e l e m e n t a i r f o i l s y s t e m . R e f e r e n c e 18
o f f e r s a v e r y thorough t r e a t m e n t of t h e g e n e r a l
m u l t i - e l e m e n t a i r f o i l t h e o r y . and m a n y of the
i d e a s d i s c u s s e d t h e r e have b e e n u s e d i n t h e
followinq a n a l y s i s .
At t h i s writinq, the o p t i m i z e d m u l t i - e l c m c n t
a i r i o i l d e s i e n p r o b l e m h a s not been solved t o the
extent that the s i n g l e - e l e m e n t p r o b l e m has. T h i s
i s p a r t i a l l y a conasquence of the l a c k of an o p e r a -
tional i n v e r s e a i r f o i l d e s i g n p r o g r a m f o r multi-
e l e m e n t a i r f o i l s . Tt.e following s e c t i o n s p r e s e n t
the b a s i c f o r m u l a t i o n s f o r the d e t e r m i n a t i o n of t h e
e l e m e n t c h o r d l e n g t h s and p r e s s u r e d i s t r i b u t i o n s .
and two hybrid two-element d e s i g n s which w e r e
developed u s i n s a combination of t h e i n v e r s e
method of R e f e r e n c e 7 and the d i r e c t potehtial
flow calculation method of R e f e r e n c e 2 3 a r e
d i s c u s sed.
4. I l h a Maximum L i f t P r o b l e m .
When c o c s i d e r e d in a v e r y g c n e r a l f o r m , the
p r o b l e m of m a x i m i z i n s t h e lift of a n a i r f o i l ( s i n g l e -
or mu1.ti-element) i n a s u b c r i t i c a l flow a m o u n t s to
attempting to d e s i g n an a i r f o i l whose C p ( x ) d i s t r i -
bution fills a "bsx" in the C p ~ e r s u sx plane. AS
shown i n F i g u r e 30, t h e 1 0 % szrface ~ ~ oi the box i s
bounded by C P = 1: and the u p p e r s u r f a c e i s bounded
b y C p = C c r i t as i m p l i e d by the value of the f r e e -
s t r e a m hra'ih number. T h i s t h e n s a y s that t h e
a h s o l u t r m a x i m u m l i f t is given by
ICLI' I Cpcrit - (13)
which i s not attainable with an uilpoivered a i r f o i l
s y s t e m . Equetion 1131 i s not e x a c t f c r c a m p r r s -
-I -_-___ _- J
srisc
Fig. 30 Definition of m a x i m u m lift i n
C , v e r s u s x-plane.
s i b l e flaw s i n c e s t a s n a t i o n d o e s not c o r r e s p o n d t o
C p = 1. F i p u r e 30 g i v e s a s a m p l e c o m p a r i s o n
between a s i n g l e - e l e m e n t high l i f t a i r f o i l s u c h a s
L 1 0 0 3 and t w o - e l e m e n t a i r f o i l u i t h r e s p e c t to
t h e i r a b i l i t y to fill the box.
Typically, a m u l t i - e l e m p n t a i r f g i l s y s t e m m a y
bc thought of a s an exotic combination of a leading
e d z e s l a t , m a i n airfoi!, p l u s a v a r i e t y of f l a p
and vane combinations. H o w e v e r , f o r the uncon-
s t r a i n e d m a x i m u m lift p r o b l e m same of t h e s e
e l e m e n t s m a y not be n e c e s s a r y . The p r i m a r y
function of a lending-edge 51a: is to s u p p r e s s the
p r e s s u r e pcak which would o t h e r w i s e be p r e s e n t at
the leading edgr- of a c r u i s e airfoi! when i t i s
o p e r a t e d at a high lift c o e f f i c i e n t . F i g u r e 3 1 ,
taken f r o m R e f e r e n c e 30. shows this effect w h e r e
the s l a t i s r e p i p s e n t e d by a point vortex. The
c i r c u l a t i o n g e n e r a t e d by the s l a t i s u s e d t o oppose
and h e n c e r e d u c e the velocity o f the !low at the
leading edge, F o r t h e m a x i m u m lift p r o b l e m , t h e
g e o m e t r y of the m a i n e l e m e n t is not r e q u i r e d t o
be a c r u i s e a i r f o i l . and t h e r e f o r e t h e leading edge
can he s h a p e d t o p r e v e n t a p r e s s u r e peak. C o n s e -
quently, a leading-edge s l a t will prob;rbly not be
called far.
& i
20L
i0 iI
II
Fig. 3 1 Point v o r t e x used to r e p r e s e n t a slat.

18
 4.2 Two-Element F o r m u l a t i o n
T o begin, a t w o - e l e m e n t s y s t e m is c o n -
l i d e r e d w h e r e the f o r w a r d e l e m e n t w i l l be c a l l e d
the main airfoil. F i g u r e 32, also f r o m Reference
30, shows a point v o r t e x l o c a t e d behind an a i r f o i l
._ t o s i m u l a t e a flap, and the i n c r e a s e i n the velocity
at t h e t r a i l i n g edge i s a p p a r e n t . The .lift on
t h e a i r f o i l i s a l s o i n c r e a s e d . The t r a i l i n g - e d g e
v e l o c i t y of a s i n g l e - e l e m e n t a i r f o i l is l i m i t e d t o a
m a x i m u m v a l u e of s l i g h t l y l e s s than unity a s d i s -
c u s s e d i n Sections 2.1 and 2.3. Raising the t r a i l -
ing edge v e l o c i t y with a f l a p will allow the a i r f o i l
t o c a r r y m o r e lift b e c a u s e the p r e s s u r e r e c o v e r y
is not r e q u i r e d to r e a c h t h e high p r e s s u r e l e v e l
a t t h e t r a i l i n g edge.
