NACA All Re

REPORT No.
586
AIRFOIL SECTION CHARACTERISTICS AS AFFECTED BY VARIATIONS OF THE
REYNOLDS NUMBER
By EAWI WAN N. JACOBS and ALBERTSHFI R~AN
SUMMARY
An invedigation oj a 8y8t&tiy cho8enrepre8enta--
tivegroup of relutedaizjoih wasmath in theN. A. C. A.
curiabl.e-d.en.dywind tunnel over a wide range oj the
Reynolds Number &ending d into tlwylight range.
Thete8Lsweremudetoprovideinformationjrom whichthe
variution.soj aiq%i.!8ectioncharaeteridicswith c?umgtxin
the Reyno.MsNumber could be injerred and metlwdaoj
cdlawingjor thae cariatiorwin practice could be oMer-
mined. Thixworkixonephiweojan extmve andgen.end
aijoil invixtigationbeingconduciedin thevurialie-den.sdy
tunnel and ezL9uis the previously publidwd Te#earch@
conwrning airjoil charactenkticsas a$ecied by variuiiom
in airjOiJ projih oktennined ai a tingle value of the
ReynoldsNumber:
Theobject oj thisreport h toprovidemeawjor making
availableas seciim characfei%tia at any jree-air value
oj theReynoldsNumber thevariablederwiiy-tunnel airjoil
datapreviously Publtibd. Accordingly, thevariow cor-
rection-sinvolvedin a%iving moreaccurateairjoi? seetion
characteristi.a than those hereiojore employed arejint
conszderedat lengthand thecorrection jar turbulenceare
eqx?m%wd. An appendix ?k heluded that wi3rs the
results oj an invedgation oj certain comisteni errors
pre9ent in test resuti8jrom the variabhihwity tunnel.
The origin and natureoj scalee$ect8 are diwu88edand
theairjoi.1wxzle-e~ectdaia areanu.?yzed. FinuLly,metho-
ds aregivenoj dewing jor 8cu.feeffeet8on airjoi.1section
churacten8tiixin practicewiihin ordinury limi?soj a.ccw
raq jor t)wapplication oj variuble+iewi-ty-tunnelai~ml
datatojlight problenw.
I NTRODUCTI ON
When cl ntn from n model test nre appl i ed to a fri ght
probl em, the con&i on that shoul d be mti si i ed i s that
the fl ows for the two cases be si mi l ar . The Reynol ds
Number, whi ch i ndi cates the rati o of the mass forces to
the vi scous forces i n aerodynami c appl i cati ons, i s ordi -
nari l y used as the cri teri on of similarity. The practi cal
necessi ty for havi ng the fl ow nbout the model aerody-
nami cal l y si mi l nr to the fl ow about the ful l -scal e objeet
i n fl i ght becomes apparent from the fad that. aero-
dynami c coeffi ci ents, as a rul e, vaqv wi th changes i n the
Reynol ds Number.
(scal e effect.
Thi s phenomenon i s referred to as
Earl y i nvesti gati ons of scal e effect were made i n
smal l atmospheri c tunnel s at comparati vel y l ow val ues
of the Reynol ds Number and, for ai rfok, covered a
range of the Reynol ds Number too l i mi ted and too
remote from the ful l -scal e range to per mi t rel i abl e
extrapol ati ons to fl i ght condi ti ons. Attempts were
made to bri dge the gap between the two Reynol ds
Number ranges by maki ng ful l -scal e fl i ght tests for
comparkon wi th model tests. These i nvesti gati ons of
scal e effect, however, proved di sappohti ng owi ng
partl y to the di ffi cul ty of obtai ni ng good I l i ght tests
and to tbe dMcul ty of reproduci ng fl i ght condi ti ons
i n the model tests and partl y to the l arge unexpl ored
Reynol ds Number range between the model and fl i ght
tests wi th consequent uncertai nti es regardi ng the
conti nui ty of the characteri sti cs over thi s range.
I ?urthennore, the fl i ght tests coul d not ordi nari l y
i ncl ude a suffi ci entl y l arge range of the Reynol ds
Number to establ i sh the character of the scnl e effects
for certai n of the ai rfoi l characteri sti cs over the ful l -
scal e range of the Reynol ds Number, whi ch may extend
from val ues as l ow as a few hundred thousand to thi rty
mi l l i on or more.
These l i mi tati ons of the earl y i nvesti gati ons were
@t overcome by the N. A. C. A. through the use of
the vari abl edensi ty tunnel , whi ch was desi gned to
faci l i tate aerodynami c i nvesti gati ons over the enti re
range of Reynol ds Numbem between the wi nd tunnel
and fl i ght VOh.18S.Several mi scel l aneous and com-
monl y used ai rfoi l s were i nvesti gated for scal e effect
i n the vari abl e-densi ty tunnel duri ng the ti t years of
i ts operati on. The resul ts i ndi cnted that i mportant
mal e effects for some ai rfoi l s may be expected above
the usual wi nd-tunnel range and even wi thi n the fl i ght
range of val ues of the Reynol ds Number. Later,
when the N. A. C. A. ful l -scal e tunnel was constructed,
ai rfoi l tests therei n served to coni i .rm the i mpor tr mce
of scal e effects occurri ng i n the ful l -scal e range and al so
provi ded val uabl e data for the i nterpretati on of the
vari abl edensi ty-tunnel resul ts, parti cul arl y i n con-
necti on wi th the effects of the turbul ence present i n the
227
...- .-
2% REPORTNO. 586-NATI ONAL ADVD30RYCOMMI TTEE FOR AERONAUTI CS
vari abl edensi ty tunnel . The i nterpretati on of the
vari abl edensi ty-tunnel resul ts has consequentl y been
modi fi ed to al l ow for the turbul ence on the basi s of an
effecti ve Reynol ds Number bgher than the test
Reynol ds Number.
I n the meanti me, the i nvesti gati ons of ai rfoi I s i n
the vari abl edensi ty tunnel had been turned to an
extensi ve study of ai rfoi l characteri sti c as rdl ected
by ai rfoi l shape. Thi s phase, whi ch resul ted i n the
devel opment of the wel l -known N. A. 0 A. ai rfoi l s,
i nvol ved the testi ng of a l arge number of rel ated
ai rfoi l s, but these tests were l argel y cordi ned to one
val ue of the Reynol ds Number wi thi n the ful l -scal e
range. Such a procedure expedi ted the i nvesti gati on
r md provi ded comparabl e data for the vari ous ai rfoi l s
wi thi n the ful l -scal e range of the Reynol ds Number
but, of course, gave no i nformati on about scal e effects.
& previ ousl y stated, the ful l +xde-tumel resul ts had
provi ded i nformati on regardi ng the appl i cati on of the
vari abl dmsi ty-tunnel data to fl i ght. Methods were
accordi ngl y devel oped for correc~ the data and for
presenti ng them i n forms that woul d faci l i tate thei r
use m appl i ed to ~Wht probl ems. Fl i ght probl ems,
however, requi re ai rfoi l data at V~OUS V~U~ of the
Reynol ds Number between val ues as l ow as a few
hundred thousand i n some cases to thi rty mi l l i on or
more i n othe~. Obvi ousl y the resul ts mai l abl e from
the tests of rel ated ai rfoi l s at one val ue of the Reynol ds
Number (effecti ve Reynol ds Number= 8,000,000) are
i nadequate for the purpose unl ess they can be corrected
to other val ues of the Reynol ds Number. The present
i nvesti gati on was therefore undertaken. to study the
scal e effects for the rel ated ai rfoi l secti ons pri mari l y
wi th a vi ew to the formul ati on of general methods for
determi ni ng g scab-effect correcti ons for any normal
ai rfoi l secti on so that the standard test r ewl ts from
the vnri abl edensi ty tunnel coul d be appl i ed to fl i ght
at any Reynol ds Number. I ?or most pmcti c~ US@i t
i s consi dered desi rabl e and suffi ci ent to present ai rfoi l
test resul ts i n the form of tabul ar val ues gi vi ng certai n
i mportant aerodynami c characteri sti cs for each a~ai l
8ectwn. The pri mary object of thi s i nvesti gati on,
therefore, i s to gi ve i nformati on about the vari ati on of
these i mportant ai rfoi l secti on characteri sti cs wi th
Reynol ds Number.
I n regard to the scope of the experi mental i nveAga-
ti on, the Reynol ds Number range was chosen as the
l argest possi bl e i n the vmi abl e-densi ty tunnel and the
ai rfoi l secti ons were chosen to cover as far as possi bl e
the range of shapes commonl y empl oyed. Accord-
i ngl y, groups of rel ated ai rfoi l s (@g. 1) were tested to
i nvesti gate the fol l owi .qg vari abl es rel ated to the
ai rfoi l -secti on shape:
Thi ckness.
Camber.
.
Thi ckness and camber.
Thi cknem shape.
Camber shape.
Secti ons wi th hi gh-l i ft devi ces.
The testi ng program was begun i n May 1934 and
extended several ti mes as i t became apparent that
addi ti onal tests woul d be des~bl e, The @al tests
i n the vari abl +densi ty tunnel were made i n September
1935.
TESTS ANDMODELS
Descri pti ons of the vari abl ~deusi ty wi nd tunnel
and of the methods of testi ng are gi ven i n reference 1.
The teats herei n reported were made for the most
part for each ai rfoi l at tank pressures of 1/4, 1/2, 1, 2,
4, 8, 15, and 20 atmospheres, coveri ng a range of test
Reynol ds Numbers from 40,000 to 3,100,000. The
1/4- and l /2-atmosphere runs were omi tted for many
of the ai rfoi l s and, i n several cases, onl y the l i ft-curve
peaks were obtai ned at the l ower Reynol ds Numbers.
Runs at reduced speeds (1/5 and 1/2 the standard val ue
of the dynami c pressure q) at 20 atmospheres were
someti mes substi tuted for the tests at 8 and 15 atmos-
pheres. Several check tests at 8 and 16 atmospheres
and resul ts from some earl i er i nvesti gati ons have shown
that the speci fi c manner of varyi ng the Reynol ds
Number wi th respect to speed or densi ty i s uni mportant
when the effects of compressi bi l i ty are negl i gi bl e. l ?or
al l the ai rfoi l s, the ai r i n the tunnel was decompressed
and the airfoil repol i shed before
Reynol ds Number tests.
runni ng the hi gher
Tares obtai ned ~t corre-
spondi ng Reynol ds Numbers were used i n worki ng up
the resul ts.
The ai rfoi l model s are of metal , usual l y of dural umi n
and of standard 5- by 30-i nch pl an form; the secti ons
empl oyed (see @. 1), except for the sl otted Cl ark Y,
me members of N. A. C. A. ai rfoi l fami l i es (references
2 and.3). The sl otted Cl ark Y model i s of 36-i nch span
and 6-i nch chord (wi th the sl ot cl osed) and was made
to the ordi nates gi ven i n reference 4. For thi s ai rfoi l ,
the coeffi ci ents are gi ven as based on the chord and area
correspondi ng to the sl oi xl osed condi ti on. The sl at
was made of stai nl ess steel and fastened to the mai n
wi ng i n the posi ti on reported (refercuce 4) to resul t i n
the hi ghest val ue of maxi mum l i ft coei %ci ent. Thi s
model was tested at a much earl i er date than the others,
and the test data are somewhat l ess accurate, The
mai n wi ng of the N. A. C. A. 23012 ai rfoi l wi th external -
ai rfoi l fl ap i s of 30-i nch span and 4.167-i nch chord.
The fl ap i s of stai nl ess steel and i s al so of N. A. C. A.
23012 secti on havi ng a chord of 20 percent that of the
mai n ai rfoi l . I t was fastened to the mai n wi ng m the
opt&mm hi nge posi ti on reported i n reference 6. Dat~
for thi s ai rfoi l combi nati on are gi ven herei n for two
angul ar fl ap setti ngs: 3, whi ch corresponds to the
mi ni mumdrag condi ti on; and 30, whi ch corresponds
to the maxi mum-l i ft condi ti on. The coeffi ci ents are
gi ven as based on the sums of the mai n wi ng and fl ap
chords and areas.
AI RFOI L SECTI ON CHARACTERI STI CSAS AFFECTEDBY
7hi c k ness
N.A.CM.
0012
00/ 5
0018
Cbmber
~
242c====
VARI ATI ONSOF THE REYNOLDSNUMBER 229
Canber shape
NA. C.A.
CU12
~
c====
230/2
i Ra 12
4412
430/2
64/.2
67/2
Hi gh-l i f f de vi c es
83/8
Thi c k ness shape
00/2
23012
23015
43012
c J ul d
23012
6
=?$
.
< 75*
75
=$
6
Cl ar k Y
{~y
Wi t h Hond/ey-Puge sl of
FIGURE LAlrfiil sectfors emplopwi for the @e-eff@t lnvedgatIorL. The SEUIIXB. exmpt for the dotted Clerk Y. are mwnbra of N. A. O. A. alrfoll fmnilleb.
