Fundamentals of

Aerodynamics
Lecture 4

Semester 1, 2023/2024
Where Are We

Potential flow
 Incompressible Flow over Airfoils
Introduction
 Airfoil nomenclature
Airfoil characteristics
Low-speed airfoil theory: vortex sheet
 Kutta condition
 Classical thin airfoil theory
• Symmetric airfoil
• Cambered airfoil
Flow over airfoils: real case
Summary
 Introduction
Definition of an airfoil
 Cross-sectional shape of an object that is capable of
generating significant lift
• Airfoil aerodynamics is critical to wing aerodynamics
 Introduction
Airfoil nomenclature
 Leading and trailing edges
• The most forward and rearward points
 Chord line
• Straight line connecting the leading and trailing edges
• Chord c: length of the chord line
 Introduction
Airfoil nomenclature
 Mean camber line
• Locus of points halfway between the upper and lower
surfaces as measured perpendicular to the line itself
 Camber
• Maximum distance between the camber line and the
chord line, measured perpendicular to the chord line
 Introduction
Airfoil nomenclature
 Thickness
• Maximum distance between the upper and lower surfaces,
measured perpendicular to the chord line
 Angle of attack α
• Angle between the freestream velocity and the chord line
 Introduction
Airfoil nomenclature
 NACA 4‐digit series
• 1st digit
– Camber in percentage of c
• 2nd digit (× 10)
– Distance from leading edge to camber location in percentage of c
• 3rd & 4th digits
– Thickness in percentage of c
 Popular airfoils
• NACA 2412
– 2% camber at 40% chord with 12% thickness
• NACA 0012
– Symmetric airfoil
 Airfoil Characteristics
Aerodynamic forces and moments
 Resultant force R and moment M
• Two sources: the pressure and shear stress distributions
• Lift, drag, and normal and axial forces
• Sign convention for aerodynamic moments
– Moments that tend to increase α (pitch up) are positive
– Moments that tend to decrease α (pitch down) are negative
 Airfoil Characteristics
Aerodynamic forces and moments
 Moment M about the leading edge
 Airfoil Characteristics
Aerodynamic forces and moments
 Center of pressure
• A point about which the moment is zero
 Airfoil Characteristics
1
Aerodynamic forces and moments q∞ = ρ∞V∞2
2
 Force and moment coefficients
• Nondimensionalized by dynamic pressure and characteristic
area (S) and length (l)
• For a 3-D body
L D M
CL = CD = CM =
q∞ S q∞ S q∞ Sl

• For a 2-D body

L′ D′ M′
cl = cd = cm =
q∞ c q∞ c q∞ c 2
 Airfoil Characteristics
Lift curve
 At low-to-moderate AoA, cl varies linearly with α
• Lift slope a0
• Zero-lift angle of attack αL = 0
– For symmetric airfoils, αL = 0 = 0
 Airfoil Characteristics
Lift curve
 At large AoA, cl varies nonlinearly with α
• Flow separation
– A large reduction in lift known as stall
• Maximum value of cl is denoted by cl,max
 Airfoil Characteristics
Lift curve
 Experimental data at
two Reynolds numbers
• a0 is not influenced by Re
• cl,max is dependent on Re
• cm,c/4 is independent on Re
 The results are typical
• αL = 0 = −2.1 deg
• cl,max = 1.6
• Stall occurs at α ≈ 16 deg
Aerodynamic center: a point about which
the moment is independent of α
 Airfoil Characteristics
Example
 Low-speed Airfoil Theory
Vortex sheet
 An infinite number of vortex filaments

 Thin airfoil approximation

• A single vortex sheet distributed over the camber line
• Thin airfoil theory (Munk 1922)
 Low-speed Airfoil Theory
Vortex sheet
 Induced velocity at point P

 Consider a rectangular
dashed path

Local jump in tangential velocity across the

vortex sheet is equal to the local vortex strength
 Low-speed Airfoil Theory
Kutta condition
 How to choose Γ
• An infinite number of possible potential flow solutions

 The flow smoothly leaves the top and the bottom

surfaces of the airfoil at the trailing edge
• Proposed by Kutta (1902)
 Low-speed Airfoil Theory
Kutta condition
 Finite-angle trailing edge
• Have two velocities at the same point is impossible
• Trailing edge is a stagnation point

 Cusped trailing edge

 Low-speed Airfoil Theory
Kutta condition
 For a given airfoil at a given angle of attack, the value
of Γ around the airfoil is such that the flow leaves the
trailing edge smoothly
• Finite-angle trailing edge: the trailing edge is a stagnation
point
• Cusped trailing edge: the velocities leaving the top and
bottom surfaces at the trailing edge are finite and equal in
magnitude and direction
 Low-speed Airfoil Theory
Classical thin airfoil theory
 Fundamental equation
• The camber line (not the chord line) is a streamline
– The velocity normal to the camber line must be zero at all points
• The velocity is the sum of the freestream velocity and the
velocity induced by the vortex sheet
 Low-speed Airfoil Theory
Classical thin airfoil theory
 Fundamental equation
• At small angle of attack
 Low-speed Airfoil Theory
Classical thin airfoil theory
 Fundamental equation
• For a thin airfoil