T h e two-eiement d e s i g n p r o b l e m now bec.omes
one of d e t e r m i n i n g the e l e m e n t c h a r d l e n g t h s ,
p r e s s u r e d i s t r i b u t i o n s , and o r i e n t a t i o n s i t h
r e s p e c t t o one a n o t h e r s u c h that the m a x i m u m C L
is obtained. As i n the s i n g l e - e l e m e n t p r o b l e m ,
the f l o w is r e q u i r e d to r e m a i n u n s e p a r a t e d and
s i i b c r i t i c a l e v e r y w h e r e on the a i r f o i l e l e m e n t
s u r f a c e s , and i n i t i a l l y the flow i s a s s u m e d i n c o m -
p r e s s i b l e . The r e s u l t i n g e l e m e n t g e o m e t r i e s
should be p r a c t i c a l and of c o u r s e t h e y cannot
touch e a c h o t h e r . P r o b l e m s a s s o c i a t e d with
b o u n d a r y - l a y e r i n t e r a c t i o n c a n be handled i n i t i a l l y
by specifying a m i n i m u m g a p width.
Fig. 32 Point v o r t e x u s e d to r e p r e s e n t a flap.
A c r u d e e s t i m a t i o n of t h e c o n s t r a i n t o n r e l a -
t i v e c h o r d l e n g t h s can be obtained f r o m the follow-
ing a r g u m e n t . P.efcrring t o F i g u r e 30, o n e might
conclude that i t is d e s i r a b l e t o m a k e t h e f l a p c h o r d
v e r y s m a l l and extend t h e c h o r d 31 the m a i n e l e -
m e n t to t a k e advantage of i t s l o a d c a r r y i n g ability.
i i o w e v e r , t h e VelGcity i m p o s e d a t the m a i n ele-
m e n t t r a i l i n g cdge i s p r o p o r t i o n a l t o the quantity
[ C L c l f i a p , which i m p l i e s a l o w e r bound on t h e flap
c h a r d . Also, if the f l a p c h o r d i s too s m a l l , the
f l a p Reynolds n u m b e r u i l i b e g i n t 3 l i m i t the lift
coefricient a t which it c a n o p e r a t e .
T h e use of a S t r a t f o r d p r e s s u r e r e c o v e r y
d i s t r i b u t i o n on the e l e m e n t s of a multi-eiernent
a i r f o i l i s j u s t i f i e d by t h e s a m e a r g u m e n t that was
u s e d i n the s i n g l e - E l e m e n t mork S i n c e thz f l a p
p e r f o r m a n c e i s b a s e d o n m a x i m i z i n g t h e quantity
~ C L c ] f (lw~i t~h c being m i n i m i z e d ) and the veloc-
i t y at the t r a i l i n g cdge of the f l a p m u s t r e c o v e r t o
a value sligh:ly less than f r e e s t r e a m , a flap
v e l o c i t y d i s t r i b u t i o n s i m i l a r to that developed f o r
the m a x i m u m l i f t s i n g l e - e l e m e n t a i r f o i l i n Section
2 . 3 should b e a p p r o p r i a t e . It i s l i k e l y that due t o
the i n t e r a c t i o n with the m a i n a i r f o i l . the region
of the flap n e a r i t s leading edge will be shaped
d i f f e r e n t l y f r o m the m a x i m u m l i f t a l r f o i l , how-
e v e r , the r e m a i n i n d e r of i t s g e o m e t r y should be
quite s i m i l a r .
T h e v e l o c i t y d i s t r i b u t i o n on the m a i n e l e m e n t
is fixed in t e r m s of i t s rooftop l e v e l by the p a r t i c -
u l a r value of C c r i t i m p l i e d by the f r e e s t r e a m
Mach n u m b e r , grid the u p p e r s u r f a c e lift c o e f f i c i -
e n t C L U ,of the m a i n e l e m e n t b e c o m e s a function
of i t s t r a i l i n g edge velocity. 4 s t h e t r a i l i n g edge
v e l o c i t y i s i n c r e a s - d . the length o i the rooftop
i n c r e a s e s which i n t u r n i n c r e a s e s C L ~ . F i g u r e
3 3 shows the e f f e c t of the t r a i l i n e edge p r e s s u r e
, o n CL,, f o r s e v e r a l rooftop levels iCpmin).
A s i g n i f i c a n t r e s u l t i r o m this f i g u r e i s that o r a
p a r t i c u l a r v a l u e of Cpn,in, t h e r e i s a diminishing
r e t u r n f o r i n c r e a s i n g Cp:' beyond a c e r t a i n value.
F a r e x a m p l e , a t C p m i n - - 3 , t h e r e i s not much
to be gained i n C L beyond ~ C t e = -1. Also, a s
Cpmin i s i n c r e a s e d , the "ideay" value of C p t e
i n c r e a s e s . A s in the s i n g l e - e l e m e n t w o r k , i t i s ,
d e s i r e d t o k e e p the velocity on the l o w e r s u r f a c e
of the m a i n e l e m e n t a s c l o s e to stagnation as
possible.