230 REPORTNO. 586-NATI ONAL ADVI SORY COMMI TTEE FOR AERONAUTI CS
ACCURACY
The accuracy of the experi mental data of thi s i nvesti -
gati on at the hi ghest Reynol ds Number i s comparabl e
wi th that of the stmdad ai rfoi l test data as di scuss.ed
i n reference 2. The systemati c errors of measurement
therei n menti oned, however, have si nce been i nvesti -
gated and the resul ts are presented i n tho appendi x to
thi s report. The systemati c errors of vel oci ty measure-
ment have hence been el i mi nated, the errors associ ated
wi th support defl cdi on have been l argel y removed, and
the errors associ ated wi th model roughness have been
mi ni mi zed by gi vi ng careful attenti on to the model
surfaces
The remai ni ng systemati c errors are mai nl y those
associ ated wi th the i nterpretati on of the wi nd-tunnel
resul ts rather than the di rect errors of measurement.
These errors are associ ated, fi rst, wi th the cal cul ati on
of ai rfoi l seciion characteri sti cs from the tests of i i ni te-
rmpecbrati o ai rfoi l s and, second, wi th the correcti on
of the test resul tsto zero turbul ence or free-ai r condi -
ti ons. Such errors wi l l be more ful l y treated i n the
di scussi on where the methods of correcti on, i ncl udi ng
the i nterpretati on of the resul ts as i nvol vi ng the effec-
ti ve Reynol ds Number, are consi dered.
The magni tude of the di rect experi mental errors,
parti cul arl y of the acci dental errors, i ncreases as the
Reynol ds Number i s reduced. by vari ati on of the
support i nterference wi th the Reynol ds Number was
not taken i nto account i n spi te of the fact that the test
resul ts tend to i ndi cate that the uncorrected part (see
appendi x) of the support i nterference may cease to be
negl i gi bl e at l ow test Reynol ds Numbem. These errors
may be judged by a study of the di ssymmetry of the
test resul ts for posi ti ve and negati ve angl es of attack
for the symmetri cal ai rfoi l s and by the scatteri ng of the
poi nts representi ng the experi mental data. (See fi gs.
2 to 24.) Such a study i ndi catea that the resul ts bm
tests at tank pressures at and above 4 atmospheres
(effecti ve Reynol ds Numbem above 1,700,000) are of
the same order of accuracy as those from the hi ghest
Reynol ds Number tests. The drag and pi tchi ng-
moment resul ts for effecti ve Reynol ds Numbers bel ow
800,000, however, become rel ati vel y i naccurate owi ng
to l i mi tati ons i mposed by the sensi ti vi ty of the measur-
i ng equi pment. I n fact, i t appears that the accuracy
becomes i nsuffi ci ent to defi ne wi th certai nty the shapes
of curves representi ng vari ati ons of these quanti ti es
wi th angl e of attack or l i ft coetl i ci ent. Hence ai rfoi l
characteri sti cs dependent on the shape of such curves,
e. g., the opti mum l i ft coeffi ci ent and the aerodynami c-
ccnter posi ti on, are consi dered unrel i abl e and i n most
cases are not presented bel ow an effecti ve Reynol ds
Number of 800,000.
RESULTS
Fi gures 2 to 24 present the test resul ts corrected after
the methods gi ven i n reference 1 for approxi mati ng
i .ni i ni te-aspect-rati o charactmi sti cs. Curves are gi ven
(for each ai rfoi l for di i l erent test Reynol ds Numbers) of
l i ft coeffi ci ent CL agai nst effecti ve angl e of attack aoj
and of profi l e-drag Codi ci ent 6Do ~d of Pi ~~%
moment coeffi ci ent about the aerodynami c center
c.=-C. against lift coefficient CL. The x and y coordi -
nates of the aerodynami c center from the ai rfoi l quarter-
chord poi nt are al so gi ven where the data permi t.
Al though not preci sel y gecti onchuruci di cs, character-
i sti cs so corrected have been used heretofore as secti on
characteri sti cs because of the l ack of anythi ng more
exact.
Further correcti ons, however, to al l ow for the effects
of wi nd-tunnel turbul ence, ai rfoi l -ti p shape, and some
of the l i mi tati ons of the previ ous correcti ons based on
ai rfoi l theory were devel oped duri ng the course of thi s
i nvesti gati on and, when appl i ed, gi ve resul ts repre-
senti ng the most rel i abl e secti on data now m-ai l fi bl e
from the vari abl edensi ~ wi nd tunnel . These addi -
ti onal correcti ons and thei r deri vati on are ful l y di s-
cussed l ater i n thi s report. The more e--act gec t i m
characteri sti cs have been di sti ngui shed by l ower-case
symbol s, e. g., secti on l i ft coti ci ent cl , secti on profl e-
drag coeffi ci ent c%, secti on opti mum l i ft coeffi ci ent
czo,,, and secti on pi tchi ng-moment coeffi ci ent about the
aerodynami c center % .C.. These val ues are then con-
si dered appl i cabl e to fl i ght at the effecti ve Reynol ds
Number, R..
Tabl e I presents, for vari ous Reynol ds Numbemj the
pri nci pal aerodynami c characteri sti cs, i n the form of
these ful l y corrected secti on characteri sti cs, of the &-
foi l s tested. Cr oss pl ots of certai n of these secti on
characteri sti cs agai nst Reynol ds Number are al so gi ven
for We wi th the di scussi on. (See fi g. 28 and @s. 32
to 43.)
DI SCUSSI ON
Scal e effects, or the vari ati ons of aerodynami c coef-
fi ci ents wi th Reynol ds Number, have previ ousl y been
consi dered of pri mary i mportance onl y i n rel ati on to
the i nterpretati on of l ow-sti l e test resul ts from r Ltmos-
pheri c wi nd tunnel s. I t now appears from vari abl e-
densi ty and ful l -scal e-tunnel data thnt i mportant
vari ati ons of the coeffi ci ents must be recogni zed wi thi n
the fl i ght range of val ues of the Reynol ds Number,
parti cul arl y i n vi ew of the fact that the fl i ght range i s
conti nual l y bei ng i ncreased.
AI RFOI L SECTI ON CHARACTERI STI C-SAS AFFECTEDBY VARI ATI ONSOF THE REYNOLDSNUMBER 231
8
6
4
2 ~.
/J~
..
8$
~
~u
~
~<
2
0
z
4
-4 0 4 8 12. /6 20 24 28 32
gl e of oi l oc k f or i n f i nt i e ospec t r at i o, a. (degr ee
s
>m I I I I I I I
d
J_
%-
0
0-
W
0
.1
.2
3
$-.4
Daf e: 5-34 T& : KD.Z 1/3, //36
& s@s qor r qc f ed,t o @n@ asp+ I @b
-.4 :2 0 .2 .4 .6 .8 J -O L2 1.4 /6 f .8
FIGURE 2N. A. O. A. tWE3.
o
8
6
4
Z&
o i -
:~
8k
8
~Ll
k
4:
2
0
2
4
8-404 8 12 16 20 24 28 32
Angl eof at f ac k f or i n f i ni f e aspd r ai i o, dO (degr ee
$%fEI
I I I I I I I I I I I
II
l-l
1 1 I 1 , 1 1 1 , I
o
I 1... L I I h.1 I
1
I
I
Yk++#+tl . .
I I I I I I I I I
I
, , , , v L. - l , , 1 I
)
L i % c odi 7c i enf , C
FI GUEE8.N. A. O. A. OWL
.- -.-....3 .- .-
232 REPORTNO. 686-NATI ONJi L ADVI SORY COMMI TTEE FOR AERONAUTI CS
~~
8 12 16 20 24 28 32
~t ~40f a?i a~ f or i nf i ni i e aspec t r oi i o, a, (degr ee
.01
,0
I I I I I I I I I I I I I
~UEE 4.N. & C. i i . W6.
r
Ai doi l : N..
.SiE: 5 X;
Pr es. (sf hu. WI[ I ,
Tesf : ED. Z //6
Wher e f er s-d
-8-4n48
I I I 1 1 I I 1 1 I , , ,
------ .- 1 $73 .
I I I I
~
,4Ff gi l : N.A.C.A. W13
2-.4
.Dof e: 5-34 E.+: KD.Z 1/35
Resul i sqor ec i edf t i @n& , asp # /-pf k i
-.4 -.2 0 -z -4 .6 .8 LO 1.2 ).4 ~.6 ~8
Fc r c en f 0-f-&d
t
y-:.:
.~[i q=]~
-
~,
1 .
1.7- -4 --oml 2.0
.- a-.
i
93s -U.35 - & -l .6- 3 o
17 -.?172 _
?1 -1210
-w ---2.2- -3 .001
I . 8
_ -+-2.2 0 0 J
W--2.4 _o_ _o
D--1.8 o 0
46
I 1 i t .
1.4
d t 1
.2
0
-.2
-.4
12 16 20 24 28 32
,& qI e of a-t i a& 7%; i nf i ni h aspec f r of i a, G (degr ee s] L i f + c oef f i c i ent C.
Fmwmz 5.N. A_ O. A. 031S.
AI RFOI L SECTI ON CHARACTERI STI CSAS AFFECTEDBY VARI ATI ONSOF THE REYNOLDSNUMBER 233
. IJ
.09
&
~..08
c
J.07
L
%0
L8
/.6
1.4
I I I I 1 Y~
?.03
~
.02
.01
0
-4 0 4 8 12 16 20 24 28 32
gle of of f ac k f or i n f i ni f e aspec t r of i o, a, (de
.Z
0
-.2
-.4
0 -.2
I 1 I I I I I I I {T WI I
u
i -.3
E Ai r f oi l : N.A.C.A. 2412
$-.4
I I I I Daf e: 8-34 Tw f : %D. Z /164
I %+& Cp+d @ h%i t i osped .-of P
-.4 72 D .2 .4 .6 .8 1.0 1.2 1.4 L6
s) Lift c oef t 7c i t w ~ G ,gr ee
FIGUEE 6.N. A. O. A. !24Lz
-.4 -.2 0 .2 .4 .6 .8 1.0 L2 1.4 /.6 1.8
H-H+H+.o
I
1.8
/3F ,
I
- I. 6
/001 - I o
.LE Rad-. /.58
Slop of r adi us
, , ! !
%%: 4%0 f
($-1
. .
Z?a=?l-bl
/.4
I
_. . _. . , . . , .
-1--:w +l .2
iii?k!a:
t 2 15 20 24 28 32 -8-4048,
kgl e of of t oc k f o; i nf i ni ~e ospec f ;at i o, % (degr ees] L i f f c oe f i c i en~ C.
FIGUEB 7.-N. A. O. A. 4-W?. .
.
... .,. ...
234 REPORTNO. .580-NATI ONAL ADVI SORY COMMI TTEE FOR AERONAUTI CS
o
1.8
1.6
/.4
CF08
w.
~..---- I, 270,000
t --- 6459000
---3.3-4000
.+ * -- 16z OO0
.---- 82,500 E
iiiil
.,
I
.2
I I I I
IJ+l 1 I 1 1 I 1 1 I 1 1 t , , ,
f
- . - ./ I
K
Ou
)-
Ai r i bi l : I V.A.C.A. 6412 0-.
. She: 5 ~30 VeL[ f 7/sec ):69- -.2 0 I 1 t 1 1 I 1 I I t
i
.z:?!%d%%%vf E?e:.-s. -4 $--3
.t i r f oi l : N. A.CA. 6412
Wher e f esf ed: L. M.A.L.
Dof e: 8-34 72s+: %D.z 1165
%f 4 -.2 0
Res@s <or r qc f ed,f o +i ni f e, os.o@ r pf .b
8-4048 12 16 20 24 28 32 .2 .4 .6 .8 1.0 1.2 1.4 1.6 /.8
~t e of at t ac k f or t i f i ni f e ospec f r uf i o, G (deqr ees) L i f f c aef f i c i en~ Cz
FIUURE S.-N. A. O. A. 641!2.
, , ,
I I I I I I I I
I
)/ I I I I 1 I
B/ l I ,&-fn,+ N
? J,
~=++=38FF
L <_,
-.WZ
0>
. . ... . ..A.C.A. 4403 ~ -.2
Wf . St i e: 5 x 30= VeL(f f .\sec ,k 690. _. 2
Res.(sf hb. uf m.): 1/4 f o 277 ~ -.3
T=: KD. % 1162 & f % :8-34 -.4 ~
1
- Wher e f esi ed: L. MA.L.
-8-404 8 12 16 20 24 28 32
$-244 ~z
O .2 .4 .6 .8 1.0 12 1.4 1.6 /.8
.-%-al e of of f ac k f or i n f i ni f e aspec f r af i o, G (degr e=) L i f f c oef f i c i c mt CL
l ?muEE9.N. A. O. A. 449.
.
AI RFOI L SECTI ON CHARACTERI STI CSAS AFFECTEDBY VARI ATI ONSOF THE REYNOLDS I TUMBER 235
ITT
h Upc LwF.
& 3E7 -; 79
2.5 417 -2.48
S.0 i74 -327
7.5 6.9/ -3,71
(Q 7.84 -398
l a
z
I [
o kc. -% ,2
5 \ae2 -3.98
011.25 -3.75
4$ 1.2J -W&
m 9.3U :214
70 7.63 -1.55
g,;~l +./ 8 I
. ,-
Percenf ofti
I I
2.0
)
I I I , 1
I I I I I
/ . 6
q 5s51- ; ; Q? I
- . - - I I I I I I I 1
.2
J I 1 1 1 I 1 I 1 I I I I
~ Ai doi l : A! A.C.A. 4415
0
il%+i
She: 5 x 30
1
Ve[ (f f /sec ] :69 _. ~
Pk es.(sf hd. ai m.): l /4f o 20
Test : ED. Z 1163 L%f e:8-34
d,, , , I
~where fes{ed: L. MA.L.