Vortex sheet on the chord line

 Low-speed Airfoil Theory
Classical thin airfoil theory
 Fundamental equation
• Let w(x) denote the component of velocity normal to the
chord line induced by vortex sheet
 Low-speed Airfoil Theory
Classical thin airfoil theory
 Fundamental equation
• dw at point x induced by the elemental vortex at point ξ

Integrated from the leading edge

to the trailing edge
 Low-speed Airfoil Theory
Classical thin airfoil theory
 Fundamental equation
• The camber line is a streamline

 The central problem is to solve the fundamental

equation for γ subject to the Kutta condition
 Low-speed Airfoil Theory
Classical thin airfoil theory
 For a symmetric airfoil

 Transformation
 Low-speed Airfoil Theory
Classical thin airfoil theory
 For a symmetric airfoil

 Solution

• Homework: verify that this solution satisfies the

fundamental equation and the Kutta condition using
 Low-speed Airfoil Theory
Classical thin airfoil theory
 For a symmetric airfoil
• Total circulation
 Low-speed Airfoil Theory
Classical thin airfoil theory
 For a symmetric airfoil
• Kutta-Joukowski theorem
 Low-speed Airfoil Theory
Classical thin airfoil theory
 For a symmetric airfoil
• cl is linearly proportional to angle of attack with a0 = 2π
 Low-speed Airfoil Theory
Classical thin airfoil theory
 For a symmetric airfoil
• Moment about the leading edge
 Low-speed Airfoil Theory
Classical thin airfoil theory
 For a symmetric airfoil
• Moment coefficient about the leading edge
 Low-speed Airfoil Theory
Classical thin airfoil theory
 For a symmetric airfoil
• Moment coefficient about the quarter-chord point

• The quarter-chord point is both the center of pressure and

the aerodynamic center
 Low-speed Airfoil Theory
Classical thin airfoil theory
 For a symmetric airfoil
• Moment coefficient about the quarter-chord point is zero
 Low-speed Airfoil Theory
Classical thin airfoil theory
 Philosophy
• To find a distribution of vortex sheet strength along the
chord line that will make the camber line a streamline
while satisfying the Kutta condition
 For a symmetric airfoil
• Important results
 Low-speed Airfoil Theory
Example
 Low-speed Airfoil Theory
Classical thin airfoil theory
 For a cambered airfoil

• Series solution

– The values of An remain to be determined

 Low-speed Airfoil Theory
Classical thin airfoil theory
 For a cambered airfoil
• Series solution
 Low-speed Airfoil Theory
Classical thin airfoil theory
 For a cambered airfoil
• Series solution
– Fourier series in cosine form
 Low-speed Airfoil Theory
Classical thin airfoil theory
 For a cambered airfoil
• Total circulation
 Low-speed Airfoil Theory
Classical thin airfoil theory
 For a cambered airfoil
• Total circulation
 Low-speed Airfoil Theory
Classical thin airfoil theory
 For a cambered airfoil
• Lift coefficient

• Zero-lift angle of attack αL = 0

The more highly cambered the airfoil, the larger the absolute
magnitude of αL = 0
 Low-speed Airfoil Theory
Classical thin airfoil theory
 For a cambered airfoil
• Moment coefficient about the leading edge

• Moment coefficient about the quarter-chord point

– Aerodynamic center (no longer center of pressure)
 Flow over Airfoils: Real Case
Airfoil lift
 Physical mechanism
• Popular point of view
– Two neighboring fluid particles which split at the stagnation point
should meet again at the trailing edge
 Flow over Airfoils: Real Case
Airfoil lift
 Physical mechanism
• Flow along curved streamlines
 Flow over Airfoils: Real Case
Airfoil drag
 Skin-friction drag
• Due to the shear stress acting on the surface

 Pressure drag
• Due to flow separation, particularly at high AoA
 Flow over Airfoils: Real Case
Airfoil drag
 Flow separation
• Real pressure does not dip
as low a minimum
• Real pressure does not recover
to a value above p∞
 Flow over Airfoils: Real Case
Airfoil drag
 Flow separation
• A drastic loss of lift
– Stall
• A major increase in drag
– Due to pressure drag
 Flow over Airfoils: Real Case
Quality of an airfoil
 Lift-to-drag ratio L/D
 Maximum lift coefficient cl,max
 Flow over Airfoils: Real Case
High-lift devices
 Trailing-edge flap
• To increase camber
– Lift curve translates to the left
– cl,max is increased
– The stalling AoA is decreased
 Flow over Airfoils: Real Case
High-lift devices
 Leading-edge flap
• Allows flow through the gap between the flap and the
leading edge
• No evident change in αL = 0
• Lift curve is extended to
a larger stalling AoA
 Flow over Airfoils: Real Case
High-lift devices
 A combination of leading-edge flap and
multielement trailing-edge flaps
 Flow over Airfoils: Real Case
High-lift devices
 A combination of leading-edge flap and
multielement trailing-edge flaps

CFD of a multielement wing section (ONERA)

 Summary
Vortex sheet
 To synthesize the inviscid, incompressible flow over
a thin airfoil

Kutta condition
 Flow leaves the trailing edge smoothly
 Summary
Thin airfoil theory
 Fundamental equation