Erbil Technical Engineering College

Mechanical And Energy Engineering Dept.

Airfoil (or aerofoil)

Prepared by: Mahdi Karim

Lecturer: Dr. Banipal N. Yaqob

Submission date: November 25. 2021

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Contents

Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 3
History of airfoil ............................................................................................................................. 4
Airfoil terminology ......................................................................................................................... 5
Bernoulli’s principle ....................................................................................................................... 6
Newtons laws in generating lift ...................................................................................................... 7
Coefficient of flight......................................................................................................................... 8
Parameters in generating lift ........................................................................................................... 8
Limiting physics.............................................................................................................................. 9
Types of aerofoils ......................................................................................................................... 10
Applications of airfoil ................................................................................................................... 10
References ..................................................................................................................................... 11
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Introduction
An airfoil (in American English) or an aerofoil (in British English) is the shape of a wing
or blade in cross section. An Airfoil shaped body moved through a fluid produces an
aerodynamic force. The component of this force perpendicular to the direction of motion is
called lift. The component parallel to direction of motion is called drag.

The lift of an airfoil is primarily the result of angle of attack and shape (in particular its
chamber). When either is positive, the resulting flow field about the airfoil has a higher average
velocity on the upper surface than the lower surface. This velocity difference is necessarily
accompanied by a pressure difference (via Bernoulli’s principle) which in turn produces lift
force. The lift force can also be related to the average top/bottom velocity difference without
invoking the pressure by using the concept of circulation. Airfoil design is a major facet of
aerodynamics. A fixed-wing aircraft’s wings, horizontal and vertical built with airfoil-shaped
cross sections. Swimming and flying creatures also employ airfoils. Any object with an angle of
attack in air or moving fluid such as a flat plate will generate aerodynamic force called lift.

Airfoils are more efficient lifting shapes able to generate more lift (up to a point) with
less drag. this has to be the most primary and basic characteristics to be kept in mind while
designing an airfoil for a wing span. Various airfoils serve different flight regimes. Asymmetric
airfoils can generate lift at zero angle of attack while a symmetric airfoil may better suit frequent
inverted flight as in aerobatic airplane. The cross section is not strictly circular however the
radius of curvature is increased before the wing achieves maximum thickness to minimize the
chance of boundary layer separation this elongates the wing and moves the point of maximum
thickness back from the leading edge.

Fig. 1. Airfoil forces acting on it

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History of airfoil

The earliest serious work on the development of airfoil sections began in the late 1800's.
Although it was known that flat plates would produce lift when set at an angle of incidence,
some suspected that shapes with curvature, that more closely resembled bird wings would
produce more lift or do so more efficiently. H.F. Phillips patented a series of airfoil shapes in
1884 after testing them in one of the earliest wind tunnels in which "artificial currents of air
(were) produced from induction by a steam jet in a wooden trunk or conduit." Octave Chanute
writes in 1893, "...it seems very desirable that further scientific experiments be be made on
concavo-convex surfaces of varying shapes, for it is not impossible that the difference between
success and failure of a proposed flying machine will depend upon the sustaining effect between
a plane surface and one properly curved to get a maximum of 'lift'."

At nearly the same time Otto Lilienthal had similar ideas. After carefully measuring the
shapes of bird wings, he tested the airfoils below (reproduced from his 1894 book, "Bird Flight
as the Basis of Aviation") on a 7m diameter "whirling machine". Lilienthal believed that the key
to successful flight was wing curvature or camber. He also experimented with different nose
radii and thickness distributions.

Airfoils used by the Wright Brothers closely resembled Lilienthal's sections: thin and
highly cambered. This was quite possibly because early tests of airfoil sections were done at
extremely low Reynolds number, where such sections behave much better than thicker ones. The
erroneous belief that efficient airfoils had to be thin and highly cambered was one reason that
some of the first airplanes were biplanes.

A wide range of airfoils were developed, based primarily on trial and error. Some of the
more successful sections such as the Clark Y and Gottingen 398 were used as the basis for a
family of sections tested by the NACA in the early 1920's
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Airfoil terminology
Aerofoil Terminology. An Aerofoil is being designed with a shape that has the capability
of producing lift with relatively high efficiency as it passes through the air. An aerofoil can have
many cross-sectional shapes. The terms which are related to aerofoils are as follows:

1. Chord: Chord can be defined as the distance between the leading edge, at the front of the
aerofoil that is the point, and has maximum curvature and the trailing edge, at the rear of
the aerofoil, that is the point with a maximum curvature along the chord line.