1-.4
-404 8 /2 16 20 24 28 32
gle of at i ac k f or i n f i ni f e aspec i r of i o, ~ (degr ee s) L i f l c oei 77c i en~ C.
Fxoumi 10.N. & C. A. 44L5.
.11
.10
E
1 I I I I I I I I
I l l
I I
Test
Reynol ds Number
I I I ~ 3,ioo,ooo I I
~:~
12 -8 -4 0 4
8 J 2 J 6 20 24 28
Angl e of af t ac k f or i nf i ni t e aspec t r ai i o, a, (degr ees)
-.4 :2 0 .2 .4 .6 .8 LO 1.2 1.4 L6 18
L i f f c oef i i c i enf i C.
fiG77EB lL-N. .L 0. A. E31&
236
A
REPORTNO. 586-NATI ONAL ADVI SORY COMMI TTEE FOR AERONAUTI CS
.11
.10
.09
#
<.08
.&
0.07
-Q
\
$06
p.05
+
&.04
*
\
~.03
R
.02
.01
0
d
;-.1
Q
;--.2
8
-3 %.
s
$-.4
*
-.4 :2 0 .2 .4 .6 .8 1.0 1.2 1.4 ~6 J.8
mgl eof af i ac k f or i nf i ni i e aspec f r ai i o, G (degr ees) Li f f c oef i c i en~ G
FmuEE 12-N. A O. A. 2W12
,
-,
. I I
.10
.0.9
Iiiil
Olze: a . Z. 7U V=h{FJ . / L. CGJ OO~_- 2
Pms.[ k f hd. of m.): I fo20
y -.3
~ I
Tesi : ED. % f 24D Da+e:3-35 _-4 ~ _.4
Ai r f oi l : 14. A.C-A. &OI.2:33
- Wher e f esf ed: L. MA.L.
.00+8: 3-35 Tesf : %D. Z 1!40
1
+
!
& suh% qor r qc f ed, f o @i . I !+et ospecf rpfb
-4 Q48~2f 620242832 -.4.72 0 .2 .4 .6 .8 LO L2 1.4 L6 L8
r l e of af f ac k f or i nf i ni i e aspec i r a-f r o, G (degr ees) L i f f c oef i c i enf , G
FmuBE M.-N. A.O.A.!2W!l +3.
.
I
.2
0
Ai r f oi l : MA. C.A. 2Rz 12
..528: 5 x 30
I
Vei (f 7/sec ):68 ..2
?r es.(sf ha. af m.): I f o~
Tesf : KD. Z /239 Oof e :3-35
Wher e +esf ed: L. M. A. L..
-.4
I 1 1 I , ,
-8-404 8 12 16 20 24 28 32
~gl e of of f oc k f or in finife aspecf rafio, h (degrees) L i f f C08f t i Ci ~( G
FIQURE 14.-N. L O. A. 21M2
4
2
0
8
6
e
4~-
.G
z%
$
Ou
&
8 <
6
4
2
0
2
4
-8-4048 @J 62024 28
Angl e of af f ac h f or i n f i ni i e ospec f r ai i o, c f O(de
.13
.12
.11
## -x%%~ A ,
EEEEI
+--- bb+, UUU
.10
*---- 338,000
* -- 170,000 I
.09
#J
~- .08
.$
0.07
~
6,
hl l -m I I I I I I I I I 1A
J f 1 1 I , a
I
o
2- i
h--- 2
0
:-.3
$!
5-.4
?
-.4 :2 0 .2 .4 .6 .8 1.0 12 1.4 1.6 1.8 2.0
FIGURE 16.N. A.O.A.6712
. . . i___ .. .
.. . .
iEiEiEFl---
4U!UI .4$
I I I I I I I
rres [ s ma. 0 r mj : I r o .w
Vc L(f t ] sec .):49f o ~
- -.4
11 1 I l l 1
Tesf ed: Lx A.L., VL2Z 1255
.6
-16 -12 -8 -4 0 4 8/216202426
Angl e of af f ac k f i r i n f i ni f e aspec t mt i c + O& (degr ees)
fiGUEE 16.-N. A. O. A. 1331Zwith 8PM fip deflwtai W.
-/2 8-404 8 /2 16 20 24 28
Angl e of af f ac k f or i r r f mi f e ospec f r uf i ~ q (degr ees)
Li f f c oef f i c i ent G
.12
.I O
I I
~ , , , I
I 1 [ I I 1 1 1 , 1 , 1 1 , , 1 I , ,
.06
&
.04
.02
J
L-
0
9
-i 1 T I r, , I ~., I I 1 1 I 1 1 1
I I z--l I I
d-
;: - . 2
0
-3 %.
s
$-.4
?
75:2 0
.2 .4 .6 .8 J .O I !2 L4 1.6 t .8 2.0 2.2 2.4
Li f f c oef i c i ep~ C.
FIOUEE 17.N. A. O. A. 230E7 with S@t fip defktd E@.
AI RFOI L SECTI ON CHARACTERI STI CSAS AFFECTEDBY VARI ATI ONSOF THE REYNOLDS NUMBER 239
C%32
-lap
1/ 1 I I I I I I 1P
,.
Q
. -
+
I I I
.8:,
4
.6 ?
I I I I I I I I I I .s.
, r I 1 r 1 , 1 , ,
A 141 t
.2
1
u
4 Ai r f oi l : NJ . C.A. 23012 w i i h spl i f
/
f l op: Dol e: 8-35 .2
u
Pres.(sfk! o+m): I to 20
Size:5x30 VeL(fi./sec.l:3/ io 70
, , , I , ,
. ...
f esf ed: L&A.L., %L2 T 1288 .4
-12 -8 -4 0 4 8 /.2 16 20 24 28
gl e of ai f ac k f or i nt i ni f e aspec f r of i o, d. (degr ees)
.24
.22
.20
.18
&
~..l6
%
% ./4
~
k
Q.12
8
~.lo
&
&.08
~.
o.~
&
.04
.02
0
,-. /
.
:;-.2
c1
~ -.3
%-. 4
s
%
:2 0 .2 .4 .6 .8 1.0 12 1.4 L6 !8 20 22 2.4
L i f f c oef f i c i ent C.
FIOUEE I&-N. A O. A. 23012 with relit I@ delleoted 7P.
o
Per c eyf of c hor d I
2.4
. mu. -a.
II .,7 .. -Cc
. . ,./ -r +.
Sa 6+3/ -4.8 \
I
~:lill
I I I I I
70 525 -a 9/
; , I
2.2
80 3.73 -,?493
so 2.04 - J.59
I I I I
.W 1./2 -.s40 x.
11
II I
l,; 2.0
..-
rbb (.16 (-;jg
[ 1 1 1/n u 1,
au -
,
L 11
, l-e. J.a 4/J 1 I I If,i- I k ILP
/.8
. .
w +++ /.6
I -M
Lkl?hi
I I
/.4
5
I I VI I I I tll 1~ 1 1 I
I
\
, I ,/ f , , I 1 ,
+H+l +H .44
0
-.2
;-/?-8-404 8 1? 16 20 24
.24
.Z2
20
.18
&
~..I 6
.$
.G.14
&
\
g.l z
u
g.l o
+
&.08
*
%.
:.06
~
.04
.02
0
:_,
L)
$-.2
8
~ -.3
J-.4
:2 0 .2 .4 .6 .8 1.0 1.2 1.4 ~6 [8 20 2.2 2.4
;gl e-of ;t f oc k f o~ ini%ife-aspe-c+ r-u fi;,-a. ~degrees) L i f f c oef f i c i ent G
FIGURE 19.N. A. O. A. MM w i t h spl i t dBI Idelkted 7&
240 REPORTNO. 58*NATI oNAL ADVI SORY COMMI TTEE FOR AERONAUTI CS
I
I I I I
Z.4
1 I I 1 I
I z.o
1 , n 1 , i 1 I
++HH+H4
f , , r , , , 8 , !
,
!! I I I 1.
( # AbM!!21 m-h spl i i f l op
o
11 ,S;ze: 5 X30 = V8[(f f J 9ec J 311b71? _-2
P* es& f Sd. a#i ): I )P20 T~LALAQf l l %i 28Z 1285
f 6 -12 -8 -4 048 J 2 16 20 Z4
. . .- .-. . . .
,
.24
.22
1 1 1 , , , , ,
A
1--1 I I I
,
a=- - (L .
I flop .
=c
I I I I
I
d
, ! ,
I I I I I 1 1 i
.~,I I I I I I I I I I I I I
l+
I
,2 .4 .6 .8 LO 1.2 1.4 L6 L8 20 2.2 2.4 2.6
. . . . . . ..#-
1 i I / 1 I I I I I I 1 I I 1 I I I I I I I
.0-2
,
1/1 I I I I I Ii I I I I
r l
I I , h , , , .
.
.6
.4
.2
0
-.2
;-12 -8-4 O 4
81216202428
gt e of af f ac k f i r i nf i ni f e aspec + r af i o, ~ (degr ees)
Fmm ZN. A. O.
Li f f c oef f i c i ent G
A.4a12wIth Split fiapdeJb3M 7&.
RFOI L SECTI ON CHARACTERI STI CSAS AFFECTEDBY VARI ATI ONSOF THE REYNOLDSNUMBER
I I I I I
?O
z
NJ: .- =
I I
Ptbot al-t Zls.
of moh wing . $;-,0 ~t Jyi$+$ q%
.03G .LHc. .
P/wf Wow c,
0204G
. A&%im
Per c ent of .40-d
,
.24C, .04ac .
I I 1111
n, . - AL. , - . . . - I I
22
2.0
1.8
1.6
/.4
1.2 ~j
1.0$-
.8$
$
.6 u
*
..
.4<
.2
G
-.2
-.4
-10 -8-4 0.4 8 . 12 16 20 .24 28 32
Angl e of at t ac k f or i nt i nde aspec + r aho. c %(degr ees)
I
i
.11
~ 3, I I 0800
A 2,33O, 00
.10
w ---------- J ,250,00
+ --- 636,00
.09
v- 32s00
c!?
w-- 163,00
<-08
& e f f i c i ant s base
w i ng and f l ap &
.5 11111111
, , ,
I I I I I I I I I I I II 1,
, , , ! , , A 1
I i I I I I z
$--
~.03
a
.02
.0/
o
=1-.i
;: -.2
8
-3 -..
s
E-.4
$
-.6 -.4 :2 0 .2 .4 .6 .8 1.0 L2 1.4 1.6 1.8
L i f i c oef i c i en~ C.
FIGURE 22.-N. A, O. A. 23012with erteMEI&rkdI &p d6flwted-3.
Mdn wlnE @on . . . . . . . . . . ----------- N. A. O. A. 23)12 MaLn Wi ng dmd, a----------------------------- 033%2 Datnm cho~ c=c+a
PlnP @on--------------------------- N. A. O. A. 23312 Flop ohord, m-oh----. . ------. --. . . -. -------- .107C
FFHTml%
,,, ,
.11
I
.10
2 .09
*.
o
:-.08
8
$
:$.07
k
1/r - nN
, . . ,
Ml
WI
1.6 ~;.06 y
I I I
A.
\ \ J
&
L bq~ /.4 & 05
& II II
I I I I I I I I I I I t
I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I
-t-t-H --J
I I I I
I I I I t I I I
Iiiiii iit
T-t ed: L. MA..L., UD.Z1278
I 1
-16 -12 -8 -4 0 4 8 /2 16 20 24
.4
.2
0
-.2
-.4
I I I
$.\
L: -
8
-.3
~
$-.4
*
:2 0 .2 .4 .6 .8 1.0 1.2 1.4 1.6 18 20 22 2.4
,.%gI e of at t ac k f or i n f i ni f e ospec i r af i o, a, (degr ees) Li f t c aef i %i ent G
FIIJLJEE 23.-N. A. O. A ?30L2 with exterml#rMl i%3p daIIEcM m.
241
M&h W@ .sw410n__ . . . . . ----- N. A. O. A. Z3012 Moln wing Ohord, q----------------------- 0.E3C Datnm &m@ c.Q~
Flap tin--------------------- N. A. O. A. 23X2 FIBp dlol@ e-o. m ----------------------- .107C
242 REPORTNO. 686-NATI ONAL ADVI SORYCOMMI TTEEFOR AERONAUTI CS
-8-404 8 12 16 20 24 28 32 36
,Ggl e of o-t i a~ f or i m%i f e aspec f r of i o, q (degr ees)
,.rrrrrl
.14
11111111111111111111.
Tesf Reynol ds Number
./s
m.
_3,750> 000 v.-. 29~000*
-3.060,000 w-- 19 Zooo
.03
E illi
,
I
,,
/
- -.
