Aerodynamics of Airfoils Subject to Three-Dimensional Periodic Gusts.

Abstract

A general analysis of periodic three-dimensional vortical disturbances of streaming motions around streamlined and bluff bodies is developed using a unified approach wherein the mathematical problem is reduced to solving a single inhomogeneous wave equation with non-constant coefficients. In the limit of vanishing Mach number, the problem is formulated in terms of an inhomogeneous Fredholm integral equation of the second kind. The analysis is first applied to study the unsteady aerodynamics of an airfoil of arbitrary shape moving at low Mach umber in a three-dimensional periodic gust pattern. Because the homogeneous equation has a non-trivial solution, a special procedure was developed for its solution and uniqueness is obtained by applying the Kutta condition at the trailing edge. Results were compared with those obtained from a nonlinear two dimensional gust theory and linear oblique gust analyses. Comparison shows a very strong influence of the airfoil geometry and mean flow angle of attack and of the gust parameters on the unsteady lift and moment coefficients. In fact, depending on the conditions considered, the unsteady lift and moment coefficients can be several times larger or smaller than those obtained from linear theories. A superposition principal was derived whereby the unsteady lift and moment acting on a thin airfoil with small camber and small angle of attack and subject to a two-dimensional gust can be constructed by linear superposition to the Sears lift and moment of three independent components accounting separately for the effects of airfoil thickness, airfoil camber and non-zero angle of attack of the mean flow.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Aug 31, 1983
Accession Number
ADA145149

Entities

People

  • H. Atassi

Organizations

  • University of Notre Dame

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Space

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Aerodynamics
  • Air Force
  • Airfoils
  • Engineering
  • Fluid Dynamics
  • Fluid Mechanics
  • Hydrodynamics
  • Mechanical Engineering
  • Mechanics
  • Scientific Research
  • Shape
  • Stagnation Point
  • Stratified Fluids
  • Structural Components
  • Three Dimensional
  • Two Dimensional
  • Unsteady Flow

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Aerodynamics.
  • Finite Element Method (FEM) for solving Partial Differential Equations (PDEs)
  • Fluid Mechanics and Fluid Dynamics.