B a s e d on the a r g u n w n t above a n a p p r o x i m a t e
f o r m u l a t i o n of t h e t w o - f l c m r n t design p r o b l e m c a n
be o f f e r e d : F o r a given Mach n u m b e r the main
e l e m e n t rooftop l e v e l is specified, and a g i v e n
valuc for t h e Reynolds n u m b e r defines a s e t of
c u r v e s s i m i l a r to t h o s e of F i c u r e 3 3 f r o m which
the i d e a l value of C is determined. This
d e f i n e s ail optimize$;p:bpcr surface velocity distri-
bution f o r the m a i n e l e m e n t , a i d the IOWP r surface
d i s t r i b u t i o n i s s i m p l y s e t a s a c c e l e r a t i n r and a s
c l o s e t o s t a g n a t i o n a s possible. The flap velocity
d i s t r i b u t i o n i s s p e c i i i e d s i m i l a r l y to the m a x i m u m
lift s i n g l e e l e m e n t theory.
Up t o t h i s point, nothing h a s been s a i d s p e c i -
f i c a l l y a b r u t the r e s p e c t i v e e l e m e n t chordlengths.
I t is s u g g e s t e d that a flap c h o r d on the o r d e r of
20% of the t o t a l c h o r d would be a good initial choice.
(Actually, t h e choice of chordlengths d e t e r m i n e s
the Reynolds n u m b e r of e a c h e l e m e n t Xchich i s
n e c e s s a r y b e f o r e t h e i r velocity d i s t r i b u t i o n s can
be defined.)
Next, t h e v e l o c i t y d i s t r i b u t i o n s a r e input into
an i n v e r s e t w o - e l e m e n t a i r f o i l 6esigr. p r o g r a m
such a s J a m e s [ I 5 1 t o d e t e r m i n e the e l e m e n t s h a p e s
and o r i e n t a t i o n with r e s p e c t to one another. How-
e v e r , s i n c e t h i s p r o g r a m i s n o t o p e r a t i o n a l at t h i s
t i m e , the p r o c e d u r e has yet to be c a r r i e d to c o m -
pletion. It i s anticipated that when the i n v e r s e
p r o g r a m becomes available, several iterations
will be r e q u i r e d i n o r d e r t o obtain a n a c c e p t a b l e
two-e1er.er.t design. For example, t h e choice of
f l a p c h o r d l e n g t b will not bc a r b i t r a r y . !t n a y be
that a 20"q f!ap c h o r d will not provide the ideal
valuc of C p t e f o r the r r a i n e l e m e n t , o r if it does
the r e s u l t i n g g a p between the two e l e m e n t s i s too
n a r r o w . In p r i n c i p l e , the optimum flap chord
will b; the s h o y t e s t lenzth which p r o v i d e s the
ideal Cpte with t h e m i n i m u m a c c e p t a b l e zap.
A potential d i f f i c u l t y c o n c e r n s the s o - c a l l e d
i d e a l value oi Cple. R e f e r r i n g t o F i g u r e 3 3 , i t
c a n be s e e n that i f the Mach n u m b e r i s r e l a t i v e l y
l o w and h e n c e C p c r i t i s relatively high, the i d e a l
value of Cpte b e c o m e s quite high. in t h i s c a s c , i t
 m a y b e t h a t following the a p p r o a c h j u s t d e s c r i b e d
will c a l l for a flap c h o r d which is g r e a t e r than
50% of the t o t a l c h o r d , and i t i s unlikely that s u c h
.- a s o l n t i o n would provide the m a x i m u m lift, The
p r a c t i c a l u p p e r l i m i t on the f l a p chord is p r o b a b l y
on t h e o r d e r of 25%. T h i s will i m p l y a c e r t a i n
v a l u e of C p t e on the m a i n e l e m e n t and the r c o f t o p
l e n g t h s h o u l d be reduced to m e e t t h i s value.
A n o t h e r solution t o the p r o b l e m of the i d e a l
Cpte being too high i s t o u s e a t w o - s e g m e n t f l a p
and t h e m a x i m i z a t i o n p r o b l e m b e c o m e s one of
c o n s i d e r i n g a t h r e e - e l e m e n t s y s t e m . Until the
t w o - e l e m e n t p r o b l e m has been thoroughly s t u d i e d
u s i n g a n e x a c t i n v e r s e method to obtain a r e p r e -
s e n t a t i v e a r r a y of c o m p l e t e a i r f o i l d e s i g n s , i t
would he i m p t a c t i c a l t o c o n j e c t u r e on the v a r i o u s
t r a d e o f f s involved i n the t h r e e - e l e m e n t problem.
I t d o e s a p p e a r that as the 'Mach a m b e r i s reduced
a t a fixed Reynolds n u m b e r . the o p t i m u m n u m b e r
of e l e m e n t s will tend to i n c r e a s e . S i m i l a r l y , a s
the Reynolds n u m b e r is i n c r e a s e d a t a fixed Mach
n u m b e r , the o p t i m u m n u m b e r of e l e m e n t s will
also i n c r e a s e .
I The J a m e s method is l i m i t e d t o t w o - e l e m e n t s ,
.-
' 3 Y designed f o r m a x i m u m p o s s i b l e l i f t . T h e m a i n
0 -/ -2
%e
F i g , 3 3 Upper s u r f a c e lift a s a function of
t r a i l i n g edge p r e s s u r e Cpte f o r
a f i x e 3 rooftop l e v e l Cpmin.
4.3 inverse Multi-Element AiTfoil
D e s i g n Methods.