.02
.01
a
E-31
I
~RaspI f s qor n+ed,f a i +i ni f e, asp~f r nf i o ,
I
g .:2 0
.2 :4 .6 .8 1.0 12 1.4 1.6 L8 .?.0 2,2
FlaJEE X.-chrk Y tit
As an exampl e of scal e effects wi thi n the fl i ght range,
fi gure 25 has been prepared to show how the choi ce of
an ai rfoi l moti on for msxi mum aerodynami c effi ci ency
may depend on the fl i ght Reynol ds Number at whi ch
the ai rfoi l i s to be empl oyed. The ei i i oi ency i s judged
by the speed-range i ndex c~c~O. Val ues of Ck were
determi ned for the ai rfoi l secti ons (N. A. C. A. 230
seri es) wi th a defl ected 20 percent chord spl i t fl ap
and at a Reynol ds Number ss i ndi cated on each curve
correspondi ng to the l andi ng condi ti on. The cor-
rcapondi ng val ues of cmwere taken as the actual proi i l e-
drag coeffi ci ents associ ated wi th a hi gh-speed l i ft
coeffi ci ent sui tabl e to an aotual speed range of 3.5,
but corrected by the methods of thi s report to the hi gh-
speed Reynol ds Number (i ndi cated l andi ng Reynol ds
Number R times3. 5) . Four curvw were thus deri ved
i ndi cati ng the vari ati on of speed-range i ndex wi th
se&on thi cl mcss for four val ues of the l andi ng Reynol ds
Number: 1,2,4, and 8 mi l l i on, the extremes correspond-
i ng to a smal l ai rpl ane and to a conventi onal tmmspor t
ai rpl ane. The hi ghest val ue shown, 414, of the speed-
range i ndex may appear surpri si ngl y hi gh, but i t shoul d
be remembered that the cmreoti ons to secti on character-
i sti c and for Reynol ds Number, as wel l as the use of
fl aps, are al l favorabl e to hi gh val ues. The i mportant
poi nt brought out by &u.re 25 i s that the secti on thi ck-
ness correspondi ng to the msxi rnurn aerodynami c
effi ci ency i s dependent on the Reynol ds Number.
.
L i f f c oef f i c i ent G
hrldky Poge SIOL
The most e.fl i ci ent ai rfoi l for a l andi ng Reynol ds
Number of 1,000,000, for exampl e, i s defi ni tel y not the
FmuEE 25.-Afrfcdl spedmgelndcxes for varfons Reynokb NrunkerR N. L O. A.
230 r.erk swtfcm$ C/ UZ taken for drfti with O-ZOC.?PIltfkP d~wtsd 76:cd hkm
for afrfoflvrfth Cap rotrwtd for a M@@ vafae of et and at 3.6 tfnm tho R for
the CI.u.
most effi ci entfor a l arger ai rpl anel andi ng at a Reynol ds
Number of 8,000,000. An r l l l tdyti such tlS
the foregoi ng exampl e or further anal yses such
tht of
as those
di scussed i n reference 8 concerni ng the determi nati on
of the characteri sti cs of wi ngs evi dentl y requi re a
knowl edge of the vari ati on of ai rfoi l sectti character-
i sti cs wi th profi l e shape over the practi cal range of
fl i ght Reynol ds Numbe~.
DE1ERMINATION OF SECTION CHAR.kCPERI STI CS APPLI CABLE TO
FLI GHT
The present anal ysi s i s i mtended pri mari l y to suppl y
a mer ms of arri vi ng at ai rfoi l swtwn characteri sti cs that
are appl i cabl e to fl i ght at Reynol ds Numbem wi thi n
the practi cal fl i ght. range. Thi s object i s best ac-
compl i shed by appl yi ng correcti ons to the standard
ai rfoi l test resul ts from the vrukbl edensi ty tunnel .
The standard ai rfoi l characteri sti cs at l arge Refi ol ds
Numbers me customari l y defi ed i n ter ms of a few
parameters or i mportant rLi rfoi lsecti on characteri sti cs
that may be tabul ated for each ai rfoi l secti on. These
i mportant characteri sti cs are:
Cl ma=, the secti on maxi mum l i ft coeffi ci ent.
ao)the secti on l i ft-curve sl ope.
a,o, the angl e of zero l i ft.
cd,~i ~, the mi ni mum profi l edrag coeffi ci ent.
c
l op, )
cm=~,
. .
a. c.,
the opti mum l i ft coeffi ci ent, or secti on l i ft co-
effi ci ent correspondi ng to c%~i ~.
the pi tchi ng-moment coeffi ci ent about the sec-
ti on aerodynami c center.
the aerodynami c center, or poi nt wi th respect to
the ai rfoi l secti on about whi ch the pi tcbi ng-
moment coeffi ci ent tends to remai n constant
over the range of l i ft coeffi ci ents between zero
l i ft and maxi mum l i ft.
Essenti al l y, the general anal ysi s therefore reduces to an
anal ysi s of the vari ati on of each of these i mportant
secti on characteri sti cs wi th Reynol ds Number. Before
thi s anal ysi s i s begun, however, i t wi l l be necessary to
consi der how val ues of these section characteri sti cs
appl i cabl e to fl i ght me deduced from the wi nd-tunnel
tests of fi ni te-aspect-rati o ai rfoi l s i n the comparati vel y
turbul ent ai r stream of the tunnel . The vari ati on of the
i mportant secl i on characteri sti cs wi th Reynol ds Number
wi l l then be consi dered. Fi nal l y, consi derati on wi l l be
gi ven to methods of arri vi ng at compl ete ai rfoi l charac-
ter i sti cs after the i mportant wcti on characteri sti cs have
been predi cted for fl i ght at the desi red val ue of the
Reynol ds Number.
Correcti on to i nfi ni te aspeot rati o.-The deri vati on
of the secti on characteri sti cs from the test resul ts un-
corrected for turbul ence wi l l be di scussed fi rst; the
turbul ence effects wi l l be consi dered l ater. The reduc-
ti on to section characteri sti cs i s actual l y made i n three
succe~i ve appro.xi mati ons. Fi r st, the measured charac-
ter i sti cs for the rectangul ar ai rfoi l of aspeot rati o 6 are
corrected for the usual downi l ow and i nduced drag,
usi ng appropri ate factors that al l ow at the same ti me
;or tunnel -wi l l i nterference. These i nducti on factors
we based on the usual wi ng theory as appl i ed to rec-
tangul ar ai rfoi l s. The methods of cal cul ati on are
ymsentedi n reference 1. (Second-order i nfl uencw have
&o been i nvesti gated; that i s, rei hraent of the tunnel -
wal l correcti on to take i nto account such factors as the
l oad gradi ng and the i nfl uence of the tunnel i nterference
m the l oad gradi ng. (See reference 6.) For the con-
di ti onsof the standard tunnel test such refi nements were
!ound to be mmecessmy.) The resul ts thus yi el d the
bmt approxi mati on characteri sti cs, e. g., the proi i l edrag
=effi ci ent CDOthat has been consi dered a secti on
?hamcteri sti c i n previ ous reports (referauce 2).
Th=e fi rst-approxi mati on secti on characteri sti cs are
unsati sfactory, fi t, bemuse the ai rfoi l theory does not
represent wi th sui i i ci ent accuracy the fl ow about the
ti p porti ons of rectangul ar ai rfoi l s and, second, because
the measured coeffi ci ents represent ave~~e val ues for
al l the secti ons al ong the span whereas each secti on
actual l y operates at a secti on l i ft coeffi ci ent that may
di fTer markedl y from the wi ng l i ft coeffi ci ent. The
second approxi mati on attempts to correct for the
Shortcomi ngs of the wi ng theory as appl i ed to rec-
tangul ar ai rfoi l s.
I t i s wel l known that pressure-di stri buti on measure-
ments on wi ngs havi ng rect@ar ti ps show humps i n
the l oad-di stri buti on curve near the wi ng ti ps. These
di storti ons of the l oad-di stri buti on curve are not rep-
resented by the usual wi ng theory. The fai l ure of the
theory i s undoubtedl y associ ated wi th the assumpti on of
pl ane or two-di mensi onal fl ow over the ai rfoi l secti ons
whereas the actual fl ow near the ti ps i s defi ni tel y three-
di mensi onal , there bei ng a marked i nfl ow from the ti ps
on the upper surface and outfl ow toward the ti ps on the
l ower surface. Thi s i nfl uence not onl y al l -sets the
i nducti on factors and hence the over-al l characteri sti cs
of the re@nggar wi ng but al so produces l ocal di s-
turbances near the ti ps that may be expected to affect
the average val ues of the secti on profi l e-drag coefl i ci ants.
Theoreti cal l oad di stri buti ons for wi ngs wi th wel l -
rounded (el l i pti cal ) ti ps agree much more cl osel y wi th
experi ment than do the di stri b&i ons for rectangul ar-
ti p wi ngs. Local di sturbances near the ti ps shoul d al so
be much l eas pronounced. Test resul ts for rounded-ti p
wi ngs were therefore empl oyed to eval uate the rectangu-
I m-ti p ei feci wand hence to arri ve at the second approx-
i mati ons. l?OW figs, hmi ng N. A. C. A. 0009, 0012,
0018, and 4412 secti ons, were empl oyed for the purpose.
The ncmnal -wi ng ai rfoi l secti ons were empl oyed
throughout the rounded-ti p porti on of the wi ng but the
pl an area was reduced el l i pti cal l y toward emh ti p
begi nni ng at a di stance of one chord l ength from the
ti p. Secti on characteri sti cs were deri ved from tests
of these wi ngs i n the usual way but usi ng theoreti cal
i nducti on factors appropri ate to the modi i i ed pl an
form. These secti on characteri sti cs when compared
2+M REPORTNO. 586-NATI ONAL ADVI SORY COMMI TTEE FOR AERONAUTI CS
wi th the fi r st approxi mati on ones from tests of wi ngE
wi th rectanguku ti ps served to determi ne the second
approxi mati ons. These val ues i ndi cated by doubl e
pr i mes were gi ven from thi s anal ysi s i n ter ms of the
fi r st approxi mati on val ues i ndi cated by si ngl e pri mw
as fol l ows:
C.m =L03C-
G=O. 96@
a=w +o. 39G ( dw@
.
C% = C% +0. 0016CJ - ; ( 6) 0)0002( tS6) 6)
where t is the mnsi mum secti on thi ckness i n percent
chord. I n some recent reports on ai rfoi l characteri s-
ti cs (references 3, 5, and 7) these val uea have been
presented m secti on charact&sti cs except that a smal l
correcti on has i n some cases been appl i ed to the aero-
dynami c+mter posi ti ons. Thi s correcti on i s no l onger
consi dered justi i l abl e.
These correcti ons are, of course, enti rel y empi ri cal .
They must be consi dered as onl y approxi matel y correct
and as bei ng i ndependent of the Reynol ds Number.
The correcti ons themsel ves, however, are smal l so that
they need not be accuratel y known. AU thi ngs con-
si dered, i t i s bel i eved that through thei r use the rel i abd-
i ty of the seci i on data i s defi ni tel y i mproved, at l east
wi thi n the lo~~i part of the range of l i ft coeffi ci tmts.
For Li ft coeffi ci ents much greater than 1, however, the
profl e-dmqg coeffi ci ents ti m the rounded ti p and rec-
tangul ar ni rfoi l tests show di screpanci es that i ncrense
progressi vel y wi th l i ft coeffi ci ent ri nd,of course, become
very l mge nenr the maxi mum l i ft coei i i ci ent owi ng to
the di fferent mmi mum-l i ft val ue-s. Thi s d-i i ference
bri ngs up the neces+ for the thi rd approxi mati on.
The second approxi mati on val ues may, however, be
consi dered suffi ci entl y accurate to determhe the secti on
profl e-dmg coeffi ci ent c%over the l ower l i ft range and
&o the fol l owi ng i mportant secti on parameters that
are determi ned l argel y from the characteri sti cs i n the
l ow l i ft range:
ab
a.
Clmt
Qomk
Cma.c.
a. c.
I n thi s range of the l i ft cofi ci ent the devi ati ons from
the mean of the c1 val ues al ong the spr m have been
adequatel y taken i nto account. The mean val ues of cl
and c%represent true val ues as l ong ns the devi ati ons
al ong the span are wi thi n a l i mi ted range over whi ch
the quanti ti es may be consi dered to vary l i neal l y. Near
the mrmi rnum l i ft, however, the devi ati ons become
l arger and the rates of devi ati on i ncrease so that the
profi I e drng of the rounded-ti p ni rfoi l , for exampl e, i s
predomi nantl y i rdl uenced by the hi gh c%val ues of the
central secti ons whi ch, accordi ng to the theory, are
operati ng at cI val ues as much as 9 percent hi gher thnn
the menn val ue i ndi cated by the wi ng l i ft coeffi ci ent CA.
Moreover, the actual l i ft coetl i ci ent correspondi ng to
the secti on stal l (i n thi s cnse the center secti on) mi ght
thus, i n accordance wi th the theory, be taken ns 9 per-
cent hi gher than the measured wi ng l i ft coeffi ci ent
correspondi ng to the std.
