Linearized Transonic Flow About Non-Lifting, Thin Symmetric Airfoils

Author: Petty, James Sibley

Year: 1963

Degree: Dissertation (Ph.D.)

Advisor: Royce, Winston W.

Committee Members: Lagerstrom, Paco A.; Royce, Winston W.; Cole, Julian D.; Sechler, Ernest Edwin; Liepmann, Hans Wolfgang

Option: Aeronautics

DOI: 10.7907/3ZC0-7Y26

Abstract

Transonic flow about symmetric, non-lifting airfoils is treated by solving an approximate linear differential equation of mixed type in place of the exact small-perturbation equations. The pressure distribution and drag coefficient are obtained in closed form for power series airfoils. The technique of local linearization is also applied to improve the accuracy of the results, particularly near the leading edge where the linearizing approximation is found to be invalid. Numerical results are obtained for the parabolic arc and single wedge airfoils and are found to compare favorably with experimental data and with previous theoretical results.

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