2. Chord Line: Chord line is the straight line connecting the leading and trailing edges.

3. Upper Surface: The upper surface is associated with high velocity and low static
pressure, which is also known as suction surface.

4. Lower Surface: The lower surface is a higher static pressure surface which is also known
as pressure surface.

When the aerofoil is moving through a fluid, the following are the terms used to describe the
behavior:

Aerodynamic Center: The centre where pitching moment is independent of lift coefficient
and angle of attack.

Center Of Pressure: The centre where the pitching moment is zero.

The Angle of Attack (AOA): The angle of attack is formed between a reference line on a
body and the oncoming flow.

Pitching Moment: The moment or torque produced on the aerofoil bye the aerodynamic
force is known as Pitching moment.

Trailing edge: is a part from an aerofoil (edge) that hits the air particles last.

Leading edge: is a part of an aerofoil (edge) that hits the air particles first.

Fig. 1.1 Airfoil terminology

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Bernoulli’s principle

From the shape of the airfoil it is clear that the upper surface is more curved than the
lower surface. This means the particles on the upper surface should travel a greater distance than
the particles on the lower surface. Since both particles should reach the trailing edge at the same
time, the upper surface particles should have more velocity than the lower surface particles. This
means that according to Bernoulli's principle, there is more pressure at the bottom and less
pressure at the top surface. The difference in the pressure generates lift. This argument more
specifically is known as the “equal time argument” .

Fig. 1.2

The equal time argument is a beautiful way to explain lift, but it’s completely wrong. The
first mistake pertains to how 2 particles starting from the same location reach the trailing edge at
the same time. That is a completely absurd argument.There is no law in physics to support it. The
2 particles can leave for a completely different journey and may not meet in their lifetime!

Bernoulli's equation is completely right. It is just Newton's second law of motion applied
along a fluid streamline Some people applied it incorrectly and caused confusion.

Fig. 1.3 Bernoulli’s equation

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Newtons laws in generating lift

According to Newton’s Third Law of Motion, for every action there is an equal and
opposite reaction. Thus, An airfoil generates lift by exerting a downward force on the air as it
flows past. According to Newton's third law, the air must exert an equal and opposite (upward)
force on the airfoil, which is lift

An airfoil produces lift by exerting a downward force on the air as it flows past.
According to Newton’s third law, the air must exert an equal and opposite (upward) force on the
airfoil, which is lifted. The airflow shifts direction as it crosses the aerofoil and pursues a path
that is curved downward.

The airflow changes direction as it passes the airfoil and follows a path that is curved
downward. According to Newton's second law, this change in flow direction requires a
downward force applied to the air by the airfoil. Then Newton's third law requires the air to exert
an upward force on the airfoil; thus a reaction force, lift, is generated opposite to the directional
change. In the case of an airplane wing, the wing exerts a downward force on the air and the air
exerts an upward force on the wing.

The downward turning of the flow is not produced solely by the lower surface of the
airfoil, and the air flow above the airfoil accounts for much of the downward-turning action.

This explanation is correct but it is incomplete. It doesn't explain how the airfoil can impart
downward turning to a much deeper swath of the flow than it actually touches. Furthermore, it
doesn't mention that the lift force is exerted by pressure differences, and doesn't explain how
those pressure differences are sustained.

Fig. 1.4 Newton’s law in lifting

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Coefficient of flight
The lift coefficient is defined as follow:

where { L} is the lift force, {S} is the relevant surface area and {q} is the fluid dynamic
pressure, in turn linked to the fluid density {ρ rho} and to the flow speed { u} The choice of the
reference surface should be specified since it is arbitrary. For example, for cylindric profiles (the
3D extrusion of an airfoil in the spanwise direction) it is always oriented in the spanwise
direction, but while in aerodynamics and thin airfoil theory the second axis generating the
surface is commonly the chordwise direction.

A form in which aerodynamic data is presented. A lift coefficient is dependent upon the angle of
attack, shape of the wing section and plan form, condition of the wing surface, Mach number,
and Reynolds number. Since most other factors are constant, CL values are plotted against the
angle of attack. The value of CL rises up to the stalling angle, where it falls off rapidly.