Several consi derati ons, however, i ndi cate thnt thi s
9 percent i ncrense i ndi cated by the si mpl e theory i s too
l arge. The si mpl e theory w+sumw a uni form secti on
l i ftamve sl ope i n arri vi ng at the span l oadi ng and
hence the di stri buti on of the secti on l i ft coeffi ci ents
al ong the span. Actual l y on approachi ng the mmi mum
l i ft the more heavi l y l oaded secti ons do not gni n l i ft ns
fast as the more l i ghtl y l oaded ones owi ng to the bend-
i ng over of the secti on l i ft curves near the stal l . Thi s
effect has al so been i nvesti gated approxi matel y. The
resul ts showed that for commonl y used ai rfoi l secti ons
the center l i ft drops from 9 percent to 5 or 6 percent
hi gher than the mean at the stal l of rectangul ar ai rfoi l s
wi th rounded ti ps. For some unusual secti ons thfi t
have very gradual l y roundi ng l i ft-curve peaks and wi th
l i ttl e l oss of l i ft beyond the stal l , thi s correcti on muy
practi cal l y di sappear ei ther because the l i ft vi rtunl l y
equal i zes al ong the span before the stal l or because the
mmi mum l i ft i s not reached unti l most of the secti ons
are actual l y stal l ed. Omi tti ng from consi derati on these
secti ons tQ whi ch no correcti on wi l l be appl i ed, the
questi on ns to whether or not such a correcti on shoul d
be appl i ed to usual secti ons was deci ded by consi deri ng
how i t woul d ti ect predi cti ons ba+ed on the cl ~d=
val ues.
Maxi mum-l i ft measurements had been made for u
number of tapered ai rfoi l s of vari ous taper rati os nnd
aspect rati os. The same ai rfoi l secti on data premntcd
i n thi s report were appl i ed (taki ng i nto account the re-
duced Reynol ds Number of the secti ons near the ti ps
of hi ghl y tapered wi ngs) by the method i ndi coted i n
reference 8 to predi ct the mnxi nmm l i ft coeffi ci ents of
the tapered wi ngs. These predi cti ons appenred somew-
hat better when the secti on data were obtni ned on
the assumpti on that the center-secti on l i ft coeffi ci ent
at the stal l of the rectanguhu ni rfoi l wi th rounded ti ps
i s 4 percent hi gher than the wi ng l i ft coeffi ci ent. Hence
the thi rd approxi mati on as regards the secti on maxi mum
l i ft coeffi ci ents was obtai ned by i ncreasi ng the maxi mum
l i ft coeffi ci ents by 4 percent, al though the val ue of the
correcti on coul d not be defi ni tel y establ i shed because
i t appeared to be of the same order ns possi bl e errors
i n maxi mum l i ft measurements nnd predi cti ons for
tapered ai rfoi l s. The correcti on hns been appl i ed,
however, except i n the unusual cr i ses previ ousl y men-
ti oned where i t obvi ousl y was not appl i cabl e, by i n-
mxwi ng the maxi mum l i ft coeffi ci ents for the secti ons
by 4 percent. Wi th the rounded-ti p correcti on thi s
i ncrease makes the total maxi mum l i ft coeffi ci ent for
the section7 percent hi gher than the measured maxi mum
l i ft coeffi ci ent for the rectanguhw ai rfoi l of aspect rati o 6.
The correcti on of the i mportant ai rfoi l secti on para-
meter s has thus been compl eted, but the curve of pro-
fi l e-drag coeffi ci ent agai nst l i ft coeffi ci ent shoul d now
be modi .i i ed ruthi gh l i ft coeffi ci ents owi ng to the change
i n cl ~czand the vari ati on of Ca al ong the span. Com-
pl etel y corrected COcurves are not presented for the
vari ous ai rfoi l s i n thi s report. The change resul ti ng
from the vari ati on of Cq al ong the SI MUhm been ap-
2.8
2.6
2.4
2.2
2.0
/.8
o
tH+H
MEkEE-E
-8-404 8/2/620242832
i nfl uenced by the vari ati on of Ca al ong the span. A
reference to fi gure 26 wi l l show the rel ati on of these
successi ve approxi mati on to the ori gi nal measurements
and to the fi nal resul ts.
Turbul ence.-The correcti on for turbul ence i s made
as i n reference 9 by use of the concept of an effecti ve
Reynol ds Number. Marked scal e effects that have been
experi mental l y observed are usual l y associ ated wi th a
transi ti on from l ami nar to turbul ent fl ow-i n the boundary
l ayer. As exampl es, consi der the more or l ess sudden
i mcreasei n the drag coeffi ci ent for ski n-fri cti on pl ates
and ai rshi p model s and the drop of the drag coeffi ci ent
Angl e of at t ac k f ar i nf %i f e aspec f r of i o, % (degr ees)
~GWBE 26.-Airf0ll 5@h3n 0h81WbIiStkS
plied onl y i n a general way i n the constructi on of a
genmdi zed c~Ocurve. Fr om thi s curve, val ues of
C~Oat any c1may be deri ved i n ter ms of the presented
ai rfoi l secti on pamunetem. Thi s general i zed secti on
pol ar (see fi g. 45) was deri ved horn tests of rounded-
ti p N. A. C. A. 0012 and 4412 ai rfoi l s, taki ng i nto
account the vari ati on of c~Oal ong the span. l ?or con-
venti omd ai rfoi l s of medi um thi cl mess, cmvaks from
thi s general i zed secti on pol ar shoul d be more nearl y
true secti on characteri sti cs than the 0~0val ues obti ed
di rectl y from the test data. Thi s concl usi on i s parti cu-
l arl y i mportant for l i ft coeffi ci ents above 1 where the
second approxi mati on correcti on becomes defi ni tel y
unrel i abl e and near Cl _ where the cm vaka are
Imm
Ai r f bi l : N. A.C.A. 4412
1
I I I I I I I I
-.6 -.4 -.2 0 .2 .4 .6 .8 1.0 /.2 f.4 1.6 1.8 2.0
Secfti I I Tf c oef f i c i mf
Oompadmnd t he var i ousapprodmotkom
for spheres and cyl i nders wi ti i ncreasi ng Reynol ds
Numbers i n the cr i ti cal range. The l atter scal e effects
are associ ated wi th the greater r mi stmce to separati on
of the turbul ent l ayer. The i ncrease of maxi mum l i ft
coeffi ci ent wi th Reynol ds Number shown by most com-
monl y used ai rfoi l s i s a si mi l ar phenomenon. The drag
scal e effect for most ai rfoi l s, moreover, i s at l east com-
parabl e wi th the correspondi ng scal e effect for the ski n-
fri cti on pl ate.
Thi s i mmsi ti on from l ami nar to turbul ent fl ow i n the
boundary l ayer, as i n Reynol ds cl assi c experi ments, i s
pri mari l y a functi on of the Reynol ds Number but, as he
showed, the transi ti on i s hastened by the presence of
unsteadi ness or turbul ence i n the generi l ai r stream.
. . .. -.
Li kewi se, t h e transi ti on i n the boundary l ayer i s
hastened by the turbul ence i n the ai r stream of a wi nd
tunnel so that transi ti on occurs at a gi ven poi nt on the
model at a l ower Reynol ds Number i n the tunnel than
i t woul d i n free ai r. Li kewi se the associ ated scal e
effects that appear i n the tunnel tend to correspond
wi th those that woul d appear i n 3i ght at a hi gher
Reynol ds Number. Thi s Reynol ds Number may there-
fore be referred to as the effecti ve Reynol ds Number
and i s, of course, hi gher than the actual Reynol ds
Number of the test.
I t appeam that the effecti ve Reynol ds Number for
practi cal purposes may be obtai ned by mul ti pl yi ng the
i n passi ng from the test to the effecti ve Reynol ds
Number, moreover, i s approxi matel y al l owed for by
deducti ng a smal l correcti on i ncrement from the
measured ai rfoi l profi l e-drag coeffi ci ents.
Thi s correcti on i ncrement was ori gi nal l y empl oyed
for tests at hi gh val ues of the Reynol ds Number when
the boundary l ayer on an ai rfoi l i s l argel y turbul ent.
The correcti on was therefore esti mated aa the amount
by whi ch the drag coeffi ci ent representi ng the turbul ent
ski n fi cti on on a fl at pl ate woul d decrease i n passi ng
from ti e test Reynol ds Number to the effecti ve
Reynol ds Number. The val ues of the i ncrement thus
deduced from Prandtl s anal ysi s of the turbul ent
o
., . .
f f f ec f ~ve Reynolds #umber -
Fmum 27.-VdnLi0n of c+o.,. dth R. C%mprkon of N. L C. A. IKIIZ akfofl with skin-trfction plate%
test Reynol ds Number by a factor referred to as the
turbul ence factor. Thi s factor was determi ned
(reference 9) for the vari abl e-densi ty tunnel by a com-
pari son of ai rfoi l tests wi th tests i n the N. A. C. A.
ful l -scal e tunnel and hence i ndi rectl y wi th fl i ght. The
val ue 2.o4, whi ch was thus obtai ned after a consi dera-
ti on of sphere tests i n the ful l -scal e tunnel and i n fl i ght,
agrees wi th a subsequent determi nati on (reference 10)
by sphere tests i n the -i y&bl edensi ty tunnel that were
compared di rectl y wi th correspondi ng tests i n fl i ght.
An effeeti ve Reynol ds Number i s thus determi ned at
whi ch the tunnel resul ts shoul d, i n general , be appl i ed to
fl i ght. I &ht condi ti ons as regards the effects of the
transi ti on may then be consi dered as bei ng approxi -
matel y reproduced, but i t shoul d be remembered that
the fl ow at the l ower Reynol ds Number cannot exactl y
reproduce the correspondi ng fl ow i n &cht. Both the
I amhmr and turbul ent boundary l ayers are rel ati vel y
thi cker than those trul y correspondi ng to fl i ght and
both boundary l ayers have l @her ski n-fri cti on coeffi -
ci ents r i t the l ower Reynol ds Number. Neverthel ess
the most i mportant source of scal e effects i s taken
i nto account, at l east approxi matel y, when the tunnel
resul ts are appl i ed to fl i ght at the effecti ve Reynol ds
Number. The change i n ski n-fri cti on drag coeffi ci ents
fri cti on l ayer, whi ch i s substmti al l y i n agreement wi th
von K6rm&ns ori gi nal deri vati on, are as fol l ows:
~
m.am m&
d%%
$2g zffl~m . cm14
hx!ml . W11!4
3,m, m 7, m, cm .aoll
L
The objecti on mi ght be rai sed that the i ncrements
Ac~are based enti rel y on a turbul ent ski n-fri cti on l ayer
whereas the boundary l ayers on ai rfoi l s are actual l y
l ami nar over a consi derabl e part of the forward porti on,
parti cul arl y for the l ower val ues of the Reynol ds
Number. The Act correcti on was neverthel ess em-
pl oyed over the compl ete range of Reynol ds Numbers
for several reasons: pri nmri l y for si mpl i ci ty and con-
si stency, because i n the practi cal fl i ght range the
turbul ent l ayer predomi nates; and secondari l y because
on most ai rfoi l s the boundary l ayer must be turbul ent
over a consi derabl e part of the surface at any Reynol ds
Number suffi ci entl y hi gh to avoi d separati on. Refer-
ence to the corrected mi ni mum-drag resul ts for the
N. A. C. A. 0012 secti on shown i n fi gure 27 may
G
AI RFOI L SECTI ON OHARACTERI STI OSAS AFFECTEDBY VARI ATI ONSOF THE REYNOLDSNUMBER 247
ckify these statements. I ncl uded i n the fi gure are
curves representi ng the vmi ati ons wi th Reynol ds
Number of fl at-pl ate drag coeffi ci ents for l ami nar and
turbul ent boundary l ayem and the Prandtl -Gebers
trartai ti oncurve, whi ch represents a computed vari ati on
substanti al l y i n agreement wi th Gebers measurements
of the actual vari ati on i n drag coeffi ci ent for a fl at pl ate
towed. i n water at vari ous Reynol ds Numbers. The
computed curve i s the resul t of a cal cul ati on of the
average drag coeffi ci ent for the pl ate when the forward
part of the boundmy l ayer i s l ami nar and the after
part turbul ent and the transi ti on i s assumed to take
pl ace at r tfi ed val ue of the surface-di stance Reynol ds
Number R=. I t i s apparent that the ai rfoi l curve tends
ta paral l el the actual fl at-pl ate curve throughout the
fl i ght range of val ues of the Reynol ds Number.
I n references 11 and 12 correspondi ng curves were
presented for a very. thi n ai rfoi l secti on. These resul ts
were uncorrected for the turbul ence i n the tunnel and
hence, al though they appear to paral l el a transi ti on
curve l i ke the present corrected resul ts, the transi ti on
curve does not correspond to zero turbul ence, or i l i ght,
but i s di spl ttced to the l eft. The correcti on i ncrement
coul d have been based on the di fference between these
two transi ti on curves for fl at pl ates, the one cal cul ated
for the tunnel and the other cal cul ated for fl i ght con-
di ti ons. Such a correcti on i ncrement woul d have
been sl i ghtl y di fferent from the one actual l y empl oyed,
parti cul arl y i n the range of the Reynol ds Number
bel ow the fl i ght range, owi ng to l arger drag reducti ons
i n the huni nar part of the boundary l ayer i n passi ng
to the hi gher Reynol ds Number. Both the test
resul ts for the N. A. C. A. 0012 (fi g. 27) and theoreti cal
ccdcul ati ons for the same ai rfoi l by the method of
reference 13 i ndi cate, however, that sepmati on must
occur as the Reynol ds Number i s reduced even i n the
case of thi s excel l entl y streaml i ned form at zero l i ft.