T h e p r e v i o x s s e c t i o n h a s s t r e s s e d the n e e d
f o r a n o p e r a t l a n a i i n v r r s e me:hod i n order for t h e
o p t i m i z s d m u l t i - e l e m e n t work t o proceed. At
l e a s t t h r e e pot%ntial m e t h o d s a r e known t o e x i s t
at t h i s writing. O r n s h e e and Chen [ 9 j h a v e
a p p r o a c h e d the p r o b l e m and t h z i r i n i t i a l w o r k
shows good p r o g r e s s . but it d o e s not a p p e a r that
t h e i r m e t h o d c a n be r e g a r d e d a s an o p e r a t i o n a l
d e s i g n tool a t t h i s time. N a r r a m o r e and B e a t t y
[17] h a v e developed and extended the m e t h o d of
20
Wilkinson 1161 with v e r y good r e s u l t s . This
r e q u i r e s the a i r f o i l element t h i c k n e s s d i s t r i b u -
tions and the gap a n d overhang as input, and the
method i n t u r n c a m b e r s and o r i e n t s the e l e m e n t s
t o provide specified p r e s s u r e d i s t r i b u t i o n s on the
c l e m e n t upper s u r f a c e s . The method i s v i r t u a l l y
operational. and i t s utilization i s a l o g i c a l next
s t e p i n the optimization work. T h e r e q u i r e m e n t
that the thickness d i s t r i b u t i o n s be s p e c i f i e d should
not prove too r e s t r i c t i v e for the i n i t i a l studies.
I t is anticipated that t h e o p e r a t i o n a l v e r s i o n of
t h e J a m e s method [ 151 w i l l be the m o s t v e r s a t i l e
of the i n v e r s e design techniques f o r u s e i n the
optimization problem. it i s the c o u n t e r p a r t of the
i n v e r s e p r o g r a m used in a l l of the s i n g l e - e l e m e n t
work. As mentioned e a r l i e r , c o n f o r m a l mapping
t h e o r y is employed, and the region between two
c o c c e n t r i c c i r c l e s is used a s the canonical
d o m a i n f o r the doubly-connected s p a c e defined as
t h e region e x t e r i o r t o the twc a i r f o i l e l e m e n t s .
The method is c a p a b l e of providing e x a c t solu-
-
tions to the t h r e e b a s i c p r o b l e m s : d i r e c t a n a l y s i s
-
both e l e m e n t g e o m e t r i e s given, s i m p l e d e s i g n
a i m p l e mixed -
b.oth e l e m e n t velocity d i s t r i b u t i o n s given. and
une e l e m e n t g e o m e t r y and the
o t h e r e l e m e n t velocity d i s t r i b u t i o n given. This
v e r s a t i l i t y t o g e t h e r with t h e ability t o study the
i n t e r a c t i o n region between the m a i n e l e m e n t and
f l a p in e x a c t d e t a i l m a k e s t h e J a m e s i n v e r s e
method ideal f o r the development of the optimum
two-element a i r f o i l s .
however, m o s t of the phenomena of the m u i t i -
e l m e n t Optimization p r o b l e m a r e p r o b a b l y con-
t a i n e d i n h e r e . Once the two-element p r o b l e m i s
understood, the method of N a r r a m o r e and Beatty,
which is i n p r i n c i p l e unlimited as t o the n u m b e r
of e l e m e n t s . is available f o r e x t e n s i o n t o m o r e
t h a n two e l e m e n t s .
4.4 Example Two-Element Designs.
A p a i r of exarnple two-element high l i f t a i r -
foil3 have been designed b y modifying s o m e
optimized s i n g l e - e l e m e n t a i r f o i l g e o m e t r i e s and
using a c u t - a n d - t r y a p p r o a c h with the d i r e c t solu-
tion method of R e f e r e n c e 2 3 . T h e i r p r e s s u r e
d i s t r i b u t i o n s a r e b a s e d on the philosophy dis-
c u s s e d in Section 4.2 with s o m e c o n c e s s i m s m a d e
f o r t h e i r p a r t i c u l a r application which is d i s c u s s e d
i n Section V. A i r f o i l L174 shown i n F i g u r e 34 was
e l e m e n t h a s a f l a t roofrop plus S t r a t f o r d r e c c v e r y
d i s t r i b u t i o n with Cpt+ - 1.0. h o w e v e r . th? !lap
is B conventional d e a g n ( t h e reason f o r t h i s is
explained i n Section 17). F i g u r e 35 shows t h e
g e o m e t r y of a i r f o i l Li75 which w a s designed f o r
a l o w e r lift coefficient with a h i g h e r s e c t i o n L / D
as a design goal. 3 0 t h e!ements h a v e f l a t roof-
t o p plus S t r a t f o r d r e c o v e r y d i s t r i b u t i o n s , and
C te -1.0 on the main e l e n w n t . Airfoils L174
agd LI75 w e r e designed f o r a Reynolds n u m b e r
af 3 x 106 with i d l y t u r b u l e n t rooftops.
T h e s e a i r f o i l s a r e p r e s e n t e d h e r e s i m p l y to
d e m o n s t r s t e the type of r e s u l t s which should b e
obtainable f r o m the o p t i m u m m u l t i - e l e m e n t work.
A s an a s i d e , i t i s mentioned that the m a i n e l e -
m e n t of a i r f o i l L171 h a s shown good p e r f o r m a n c e
both t h e o r e t i c a l l y and e x p e r i m e n t a l l y a s a
deployed s h a p e for a v a r i a b l e - c a m b e r - K r u e g e r
 l e a d i n g - e d g e slat. it p r o v i d e s a v e r y high s l a t
CL with a r e l a t i v e l y l o w p r e s s u r e peak due t o
i t s long r o o f t o p region.