Fig. 1.5 relation between angle of attack and coefficient of lift

Parameters in generating lift

Viscosity:

Viscosity can be described as the "thickness," or, for a moving fluid, the internal friction
of the fluid. Viscosity measures the ability of the fluid to dissipate energy. A parameter of
viscosity is the coefficient of viscosity, which is equal to the shear stress on a fluid layer over the
speed gradient within the layer.
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Viscosity is essential in generating lift; it is responsible for the formation of the starting
vortex, which in turn is responsible for producing the proper conditions for lift.

Boundary layers:

Viscosity is responsible for the formation of the region of flow called the boundary layer.
There are two types of boundary layers:

• Laminar
• Turbulent

In a laminar boundary layer, the fluid molecules closest to the surface will slow down a
great deal, and appear to have zero velocity because of the fluid viscosity. In turn, these surface
molecules create a drag on the particles flowing above them and slow these particles down. The
effect of the surface on the movement of the fluid molecules eventually dissipates with distance
from the surface. The area where these viscous effects are significant is called the boundary
layer.

In a turbulent boundary layer, eddies, which are larger than the molecules, form. The
slower eddies close to the surface mix with the faster moving masses of air above. As a result,
the air molecules next to the wing surface in a turbulent boundary layer move faster than in a
laminar boundary layer (for the same flow characteristics).

A turbulent boundary layer has the following properties over a laminar boundary layer:

The drag is higher, and

The turbulent boundary layer is not as susceptible to flow separation.

The two types of boundary layers may thus be manipulated to favor these properties.

Limiting physics

Stalling:

At angles of attack below around ten to fifteen degrees, the lift increases with an
increasing angle. However, if the angle of attack is too large, stalling takes place. Stalling occurs
when the lift decreases, sometimes very suddenly.
The phenomena responsible for stalling is flow
separation Flow separation is the situation where
the fluid flow no longer follows the contour of the
wing surface.

Fig. 1.6 Flow Separation Due To a Large Angle of Attack

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Fluid particles flowing along the top of the wing surface experience a change in pressure,
moving from the ambient pressure in front of the wing, to a lower pressure over the surface of
the wing, then back up to the ambient pressure behind the wing. The region where fluid must
flow from low to high pressure (adverse pressure gradient) is responsible for flow separation. If
the pressure gradient is too high, the pressure forces overcome the fluid's inertial forces, and the
flow departs from the wing contour. Since the pressure gradient increases with an increasing
angle of attack, the angle of attack should not exceed the maximum value to keep the flow
following the contour. If this angle is exceeded, however, the force keeping the plane in the air
will decrease, and may even disappear altogether.

Types of aerofoils

Symmetrical Aerofoil

This has identical upper and lower surfaces such that the chord line and mean camber line
are the same producing no life at zero AOA. These find applications in most of the light
helicopters in their main rotor blades.

Non-symmetrical aerofoil

It is also known as a cambered aerofoil. This has different upper and lower surfaces such
that the chord line is placed above with large curvature. These have different chord line and
chamber line. The advantages of non-symmetrical aerofoil is that the lift to drag ratio and stall
characteristics are better and useful lift is produced at zero AOA. The disadvantages are that they
are not economical and there is a production of undesirable torque.

Fig. 1.7 types of aerofoil

Applications of airfoil

Aerofoils are used in aircraft design, propellers, rotor blades, wind turbines and other
applications of aeronautical engineering.
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References

Barnard, R.H. and Philpott, D.R., Aircraft Flight: a description of the physical principles of
aircraft flight, Essex, England: Longman Group Limited, 1995.

Bertin, John J. and Smith, Michael L., Aerodynamics for Engineers, Third Edition, Upper Saddle
River, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1998.

Brisson, John, Assistant Professor, Mechanical Engineering Department, January 12, 1999 12:00
PM.

Hubin, W.N., The Science of Flight: Pilot-oriented Aerodynamics, Iowa: Iowa State University
Press/AMES, 1992.

Perdichizzi, Richard F., Technical Instructor, Aeronautics and Astronautics Department, January
13, 1999 10:00 AM.

White, Frank M., Fluid Mechanics, New York: McGraw-Hill, Inc., 1994

https://byjus.com/physics/aerofoil/