Tho sepmati on i s i ndi cated by the abnormal i ncrease
of the drag coeffi ci ent shown by the experi mental
resul ts bel ow a Reynol ds Number of 800,000. Thi s
separati on may r tt fi r st be a l ocal phenomenon, the
fl ow subsequentl y changi ng to turbti ent and cl osi ng
i n agai n cl ownstream from the separati on poi nt. I n
any case i t i s apparent that the fl ow wi l l ei ther be to
r L consi derabl e extent turbul ent or wi l l sepmate so
that a correcti on i ncrement baa~d mai nl y on a l ami nar
I nyer woul d have l i ttl e si gni fi cance.
The appl i ed correcti on i ncrement based on the
turbul ent l ayer i s thus justi fi abl e aa bei ng conserva-
ti ve over the fl i ght range of the Reynol ds Number
and the i nfl uences not consi dered i n i ts deri vati on
wi l l henceforth be consi dered as sources of error i n
tl m experi mental resul ts. Admi ttedl y i t woul d be of
i nterest to gi ve further consi derati on to the resul ts i n
the range of Reynol ds Number I W1OWthe usual fl i ght
range where the i nfl uences of extensi ve l ami nar bound-
ary l ayers and separati on are of pri mary i mportance,
3sG4s-~17
but the rel ati vel y poor experi rmmi xdaccuracy of the
test data for th~e l ow Reynol ds Numbem and the
l ack of practi cal appl i cati ons tend to di scourage an
extensi ve anal ysi s of the l ow-scal e data.
The accuracy of the fi nal resul ts as appl i ed to fl i ght
i s best judged horn a compari son of the resul ts wi th
those from the N. A. C. A. ful l -scal e tunnel . Such
compari sons have been made i n references 9 and 10.
The agreement for both the maxi mum l i ft and mi ni mum
drag for the Cl ark Y i s easi l y wi thi n the accuracy of the
experi ments. l ?or the other ai rfoi l for whi ch a compmi -
son i s possi bl e, the N. A. C. A. 23012, the resul ts show
si mi l ar sati sfactory agreement formti urn l i ft, wi thi n
4 percent, and for the drag coeffi ci ent at zero l i ft,
Wi thi n 5 percent. The pol ar curve of the proi i l e-drag
coeffi ci ents horn the ful l -scal e tunnel , however, tended
to show a marked drop for a smal l range of l i ft coeffi -
ci ents near that for mi ni mum profi l e drag. Al though
the same phenomenon was apparent from the vari abl e-
densi ty-tunnel tests, i t was l csa marked. The fact that
the mi ni mum drag shown by the ful l -scal e-tunnel test
was 17 percent l ower than shown by the vari abl e-
densi ty-tunnel test thus appears l ess s~cant than i t
otherwi se woul d. Furthermore, i t mi ght be expected
that thi s l o&ed di p i n the proi i l e-drag curve woul d
tend to di sappear at the hi gher Reynol ds Numbers
common to fl i ght at l ow l i ft coeffi ci ents. I n spi te of the
fact that the above-menti oned ~erence between the
resul ts i s but sl i ghtl y outsi de the l i mi t of possible
experi mental errors, the di fference does tend to show
how much the turbul ence correcti ork appl i ed to the
vari abl e-densi ty-tunnel data may be i n error, parti cu-
l arl y for a condi ti on l i ke the one consi dered for whi ch
rather extensi ve l ami nm boundary l ayers may be
present. Comparati vel y hi gh vel oci ti es over the l i ft-
i ng ai rfoi l as contrasted wi th the fl at pl ate may al so
tend to i ncrea~e the val ue of the correcti on i ncrement
so that al l these consi derati ons are i n agreement i n
i ndi cati ng that the correcti on i ncrement appl i ed may be
consi derabl y too conservati ve i n some i nstances, par-
ti cuhdy for the l ower range of fl i ght Reynol ds. Num-
bers. The greatest uncertai nty, however, i n regard to
the appl i cati on of the drag data to fl i ght i s due to the
possi bi l i ty that under certai n favorabl e condi ti ons i n
fl i ght, correspondi ng to very smooth surfaces and to
practi cal l y zero turbul ence, the transi ti on may be
I Sfnce the writfng of thLs rapertj the results of mm~tfve esmrfments made fn
the lm turbulent Britfsh C. A. T. on the N. A. O. A. MM afrfofl have ceme to the
attention of the authors. For the model tith the mast mrefoIN 13nfsbed mrfac%
the rrmdta do show lower drasa 0V81 the 10WI2TrarI@ of flkht Roynelds Numbers
than the dati fn tbh ropofi
Stifl mom rmntly the IWZIM of M fmm England and QwmanY at medorately
kge Reynolds Numbers have added furth suPr@rt b the MIMMOII that tie
cnrredon fncremanh applied hmeln am tm @ Fmtbermm m indfratod
by the fomgelng dkcmsfeq the fnemmants shenld probably ~ with the afrfofl
tbkknms or drag. Fer axampl% b3ttar agmmmant is obtafned ff, M&ad of the
Inmamant O.fnll .mbtracted fmm the muml farge+de proffle-dmg rasnlt.% a mr-
redfen u a factor applied to the mwnmd pmffle drag k amplo~. This fati
LsO.M, rusimIlar&dotmmfnM fmm the flat plate with eempletaly turbnlent bennd-
nry layer. Final eonrdnsfons, however, must await fnrthm information on the tran-
sition as It aetnally owm9 in llfght.
abnormal l y del ayed. For exampl e, Dryden (reference
14) found very l arge val ues of R=correspondi ng to
transi ti on on a fl at pl ate. The condi ti ons are remi -
ni scent of those of supersaturati on i n sol uti ons. Fol -
l owi ng thi s anal ogy, i t may be i mpossi bl e ta set an
upper l i mi t of R above whi ch transi ti on must occur.
Unusual l y l ow drags woul d, of course, be associ ated
wi th the presence of thi s type of abnormal l y extensi ve
kuni nar boundaq l ayer; but, whi l e thi s possi bi l i ty
shoul d be recogni zed, i t i s probabl e that i n most prac-
ti cal appl i cati ons, condi ti ons such as sl i ght surface
i rregul ari ti es,vi brati on, or sel f-i nduced fl ow fl uctuati ons
wi l l operate agai nst i t. The present resul ts may there-
fore be used i n &aht cal cul ati ons aa conservati ve for
wi ngs that are not aerodpami cal l y rough.
VARIATION OF IMPORTANT SECTION CHARACPEWTI~ WITE
REYNOLDS NUMBER
Maxi mnm l i ft aoeffl ci ent cti -The maxi mum l i ft
coe5ci ent i s one of the most i mportant properti es of the
ai rfoi l secti on. I t l argel y determi nes not onl y the max-
i mum l i ft coafl i ci ent of wi ngs and hence the stal l i ng
speed of ai rpl anes but al so, for exampl e, i nfl uancw how
and where tapered wi ngs stal l and hence the character
of the stal l i n rel ati on to l ateral stabi l i ~ and dampi ng
i n rol l . The maxi mum l i ft cmfl i ci ent, moreover, i n-
di cates the useful l i ft range of the secti on and tends to
defi ne the nature of the vari ati on of proi i l e drag wi th
l i ft. Fi nal l y, the mti um l i ft coeffi ci ent i s the i m-
portant aerodynami c characteri sti c that usual l y shows
the l argest scal e effects
I t i s not sur pr i si i to fi d l arge vari ati ons of c*_
wi th Reynol ds Number because c- i s dependent en-
ti rel y on the boundary-l ayer behati or, whi ch i n turn i s
di rectl y a functi on of vi scosi ~ as i ndi cated by the
vahe of the Reynol ds Number. I n other words, po-
tenti al -fl ow theory al one i s total l y i ncapabl e of any pre-
di cti ons concerni ng the val ue of c-
The fol l owi ng di scussi on traces the mechani sm of the
stal l wi th n vi ew to reachi ng an understandi ng of how
the stal l ,and consequentl y the maxi mum l i ft, i s rdl ected
by vari ati ons of the Reynol ds Number. Basi cal l y, the
di scussi on i s concerned mai nl y wi th ai r-fl ow separati on.
The pressure di stri buti on over the upper surface of the
conventi onal ai rfoi l secti on at l i ft coeffi ci ents i n the
nei ghborhood of the maxi mum i s characteri zed bj a
l ow-pressurepoi nt at a smal l di stance behi nd the l eadi ng
edge and by i ncreasi ng pressures from thi s poi nt i n the
di recti on of fl ow to the trai l i ng edge. Undar these
con&i ons the reduced-energy ai r i n the boundary l ayer
may fai l to progress agai nst the pressure gradi ent.
When thi s ai r fai l s to progr- al ong the surface, i t
accumul ates. The accumul ati ng ai r thereby produces
separati on of the mai n fl ow. The separati on, of course,
reduces the l i ft.
Whether or not sepmati on wi l l devel op i s dependent
on the resi stance to separati on of the boundary l ayer.
The turbul ent l ayer di spl ays much more resi stxmceto
separati on than the l ami nar boundrq l ayer. Thi s
dependence of separati on on the character of the bound-
aqy-l ayer fl ow was fi r st observed i n sphere-drag tests.
At l ow Reynol ds Nnmbem separati on of the boundary
l ayer devel ops near the equator of the sphere. When
theboundaryl ayer on the spherei s made turbul ent, how-
ever, as i t i s when the Reynol ds Number i s suffi ci entl y
i ncreased, the separati on shi fts to a posi ti on consi derabl y
aft.
The occurrence of separati on for ai rfoi l s, as ai fected
by the transi ti on from l ami nar to turbul ent fl ow i n the
bonndq l ayer, i s i ndi cated by the scal e effects on
c,- (fi g. 28) for symmetri cal secti ons of varji ng thi ck-
ness. For these ai rfoi l s at any consi derabl e l i ft coeffi -
ci ent the l ow-pressure poi nt on the upper surface tends
to occur just bebi nd the nose, on the l eadi ng-edge-radi us
porti on of the ai rfoi l . When the boundary l ayer i s
I ami nar behi nd thi s poi nt, separati on may be expected
Ef f ec f i ve Reynol ds Number
FIIWEE 23.-%3tlon nmximmn Mft mffkdenk cr.- SymmetricsJ akfolh of vorshu
thieknm
to occur very qui ckl y behi nd or ahnost at the l ow-
pres.surepoi nt owi ng to the presence of l arge adverse
pressure gradi ents. I n fact, the von K&rn6n-Mi l l i kan
method of cal cul ati ng the i nci pi ent separati on poi nt
for l ami nar boundary l ayers (reference 13) has been
appl i ed by Mi l l i kan to esti mate the posi ti on of the
separati on poi nt and al so i ts rel ati on to the tran-
si ti on poi nt as i t i s assumed to i nfl uence the scal e effect
on the maxi mum l i ft coeffi ci ent. The number and char-
acter of the assumpti ons i nvol ved i n such an anal ysi s,
however, are such that the resul ts may be expected to
yi el d onl y qual i tati ve predi cti ons. El aborate cal cul a-
ti ons i n such cases are of doubtful necessi ty as i ndi cated
by the fact that qual i tati ve predi cti ons, perhaps more
rel i abl e, had previ ousl y been reached wi thout them.
(See references 12, 15, and 16.) Exact methods of
cal cul ati on are unquesti onabl y desi rabl e but are defi -
ni tel y not a matter for the present but for a ti me when
much more experi mental data concerni ng both separa-
ti on and transi ti on shal l have been secured.
AI RFOI L SECTI ON CHARACTERI STI C AS AFFECTEDBY VARI ATI ONSOF THE REYNOLDSNUMBER 249
For the present di scussi on i t i s suffi ci ent to consi der
that, i f the boundary l ayer remai ns l ami nar, separati on
wi l l occur very cl ose behi nd the l ow-pressure poi nt on
the upper surface. I nci dental l y, the aotual separati on
poi nt i s espected, i n general , to be forward of the cal cu-
l ated i nci pi ent separati on poi nt; that i s, nearer the
l ow-pressure poi nt. I t shoul d not, however, be assumed
that the occurrence of separati on defi nes the maxi -
mum l i ft coeffi ci ent. For exampl e, at very l ow Rey-
nol ds Numbers, separati on on the N. A. C. A. 0012
ai rfoi l occurs even at zero l i ft, whi ch on thi s assumpti on
woul d dei i ne zero as the maxi mum l i ft. Moti on
pi ctures have been made showi ng the ai r fl ow and
separati on for ai rfoi l s at l ow val ues of the Reynol ds
Number. Three photographs from the smoke tunnel
me i ncl uded M fi gures 29, 30, and 31 to i ndi cate the
posi ti on and character of the l am.i nar separati on for a
cambered ai rfoi l . The fi r st two pi ctures show wel l -
devel oped separati on even at zero angl e of attack; the
thi rd shows how I ami nar separati on occurs just bebi nd
the nose at hi gher angl es of attack.
FIOIJBE !N.-Safuratfon oomrrfng on an af r f of lat n l ow angl eof attack.