-6 1 and r e l a t i v e l y l a r g e t h i c k n e s s to c h o r d ratios. A s
Fig. 34 Airfoil L174 and i t a c h o r d w i s e
p r e s s u r e distributions.
Fig. 35 A i r f o i l LI75.
V. Applications
T h c application of the a i r f o i l d e s i g n m e t h o d s
d e s c r i b e d i n t h i s p a p e r to a c t u a l d e s i g n p r o b l e m s
i s r a t h e r l i m i t e d at t h i s writing. B r i e f d i s c u s s i o n s
of Some of t h o s e applications which have r e c e i v e d
attention are offered beiow.
5.1 High Altitude Long E n d u r a n c e A i r c r a f t .
4 T h e s i n g l e - e l e m e n t high-lift a i r f o i l s a p p e a r to
h a v e a potential application i n high-altitude
( > 70,000 ft.) l o n g - e n d u r a n c e ( > 2 4 h r s ) a i r c r a f t .
A t t r a c t i v e f e a t u r e s of the a i r f o i l s ir.clude: a high
21
value of the e n d u r a n c e p a r a m e t e r C L / l / C o ( a con-
s e q u e n c e of the d r a g p o l a r maintaining low d r a g u p
to C ~ m a x )v, e r y good p e r f o r m a n c e a t Reynolds
n u m b e r s o f l o 6 and e v e n below, low v a l u e s of Cm,f4
(which c a n be reduced even f u r t h e r if n e c e s s a r y ) ,
a c o m p a r i s o n , a f t - l o a d e d a i r f o i l s tend t o s u f f e r a t
low Reynolds n u m b e r s in t e r m s of i n c r e a s e d d r a g
and r e d u c e d C ~ m a x .and s u c h a i r f o i l s a l s o o f f e r
r e l a t i v e l y high v a l u e s of Cmc/4 which a r e not de-
s i r a b l e f o r e x t r e m e l y high a s p e c t r a t i o wings.
However, the p e r f o r m a n c e of t h e a i r f o i l s designed
by t h e p r e s e n t method in a c o m p r e s s i b l e flow en-
v i r o n m e n t h a s yet t o h e v e r i f i e d i n a wind tunnel
although the t h e o r e t i c a l r e s u l t s d i s c u s s e d in
Section 3 . 3 a p p e a r quite promising. P r e l i m i n a r y
d e s i g n studips have shown v e r y good o v e r a l l a i r c r a f t
p e r f o r m a n c e i n t e r m s of take-off g r o s s weight. pay-
load, c r u i s e altitude, and e n d u r a n c e . T h e a i r f o i l s
shown i n F i g u r e s 2 1 through 2 5 w e r e developed a s
p a r t of an A i r F o r c e F l i g h t Dynamics L a b o r a t o r y
d e s i g n s t u d y for t h i s application.
5.2 Sailplanes,
A i r f o i l Ll0031M f F i g u r e s 1 9 and 20) was devel-
oped s p e c i f i c a l l y for a h i g h - p e r f Q r m a n c e sailplane.
O n e of t h e d e s i g n goals was t o m a x i m i z e the e n d u r -
ance p a r a m e t e r C L % / C D w h i c h for a sailplane
e q u a t e s to minimizing the sinking speed. As d i s -
c u s s e d in Section 111, the leading e d g e was m o d i f i e d
t o extend the L O W d r a g range to l o w e r lift c o e f f i c i e n t s ,
and t h i s coupled with t h e negative deflection of
the flap should provide good high s p e e d p e r f o r m a n c e .
A sailplane using a i r f o i l L1003M h a s been designed
and should be under c o n s t r u c t i o n a t t h i s time. T h e
v,ingspan is to b e 60 it. with a 20 inch c h a r d , and
e a c h of the two wing panels i s to b e e x t r u d e d f r o m
a single piece of aluminum.
5.3 P r o p e l l e r s . F a n s , and Windmills.
V e r y p r e l i m i n a r y c a l c u l a t i o n s h a v e indicated
that the high-lift a i r f o i l s should provide significant
p e r f o r m a n c e i m p r o v e m e n t s f o r p r o p e l l e r s of gen-
e r a l avaiation type a i r c r a f t . T h e following p e r f o r -
m a n c e c o m p a r i s o n was m a d e by A e r o V i r o n m e n t ,
I n c . , of Pasadena. C a l i f o r n i a using s t a n d a r d blade
e l e m e n t t h e o r y a s s u m i n g u n i f o r m induced a x i a l flow,
no s w i v e l component, and a constant c h o r d blade a t
u n i f o r m l i f t coefficient. T h e " s t a n d a r d " p r o p e l l e r
h a s a C l a r k Y a i r f o i l and the m o d i f i e d p r o p e l l e r s
u s e a i r f o i l L1003M, and :he p e r i o r m a n c e is b a s e d
on a 150 h o r s e p o w e r light a i r p l a n e taking o f f a t
52 knots.
Thrust Diameter RPM dB
Standard P r o p e l l e r 550P 6.0 ft. 2870 98
Modified P r o p e l l e r 1 650ii 6.0 it. 1300 92
Modified P r o p e l l e r I1 580X 4.3 it. 2870 93
T h i s c o m p a r i s o n i s i m p r e s s i v e , h o w e v e r , it i s
s t r e s s e d that t h e s e a r e a p p r o x i m a t e calculations.
