Preliminary Correlation of the Effect of Compressibility on the Location of the Section Aerodynamic Center at Subcritical Speeds

Abstract

A correlation of available two-dimensional airfoil data to determine the effects of compressibility on the location of the section aerodynamic center at low lift coefficients has been made. The results indicate that large forward or rearward movements by the aerodynamic center with Mach number are possible. It appears that thickness ratio is an important parameter controlling the variation with Mach number. For the 6-percent-thick airfoils the aerodynamic center moved rearward with increasing Mach number, while for the thicker airfoils (9 and 12 percent) the movement was forward. It appears that airfoils of 7- or 8-percent thickness ratios might experience the least variation of the aerodynamic center with Mach number.

Open PDF

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Nov 03, 1948
Accession Number
ADA801445

Entities

People

  • Edward C. Polhamus

Organizations

  • National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Aerodynamic Characteristics
  • Aeronautical Laboratories
  • Coefficients
  • Compressive Properties
  • Drag
  • Low Drag
  • Mach Number
  • Mathematics
  • Thickness
  • Trailing Edges
  • Two Dimensional
  • Wind Tunnel Tests
  • Wind Tunnels

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Aerodynamics/Aeronautics.