I t i s thus apparent that separati on of the l ami nar
boundary l ayer wi l l al ways be present at a poi nt near
the nose at any moderatdy hi gh l i ft coeffi ci mt i f the
Reynol ds Number i s not suffi ci entl y hi gh to make the
fl ow turbul ent at that poi nt. Thi s condi ti on certai nl y
exi sts for the resul ts i n fi gure 28 over the l ower range
of the Reynol ds Number; that i s, separati on near the
nose must have occurred at angl es of attack wel l bel ow
that of C~m= owing to the very smal l Reynol ds Number
associ ated wi th the short di stance from the nose to the
l runi mr separati on poi nt. I n thi s range of R the Ck
w-dues are of the order of 0.8 and change l i ttl e wi th
ei ther R or the secti on thi cl mws. (See fi g. 28. ) Thi s
val ue of Cl m=corresponds approxi matel y to that for a
fl at pl ate.
Fl ow consi der the character of the fl ow as the Rey-
nol ds Number i s i ncreased. The effects are shown very
cl earl y by a compari son of fi gure 29 and fi gure 30.
Fi gure 30 corresponds to a hi gher Reynol ds Number and
shows turbul ence formi ng at &transi ti on poi nt al ong
the separated boundary l ayer behi nd the l mnar sepa-
rati on poi nt. l kci dental l y, i t shoul d be remembered
that the transi ti on poi nt i s not real l y a poi nt but i s a
more or l ess extended and fl uctuati ng regi on i n whi ch
the l ami nar l ayer i s progressi vel y changi ng to the ful l y
FIGURE ?J1.-Sop+fon @mrrfng on an afrfoff at a low angle of attaok (13g. 29) but
at an fnmmsed Reynolds Nnnhr.
devel oped turbul ent l ayer. Thi s transi ti on regi on now
moves forward toward the separati on poi nt as the
Reynol ds Number i s further i ncreased. The formati on
of turbul ence resul ts i n a thi ckeni ng of the boundary
l ayer between the dead ai r and the ove~ g fl ow
unti l the turbul ent mi xi ng extands practi cal l y to the
ai rfoi l surface. The separated fl ow. may then be con-
si dered reestabl i shed. Thi s proccs woul d l eave a bubbl e
of dead ai r between the separati on poi nt and the
transi ti on regi on, the exi stence of whi ch was predi cted
several years ago. Subsequentl y Jones and I ?arren
(reference 17) have actual l y observed thi s phenomenon.
As the Reynol ds Number i s further i ncreased, the
transi ti on regi on progresses toward the l eadi ng edge,
approachi ng the regi on of the l ami mr separati on poi nt.
Consi der now, for exampl e, the fl ow about the N. A.
C. A. 0012 at a val ue of R in the nei ghborhood of Rc,
the cr i ti cal Reynol ds Number, where the maxi mum l i ft
FIIXTFLB31.fMmratfon ccaurtng on an afrfoff at a high angle of attsck
i ncreases rapi dl y wi th R. As shown i n fi gure 28, crm~=
for the N. A. C. A. 0012 begi ns to i ncrease rapi dl y wi th
R at approxi matel y R,= 1,000,000. Ckmsi dertherefore
two fl ows, one at R.=1,000,000 just at the atti tude of
cI ma,and the other at the same atti tude but at a hi gher
4
-. ., ?- L. . .. _____
effecti ve Reynol ds Number, say 1,750,000. l ?or the
former, separati on i s probabl y occurri ng near the l ow-
pressure poi nt, but the turbul ence i s formi ng cl osel y
enough behi nd the separati on poi nt so that the fl ow
over the upper surface i s partl y reestabl i shed. An
i ncrease of angl e of attack fai l s to i ncrease the l i ft,
however, because the turbul ence i s formi ng so l ate that
the l ocnl separati on and i ts resul ti ng adveme effect on
the thi ckeni ng or separati on of the turbul ent -l ayer
farther aft prevent a further gai n of l i ft. Now as the
Reynol ds Number i s i ncreased the transi ti on reggon
moves to a posi ti on nearer the separati on poi nt, the
estent of the separated reggon i s reduced and, as shown
by reference to i i .gure3, C. at the same angl e of attack
i s i ncreased from 0.85 to 1.05 (for the approxi matel y
correspondi ng test Reynol ds Numbers of 330,000 and
660,000). Furthermore, the smgl e of attack may now
be i ncreased unti l CLreaches 1.1 before the fl ow fol l ow-
i ng the upper surface fai l s. The fai l ure now occurs
f i QURE32. - S+cti On maxi mumI l f t Mdenk c,- Camlwr and tldckness SE&U.
suddenl y, caus~~ a break i n the l i ft curve, but agai n
may be del ayed by a further i ncrease of the Reynol ds
Number. -
I n such cases the scal e effect evi dentl y vari es wi th
the shape of the nose of the ai rfoi l . I f the l eadi hg-edge
radi us i s reduced by maki ng the ai rfoi l thi nner, the
l ocal Reynol ds Number for the separati on poi nt or the
transi ti on regi on, ei ther .R~based on boundary-l ayer
thi ckness or R. based on the di stance al ong the surface,
i s reduced wi th respect to R because the l ocal di men-
si ons near the nose me reduced wi th respect to the ai r-
foi l chord. Hi gher val ues of R are therefore requi red
. to reach the cr i ti cal B. or Radues i n tho nei ghborhood
of the nose. Thi s resul t i s i ndi cated by the hi gher
cr i ti cal Reynol ds Number R. for the N. A. C. A. 0009
than for the N. A. C. A. 0012, m show-n i n fi gure 28.
Li kewi se, the 15 and 18 percent thi ck ai rfoi l s show
progressi vel y l ower val ues of R. than the N. A. C. A.
0012, but the cr i ti cal range tends to di sappear as the
thi ckness i s i ncreased.
*
The range of R is lim it e d by the wi nd tunnel so that
i n most i nstances the scal e effect above the cr i ti cr d
range coul d not be determi ned. I t i s probabl e, how-
ever, that the hi ghest maxi mum l i ft coeffi ci ents are
reached when the Reynol ds Number corresponds to
the occurrence of ful l y devel oped turbul ence practi cal l y
at the l ami nar separati on poi nt but that thi s condi ti on
occurs above the hi ghest Reynol ds Numbers reached
exwpt possi bl y for the thi ckest ai rfoi l , N. A. C. A. 0018.
Hi gh l ocal Reynol ds Numbers at the l mni r mr separa-
ti on poi nt coul d, however, be reached by empl oyi ng o
thi ck, hi ghl y cambered ai rfoi l . The N. A. C. A. 8318
ai rfoi l was i ncl uded for thi s reason. The resul ts (see
i i g. 32) i ndi cate, as expected, a very l ow cr i ti cal Rey-
nol ds Number. Wi th i ncreasi ng Reynol ds Number,
c%= r i ses to a maxi mum at R=900,000 and then fal l s
off sl owl y. b thi s i nstance, at the hi ghest Reynol ds
Numbers transi ti on probabl y occure ahead of any poi nt
at whi ch l ami nar separati on coul d occur. The mmi -
00
Fmrmrz33.-Swti0n mdmmn IUt Mt3111alent, ct.- Oamlx EarWl
mum l i ft coeffi ci ent must therefore be determi ned by
the behavi or of the turbul ent l ayer. The si gni fi cant
concl usi on i s that Cl m=then decreases wi th i ncromi ng
R. Another &ni .&mt observati on i s that under these
condi ti ons stal l i ng i s progressi ve as i ndi cated by tho
rounded l i f&curve peaks i n fi gure 11. Thi s type of
stal l i ng corresponds to a progressi ve separati on or
thi ckeni ng of the turbul ent l ayer i n the regi on of the
trai l i ng edge.
The process of stal l i ng i n general i s more compl ex
than ei ther of the two di sti nct processes just di scussed,
[t has been compared by Jones (reference 17) to ~
contest between kun.i nar separati on near the nose and
turbul ent separati on near the trai l i ng edge, one or the
Dther wi nni ng and thus produci ng the stal l . Actual l y
i t appears from these scal e-effect data that, for com-
monl y used ai rfoi l s at a hi gh Reynol ds Number, the
forward separati on usual l y wi ns but that i t i s l argel y
wndi ti oned and brought about by the thi ckeni ng or
~eparati on of the turbul ent boundary l ayer near the
trai l i ng edge, whi ch, i n turn, may be l argel y i nfl uenced
by the l ocal separati on near the l eadi ng edge. The
reasons for these statements wi l l become cl ear from the
consi derati on of the scal e effects for the di fferent types
of ai l foi l .
Consi der fi r st the maxi mum l i ft of the conventi onal
type of cambered ai rfoi l . Where stal l i ng i s determi ned
l argel y by separati on near the l eadi ng edge, the maxi -
mum l i ft woul d be expected to be a functi on of the
curvature near the l eadi ng edge and al so a functi on of
the mean camber because the effect of the camber i s to
add n more or l ess uni forml y di stri buted l oad al ong
the chord. At some angl e of attack above that of zero
l i ft the fl ow over the nose part of the cambwed ai rfoi l
ttpproxi nmtes that over the nose of the correspondi ng
symmetri cal rLi rfoi .1at zero l i ft. Thi s correspondence
of fl ows at the l eadi ng edges between the symmetri cal
and cambered ai rfoi l s conti nues as the angl es of attack
of both are i ncreaaed. I f the stal l i ng were determi ned
l argel y by the fl ow near the nose, the two ai rfoi l s woul d
stal l at the same ti me, but the l i ft of the cambered
ai rfoi l woul d be hi gher than that of the symmetri cal
ai rfoi l by the amount of the i ni ti al l i ft i ncrement.
Reference to fi gure 33 shows that thi s expected change
of Cl m wi th camber i s approxi matel y that shown by
the resul ts from tests i n the l ower range of the Reynol ds
Number. At hi gh Reynol ds Numbers, however, the
chrmge of cl - wi th camber i s much smal l er than woul d
be expected i f the stal l were control l ed onl y by condi -
ti ons near the l eadi ng edge. On the other hand, some
of the cambered ai rfoi l s show a sudden l oss i n l i ft at
the maxi mum i ndi cati ng that separati on i s occurri ng
near the l eadi ng edge but, as the camber i s i ncreased,
tho l i ft curves become rounded. (See fi gs. 6,7, and 8.)
I ?or the N. A. C. A. 2412, whi ch shows a sharp break
i n l i ft at the maxi mum but a smal l gai n i n Cb due to
camber at the hi gh Reynol ds Numbem, the boundmy-
I ayer thi ckeni ng or turbul ent separati on must become
pronounced near the trai l i ng edge at the hi gher Rey-
nol ds Numbers before the fl ow breakdown occurs near
the l eadi ng edge. Thi s al terati on of the fl ow resul ts
i n hi gher angl es of attack for a gi ven l i ft and con-
sequentl y more severe fl ow condi ti ons over the nose of
the ai rfoi l . These fl ow condi ti ons, whi ch real l y ori gi -
nate near the hai l i ng edge, thus bri ng about the fl ow
breakdovm near the l eadi ng edge that fi nal l y produces
the actual stal l . I t must not, however, be concl uded
that more gradual l y roundi ng I i .Wcurve peaks wi th i n-
creasi ng R shoul d be the resul t; actual l y, the opposi te
i s usual l y true (e. g., fi gs. 6, 7, and 8). The expl ana-
ti on i s probabl y that i ncreasi ng the Reynol ds Number
reduces the extent of the l ocal separati on near the
l oadi ng edge, whi ch i .nfl uenccs the boundary-l ayer
thi ckeni ng near the trai l i ng edge, at l east unti l the
transi ti on regi on reache9 the separati on poi nt. That
Cl ma= conti nues to be i nfl uenced by the fl ow condi ti ons
nem the l eadi ng edge, even for hi ghl y cambered sec-
ti ons, i s shown by the fact that the cr i ti cal Reynol ds
Number i s l i ttl e affected by i ncreasi ng the camber to
that of the ~. A. C. A. 6412 i n spi te of the fact that
the actual gai n i n c~ throughout the cr i ti cal range
becomes l ess for the more hi ghl y cambered ai rfoi l s.
Thi s concl usi on i s an i mportant one because i t can be
extended to predi ct that the cr i ti cal Reynol ds hTumber
wi l l not be affected by fl aps and other hi gh-l i ft devi ces
pl aced near the trai l i ng edge, whi ch act much l i ke a
camber i ncrease.
I Et
3.0
2.8
2.6
$
f/ ectfx/ @l I I
I I
$ 1.8
$.
I I
El
11111 I I 1111111111
i:
.2
/2 m
Ef f ec t i ve Reynolds Number
FmuEE34.-Swtlon maxlnmm M @den& CI- AJrfolls wltb and without flaw
Reference to fi gure 34 shows the correctness of thi s
concl usi on. I t wi l l be noted, moreover, that each scal e-
effect curve representi ng an ai rfoi l wi th a spl i t fl ap tends
to pdel the corresponding curve for the same ai rfoi l
wi thout a fl ap. The spl i t fl ap thus si mpl y adds an i n-
crement to the maxi mum l i ft wi thout otheti e chang-
i ng the character of the scal e effect. I n thi s respect the
behavi or wi th the fl ap di fl ers from the behavi or wi th
i ncreasi ng camber. Wi th the spl i t fl ap, the di stri buti on
of prewures over the upper surface i 9 apparentl y not
affected i n such a way as to i ncrease the tendency
toward trai l i ng-edge stal l .i ag, otherwi se the scal e-effect
vari ati ons woul d not be si mi l ar wi th and wi thout the
fl aps. I nci dental l y, i t i s -of i nterest to note that the
maxi mum l i ft i ncrement due to the spl i t fl ap i s not
i ndependent of the ai rfoi l secti on shape but, for ex-
ampl e, i ncreases wi th the secti on thi ckness. (Cf. the
N. A. C. A. 230 seri es, wi th and wi thout spl i t fl aps,
tabl e I .)