A i r f o i l L l 0 0 3 M waz not designed with the p r o -
p e l l e r application in m i c d , a n d a s e r i o u s e f f o r t
i n t h i s a r e a should begin with the development
of a n a i r f o i l s p e c i i i c a l l y f o r p r o p e l l e r s . This
should be followed by a thorough t h e o r e t i c a l
d e s i g n and p e r f o r m a n c e study and e x p e r i m e c t a l
evaluation. F r o m a g e n e r a l point of view, t h e
following advantages a p p e a r : i n c r e a s e d efficiency,
reduccd tip speed, r e d u c e d n u m b e r of blades,
and reduced noise level.
 %. s i m i l a r potential application l i e s i n the a r e a
of h i g h - t h r u s t f a n s . H e n r y P a y n e of the Payne
E n g i n e e r i n g Co. of Scott Depot, West Virginia h a s
- d e s i g n e d a prototype ducted fan using an a i r f o i l
s i m i l a r to LlOO3 which is shown i n F i g u r e 36. This
f a n was c o m p a r e d with a "conventional" f a n which
u s e d c i r c u l a r a r c a i r f o i l s e c t i o n s , and the t e s t r e -
r e s u l t s a r e shown in the t a b l e below.
Commerical Payne E n g r
Fall Fan
Diameter 30 i n c h e s 30 inches
No. of B l a d e s
RPM
12
2500 2500
6 s i m i l a r t o that u s e d i n light a i r c r a f t . In addition,
Inpiit H P ' 40 40
Normalized 1.15
1.0
Thrust
dB A a t 50 ft. 105 85
P a y n e h a s a l s o tes:ed a ?-blade v e r s i o n 01 this fan
a n d it w a s c a p a b l e of a b s o r b i n g 50 h o r s e p o w e r at
2500 RPM. T h e s e r e s u l t s a p p e a r to be p r o m i s i n g ,
h o w e v e r , l i k e the p r o p e l l e r work. m o r e develop-
m e n t and t e s t i n g i s i n o r d e r . T h i s should include
the development of a i r f o i l s e c t i o n s f o r a f a n appli-
cation w h e r e c a s c a d e e f f e c t s a r e c o c s i d e r e d .
Fig. 36 Axial flow fan designed by Payne
E n g i n e e r i n g of Scott Depot, West Virginia
T h e windmill application a l s o a p p e a r s to be
n a t u r a l f o r a i r f o i l s s u c h a s L1003 and LlOO4. or
p o s s i b l y LA2566. Windmills typically o p e r a t e at
blade lift c o e f f i c i e n t s of 1.0 and above, and conven-
t i o n a l a i r f o i l s have r e l a t i v e l y high p r o f i l e d r a g
p a r t i c u l a r l y a t low Reynolds n u m b e r s . Calcula-
tions b a s e d an a i r f o i l L1003 show i m p r o v e d effici-
ency i n t e r m s of power a v a i l a b l e a t a l l wind speeds.
Also, the r e l a t i v e l y low pitching moment is appeal-
ing f r o m a s t r u c t u r a l paint of view.
5.4 Wings f a r Racing C a r s
T h e wings on r a c e c a r s a r e i n v e r t e d and
u s e d t o p r o v i d e "downforce" a s oppcsed t o lift,
;ad t h i s d c w d o r c r z c t s t o i n c r e a s e the adhesion
of the t i r e s during a c c e l e r a t i o n , b r a k i n g , and
m o s t i m p o r t a n t l y , in c o r n e r i n g . Since the coef-
f i c i e n t of f r i c t i o n of a r a c e c a r t i r e i n s i d e s l i p
is on t h e o r d e r of 1.3 (i. e. g r e a t e r than unity)
the downforce is i n f a c t rn-iltiplied i n i t s ability
t o p r o v i d e r e s i s t e x c e t o sideslip. An a p p r e c i a -
tion for t h e p e r f o r m a n c e i n c r e m e n t offered by
the wings can be obtained f r o m a c o m p a r i s o n of
pole position qualifying s p e e d s at Indianapolis
22
w h e r e i n 1970 with no wings the speed w a s 172 m p h
and in 1972 with r e l a t i v e l y c r u d e wiiigs it was 106
mph. At the l a t t e r l a p s p e e d . the l a t e r a l f o r c e in
the t u r n s is on t h e o r d e r of 2.38'5.
T h e wings a r e located on the nose of the c a r
and behind the r e a r wheels as shown in F i g u r e 37,
and it rutns out that the m o s t c r i t i c a l d e s i g n prob-
l e m involves t h e r e a r wing. B a s i c d e s i g n con-
s t r a i n t s include a v e r y high C L f r o m a wing with
a m a x i m u m a l l o a a b \ e s p a n of 43 i n c h e s and a
c h o r d on the o r d e r of 2 5 to 30 i n c h e s which i m p l i e s
an a s p e c t r a t i o of at b e s t 1.7. F a b r i c a t i o n t e c h -
niques a r e conventional a l u m i n u m monocoque
the wing is required. to o p e r a t e i n a n e x t r e m e l y -
h o s t i l e e n v i r o n m e n t which i n c l u d e s the wake f r o m
the d r i v e r ' s h e l m e t and the engine. the exhaust
f r o m the t u r b o c h a r g e r , and t h e a c c u m u l a t i o n of
s t o n e n i c k s and t i r e r u b b e r on the leading edge.
Obtaining t r a n s i t i o n is not a p r o b l e m .
. . _ / ,..'.l<l L
-.*,
. -
-. Fig, 37 E a g l e R a c e C a r
A i r f o i l L174 ( F i g u r e 34) was designed with
m a x i m u m p o s s i b l e C L i n mind. T h e two-dimen-
s i o n a l p r e s s u r e d i s t r i b u t i o n w a s s p e c i f i e d with
the c o n s i d e r a t i o n that the v e r y low a s p e c t r a t i o
would s e r v e t o reduce t h e rooftop l e v e l t o a more
c o n s e r v a t i v e value. The f l a p g e o m e t r y w a s s p e c i -
fied b y existing h a r d w a r e , and i t s o r i e n t a t i o n was
s e t t o obtain the highest p o s s i b l e Cpte, on t h e
m a i n element. T h i s z i r f o i l worked qnite well on
the r a c e c a r i n t e r m s of providing the r e q u i r e d
d o w n f o r c e , and y a r n t u l t s showcd that the flow
was c o m p l e t e l y attached on both e l e m e n t s . TSe
f l a p r e q u i r e d t h e addition of a "Gurney flap" ( t o
be d e s c r i b e d sho-tly) i n o r d e r to r e m a i n attached.
A i r f o i l LI74 did, however. h a v e s o m e u n d e s i r a b l e
c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s : it tended t o s e p a r a t e i n cross-
winds ( 2 consequence of the c a r drifting t o a l a r g e
yaw ang!e i n a t u r n ) . and its u n s e p a r a t e d angle of
a t t a c k r a n g e was quite s m a l l ( a p p r o x i m a t e l y 5 O i .
T h e G u r n e y f l a p mentioned above i s s i m p l y a
flat plate on the o r d e r of 1% of t h e chordlength
which i s 1ocat.d p e r p e n d i c u l a r t o the p r e s s u r e
s i d e of t h e a i r i o i i a t t h e trailing o l g c ( z e e F i g l r e
38). R a c e c a r testing b y G u r n e y h a s i n d i c a t e d
t h a t t h i s d e v i c e i n c r e a s e s the d o w n f o r c e and re-
d u c e s the d r a g a s m e a s u r e d b y a c o r n p a r i s % of
corner a n d s t r a i g h t a w a y s p e e d s with and without
t h e flap. I n c r e a s i n g the G u r n e y flap c h o r d beyond
a p p r o x i m a t e l y 2Ta, while continuing to i n c r e a s e
the downforce, also begins to noticeably i n c r e a s e
the d r a g .
 A wind tunnel t e s t of the G u r n e y f l a p was
conducted and a t y p i c a l r e s u l t i s s h o w i n F i g u r e
38. ( T h e Newman a i r f o i l is defined by an ellip-
t i c a l nose on a s t r a i g h t l i n e wedge. I t is a canon-
i c a l f o r m u s e d t o check b o u n d a r y - l a y e r t h e o r i e s ,
._, and i t p r o v i d e s a long a d v e r s e g r a d i e n t region. )
T h e s e r e s u l t s i n d i c a t e that the d r a g is reduced
a n d the lift i s i n c r e a s e d . It was expected that
t h e G u r n e y flap would provide i n c r e a s e d l i f t a t a
g i v e n angle of a t t a c k and a h i g h e r value of C L ~
h o w e v e r . the f a c t t h a t t h e d r a g a t a given lift
c o e f f i c i e n t w a s a p p a r e n t l y reduced n e e d s
explanation.
T h e s p e c i f i c d e t a i l s of the flow m e c h a n i s m
a t t h e t r a i l i n g edge of a conventional a i r f o i l a r e
not c o m p l e t e l y understood a t this time.
K u c b e m a n n [ 3 1 ] d i s c u s s e s the flow n e a r t h e t r a i l -
ing edge. and h e shows that P r a n d t l ' s boundary-
l a y e r t h e o r y cannot he applied t h e r e . T h i s is a
c o n s e q u e n c e of t h e a s s u m p t i o n no l o n g c r being
v a l i d that t h e component of velocity n o r m a l to
t h e a i r f o i l s u r f a c e is negligibly s m a l l . He a l s o
s h o w s t h a t n e a r t h e t r a i l i n 2 edge of an a i r f o i l a
-
l o c a l s e p a r a t i o n bubble is quite l i k e l y p a r t i c u -
l a r l y for a i r f o i l s with l a r g e r t r a i l i n g edge angles.
"1
0KIT"F~AP
ecPc'?r 4 N J y.cMN
oc
0 4- a- a- f f ~ r n . M 0 5 ~ G 7 C
a h a s bean u s e d t o i n c r e a s e the d o w n i o r c e i n l i e u of
co
Fig. 38 Wind t u n n e l r e s u l t s showing
G u r n e y flap p e r f o r m a n c e .
In r e l a t i o n t o the a p p a r e n t d r a g reduction ob-
t a i n e d with t h e Cui.ney flap, the f l a w p i c t u r e s i n
F i g u r e s 39 and 40 a r e c o n s i d e r e d . F i g u r e 39 shows
the.flow n e a r t h e t r a i l i n g edge of a conventional a.ir-
f o i l o p e r a t i n g a t a m o d e r a t e lift coefficient with
s e p r a t i o n bubbles s i m i l a r to those proposed by
K u c h e m a n n f o r the ncnlifting c a s e . F i g u r e 40 i s a
h y p o t h e s i s of t h e flow conditions about t h e G u r n e y
flap. During the wind tunnel t e s t , a tufted probe
indicate2 L z t t h e r e U ' ~ E r sigiiE'rnnt Lumilro cf t h r
flow o v e r the b a c k s i d e of the fiap a s shown i n
F i g u r e 40. The t u f t also indicated a r e v e r s e flow
r e g i o n behind t h e f l a p which is modeled by the two
4 v o r t i c e s s h o w i n the f i g u r e .
I t is p o s s i b l e that t h e wake m o m e n t u m d e f i c i t s
f o r t h e two flows depicted i n F i g u r e s 39 and 40
23
wrcm
~ ~ ,
F i g . 39 T r a i l i n g edge flow conditions of a
conventional a i r f o i l a t a
m o d e r a t e l i f t coefficient [31].
Fig. 40 Hypothesized t r a i l i n g edge f l o w
conditions of a i r f o i l of F i g u r e 39
with a Gurney flap.
a r e of the s a m e level. and the deficit p r o d u c e d by
the G u r n e y flap could be slightly l o w e r - depending
on t h e a i r f o i l trailing-edge angle and t h e s i z e of
t h e flap. Consequently, it i s felt t h a t t h e d r a g
Y e s u l t s of F i g u r e 38 a r e not i m p l a u s i b l e - p a r t i c -
u l a r l y i n the c a s e of thick a i r f o i l s . Further
t e s t i n g t o obtain v e r i f i c a t i o n is. of c o u r s e . , i n o r d e r .
However, the r e s u l t s obtained rhus f a r i n d i c a t e that
one of the v i i t u r s and applications of the G - i r n e y f l a p
m a y be a s a d r a g - r e d u c i n g a s w e l l a s l i f t - i n s r e a s -
ing d e v i c e on both single and m u l t i - e l e m e n t a i r f o i l
s y s t e m s . T h i s concept h a s a l s o b e e n c o n s i d e r e d b y
o t h e r i n v e s t i g a t o r s such as Duddy i n R e f e r e n c e [?2].
A j r f o i l L175 was designed a t a l o w e r lift
coefficient f o r i m p r o v e d LID. The r o o f t o p l e v e l
of t h e m a i n e l e m e n t i s s u b s t a n t i a l l y l o w e r , and
the flap i s a m o d i f i c a t i o n of a i r f o i l L1001. A
G u r n e y flap is not r e q u i r e d f o r t h e flow t o r e m a i n
a t t a c h e d on the flap, although i n some i n s t a n c e s it
a
i n c r e a s i n g t h e a i r f o i l a n g l e of attack. T h i s a i r f o i l
h a s a la* d r a g angle of attack r a n g e of a p p r o x i -
m a t e l y 8 d e g r e e s and h a s not d e m o n s t r a t e d any
s e n s i t i v i t y t o c r o s s w i n d s . I t was u e e d on the race
car which won the 1975 Indianapolis 5 0 0 Mile Race.
T h e foregoing d i s c u s s i o n p r o v i d e s a good
point on which t o close t h i s paper. Of the va.rious
p o t e n t i a l applications f o r mode-n a i r f o i l technology,
r a c i n g car wings would probably not r a n k h i g h l v
i n t h e mind of the a e r o d y n a m i c i s t . C u r i o u s l y ,
t h i s p a r t i c u l a r application h a s o f f e r e d the o p p o r -
tunity t o p r o c e e d d i r e c t l y f r o m t h e o r y . concept,
~ n dde s i g n to f a b r i c a t i o n , test, a n 4 o p e r a t i o n
i n an e x t r e m e l y s h o r t t i m e span. i t i s felt that
-
t h e r e s u l t s d e m o n s t r a t e the c a p a b i l i t y of t h e airfoil
d e s i g n methods d e s c r i b e d in t h i s p a p e r to be
applied to a highly c o n s t r a i n e d p r o b l e m - with
s u c c e s s i n t h i r p a r t i c u l a r c a s e . Hopefully,
s i m i l a r s u c c e s s e s -11 be found i n m o r e conven-
t i o n a l a e r o d y n a m i c app!ications.
 VI. Acknowledeement
T h e a i r f o i l d e i i g n s and t h e i r development
d e s c r i b e d i n t h i s p a p e r a r c a product of nine y e a r s
of s t u d y at thc Douglas A i r c r a f t Company of the
LMcDonnrll Dousla5 C o r p o r a t i o n . A s u b s t a n t i a l
p o r t i o n of t h e w o r k w a s conducted u n d e r the
Douglas independent R e s e a r c h and Development
P r o s r a m . In addition, some r e c e n t applications
of t h e d e s i g n methods h a v e been s u p p o r t e d by
c o n t r a c t s f r o m the U.S. G o v e r n m e n t including the
A i r F o r c e F l i g h t Dynamics L a b o r a t o r y .
i n f o r m a t i o n , i d e a s , and s u g g e s t i o n s h a v e been
s u p p l i e d by m a n y individuals throughout the p a s t
d e c a d e . T h e fOllQW-iingi s a p a r t i a l l i s t of those
who h a v e provided i m p o r t a n t t e c h n i c a l contribu-
tions: J.G. Callaghan, T. Cebeci, D.S. Gurney.
R. hf. J a m e s , K. K.aups, P.B.S. L i s s a m a n ,
A.I. O r m s b a c . A. hi. 0. S m i t h , D. N. Srnyth, and
G. 0. Wheeler.
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