As regards fl rLpsother than spl i t fl aps, recent tests
have shown that the maxi mum l i fts attai nabl e are ap-
proxi matel y equal for ei ther the ordi nary or the spl i t
fl ap. Thi s resul t mi ght have been expected because the
resul ts of references 18 and 19 had i ndi cated that the
fl ow does not fol l ow the upper surface of an ordi nary
fl ap except for smal l angl es of fl ap defl ecti on. I t shoul d
therefore make l i ttl e di .threncewhether or not the upper
surface of the fl ap i s defl ected wi th the l ower. Further-
more, the same reasoni ng n@ht be appl i ed to predi ct
the effects of camber, when the mean l i ne i s of such a
shape that the maxi mum camber occurs near the trai l -
i ng edge so that the separati on associ ated wi th i ncreas-
i ng camber i s l ocal i zed i n thi s regi on. Thus i t mi ght
have been predi cted that the scal e effect as shown i n
fi awre35 for the N. A. C. A. 6712 ai rfoi l woul d be more
l i ke that of an ai rfoi l wi th a spl i t fl ap than l i ke that of
the usual @pe of cambered ai rfoi l .
Another i mportant concl usi on can be deduced from
the resul ts i n @gum 35 showi ng the scal e effects for ai r-
foi l s havi ng vari ous mean-l i ne shapes. When a mean-
l i ne shape l i ke that of the I T. A. C. A. 23012 i s em-
2.0
!
~- /.e
*.
C 1.6
:$
.. /.
$-:H=Pw+##
I I l l
, ,
1-1-1
0012
~ .4
titi-t .W:w;fi !!
$
~ .2
exfernof-airfodflopsef of-3
I I 1111
I 1111
I
- Io%,ooo
, , , , , , , , ,
.411
I
2 3 4 .56@ O0,000 2 3 4 5:0, O;amo
Effecfwe Reynolds Number
~OVRE W..%dhn mnximnm lift aamdenk cl- AIrfom with Vaiious mean-
Iine *P
pl oyedtl mt i s, one havi qg marked curvature near the
nose and a forward camber posi ti on-the efhct i s to
al ter the condi ti ons of the l eadi ng-edge stal l . The cr i ti cal
Reynol ds NJumber i s thus shi fted to the l eft and the
general character of the scal e effect becomes more l i ke
that of the usual ai rfoi l of 15 i nsti of 12 percent
thi ckness.
The opposi te effect on the nose stal l i s shown i n @e
36 where the cr i ti cal Reynol ds ~umber i s shi fted to the
ri ght by decreasi ng the l eadi ng-edge radi us, that i s, by
changi qg from the I N. A. C. A. 23012 secti on to the
2301233. Thus i t appeam, i n genend, that the charac-
ter of the cl - scal e effect, parti cul arl y i n rel ati on to
the val ue of the cr i ti cal Reynol ds ~umber, depends
mai nl y on the shape of the ai rfoi l near the l eadi ng edge.
The two remai ni ng ai rfoi l s not covered by the previ -
ous di scussi on (fi g. 37) have sl otted hi gh-l i ft devi ces.
Both the Cl ark Y ai rfoi l wi th Handl ey l %ge sl ot and
the ai rfoi l wi th external -ai rfoi l fl ap show unusual scal e
effects. The ai rfoi l wi th Handl ey I ?age sl ot shows an
i ncreasi ng c1= throughout the Reynol ds Number
range but shows a pecul i ar change i n the character of
the stal l i n the ful l -scal e range near l ?,=3,000,000.
(See al so @. 24.) The ai rfoi l wi th the external -ai rfoi l
fl ap shows a break i n the scal e-effect curve. Two
val ues of cl = were measured for the condi ti on corre-
spondi ng to RC=1,700,000 (fi g. 23, test R=645,000),
one l i ft curve havi ng a sharp break at the maxi mum
and the other bei ng rounded. I t i s bel i eved that the
change i s associ ated wi th the acti on of the sl ot at the
nose of the external -ai rfoi l fl ap. I t i s parti cul arl y
i ntarwti ng because i t represents one of the casea men-
ti oned under the i nterpretati on of the wi nd-tunnel
data for whi ch the fai l ure of the tunnel fl ow to repro-
duce exactl y at the effecti ve Reynol ds Number the
correspondi ng fl ow i n fl i ght becomes of practi cal i m-
portance. A compari son of these tests wi th twta i n
the 7- by 10-foot tunnel (reference 5) i ndi cated that
mch scal e effects may be due pri mari l y to the acti on
000
FImm 36.-E+dI0n mdmnm lift emffident, CI.P Thiokn@&MIp3 vatinttono
of the sl ot as affected by the boundary-l ayer thi ckness
rel ati ve to the sl ot wi dth, whi ch i s a functi on of both
the test and the effecti ve Reynol ds Number, rather
than to the transi ti on from l ami nar to turbul ent fl ow.
When i nterpreted on the basi s of the test rather thcm
the effecti ve Reynol ds Number as regards the occur-
rence of the break i n the l ow Reynol ds Number range,
better agreement wi th the r cmdts from the vari abl e-
densi ty tunnel was obtai ned. On thi s basi s the di s-
conti nui ty shown i n fi gnre 37 as occurri ng at R,=
1,700,000 woul d be expected to occur i n fl i ght at a con-
si derabl y l ower Reynol ds Number outti de the usual
f@ht range.
Wi th regard to cl = scal e effect9 for conventi ontd
types of ai rfoi l s, i t now appears i n the l i ght of the
precedi ng di scussi on that a posi ti on haa been reached
from whi ch the scal e effects appear rati onal l and suf-
fi ci entl y regul ar and systemati c so that general scal e-
effect correcti ons may be gi ven for such ai rfoi l s. Thi s
posi ti on represents a marked advance. I n n l ater
AI RFOI L SECTI ON CHARACTERI STI CSAS AFFECTEDBY VARI ATI ONSOF THE REYNOLDS NUMBER
secti on of thi s report such general i zed scal e+i fect cor-
recti ons for cl ~~%are presented for engi neeri ng uses.
Li ft vari ati on near cl _.The vari ati on of the l i ft
near the maxi mum as i ndi cated by the shape of the
l i ft curve i s of some i mportance because i t often ai fects
the character of the stal l and the correspondi ng l ateral
control and stabi l i ty of the ti pl ane i n fl i ght. The
character of the stal l for the ai rfoi l s may be i nferred
approxi matel y from the precedi ng di scussi on of c~=
and i s i ndi cated by the l i ft curves i n fi gures 2 to 24.
The moderatel y thi ck symmetri cal ai rfoi l s i n the cr i ti cal
or fl i ght range of R show sudden l osses of l i ft beyond
the masi mum. Effi ci ent ai rfoi l s of moderab thi cl mess
and camber, for exampl e, N. A. C. A. 2412 and 23012,
l i kewi se usual l y show sudden break i n the l i ft curve
at the maxi mum for the hi gher Reynol ds Numbers.
When the i nfl uence of t@l i ng-edge stal l i ng becomes
suffi ci entl y marked as i t does wi th ai rfoi l s N. A. C. A.
4412 and 6412, the breaks i n the l i ft curves di sappear
and the l i ft curve becomes rounded at the maxi mum.
I t i s i nteresti ng to note that bre+i ksoccur at compara-
ti vel y l ow val ues of the Reynol ds Number for the
N. A. C. A. 8318. I n thi scase the breaks appear i n
the cr i ti cr d range of R, where cr i ti cal l eadi ng-edge
stal l i ng occurs, and di sappear at hi gher and l ower Rey-
nol ds Numbers. (See @gs. 11 and 32.)
Li ft-curve sl ope ~.The scal e effects for aO are
represented i n i l gure 38. I t wi l l be noted that, wi thi n
the ful l -scal e range, the ai rfoi l s show l i ttl e vari ati on of
~ wi th ei ther ai rfoi l shape or wi th R. In thisrange
most of the ai rfoi l s show a sl i ght tendency toward
i ncreasi ng ~ wi th R but, for engi neeri ng purposes, the
vari ti ti on of ~ may usual l y be consi dered negl i gi bl e
wi thi n the fl i ght range. The l i ft-curve sl ope, l i ke
several of the other secti on characteri sti cs., begi ns to
di spl ay abnormal vari ati ons bel ow a Reynol ds Number
of approxi matel y 800,000. For the l owest val ues of R
the l i ft curves often became so di stor ted that l i ft-curve
sl opes were not determi ned. (See fi gs. 2 to 24.)
bgl e of zero l i ft al O.-Scsl e-effect vari ati ons of
a10are represented i n fi gure 39. The concl usi ons wi th
respect to thi s characteri sti c are al most the same as
for the l i ft-curve sl ope ~. Symmetri cal ai rfoi l s, of
course, gi ve a%=0 at al l val uea of R. The cambered
ai rfoi l s, i n genemd,show a smal l decrease i n the absol ute
val ue of the angl e wi th i ncreasi ng R above the val ue
at whi ch the vari ati ons are abnon.md.
Mi ni mum proffl e-drag ooeffl ci ent c% f*.The mi ni -
mum profi l e-drag coeffi ci ent i s i ndi cati ve of the wi ng
drag i n hi gh-speed fl i ght and i s the other i mpor tsmt
secti on characteri sti c, asi de from Cr-, that shows
marked scal e-effect vari ati ons wi thi n the ful l -sti l e
range whi ch must be taken i nto account i n engi neeri ng
work.
253
EffecfiveReynolds Number
FIGUEB37.-WiIon madmum lift amiliden~ CI- AMoib with II&lift devlws
&
Qi-
~
%
~
L
3
y
2
<
c
.%?
u
4
000
FIGURE s3-LMt-mRve Slow U&
FIGURESW.-Angle of mm ML am
, .--.s- ,.- .. ----- -. .. . .
.030
$020
d
F
.?
$.o~~
al
~ .008
t.m
-$.005
s .m
;
yw3
.g .(W2
i
.W1
loam z 3 4 56 1,000,oLW 2 3 4 56 10,00@50 2 3 4 5 loQooQom
(a)Symm8trfcd &f@ of * thfcknem.
.V I I I I V- L, - , . , , , , , ,
I
- - - - -
01 I
I 1 1 I \ l I I
I
G ~
I I Rl
t
. (I X
I \
, .005 t
$.004
E!
Q.003
g
f .002
3
.001
Iw,ooo 2 3 4 5 6 LOOO,WO 2 3456/0
00,000 2
3 4 5 Ioqooaooo
EffecfiveReynol ds Numbe>
m) -t-r Serb.
o
(c)Thickness and camber.
254 FIGUREa.-mbm pmafg ti*L w.{..
AI RFOI L SECTI ON CHARACHERI STI CSAS AFFECTEDBY VARI ATI ONSOF THE REYNOLDSNUMBER 255
.Om
f
(?
w.-
C
fi, ntn
Ef f ec f i ve Reynol ds Numbe~
(d) Thiokrm!s shqm
f
~
F
Q)
% .
.(J
$.
al
~
b:
!-.
d)
~
%..
o
&
$.
E
,.
$
O@
(e) Camber drnpe.
.040
.030
~
~ .020
>.
c
u
,~
.<
t
I I I 1111 I I I
~.ma
CJ
I I I
u .
I I I I
- -.
I I I 1111 I I I
I I I I I
*
I 111111, 1111 I I
44/2
ILI I ) I I lr-i-H-M-111 I I I I 11111 I II
$ .LX76
L.
I I I I I I i I ~-u+ I I I I I I I I I I I I
& .CW5
I
~
! I ! ! ! !11! j I I I I I I I
1 I 1 1 t
6.
$.
~
E
..
S
000
(4)Carnha Sllapl
WM~18
FmuE1240 (contlnnd)-Mhrhnnm plume-drag~mdmh m .{..
256 REPORT NO. 586-NATI ONAL ADVI SORY COMMI TTEE FOR AERONAUTI CS
The experi mental drag resul ts are presented by means
of l ogari thmi c pl ots wi th the wel l -known l wni .nar and
turbul ent ski n-fri cti on curves and the Prandtl -Gebers
transi ti on curve shown for compari son. (See fi gs.
40 (a) to 40 (f).) At the hi gher Reynol ds Numbers a
stri hqg si mi l mi ty exi sts between the mi ni mum profl l e-
drag coe5ci ents for the ai rfoi l s and the transi ti on curve
representi ng the drag coeffi ci ent vari ati on wi th R for a
fl at pl ate towed i n water. The other stri ki ng feature of
the drag curves i s thei r departure from regul ari ty at
Reynol ds Numbers bel ow a certai n cr i ti cal val ue. Thi s
cr i ti cal val ue of the Reynol ds Number usual l y l i es i n
the range between 400,000 and 800,000, but n study of
the experi mental resul ts wi l l show that the cr i ti cal
val ue i tsel f i s i rregul ar, that i s, i t does not vary system-
ati cal l y wi th the ai rfoi l shape. The resul ts appear as
though two or more drag values were possi bl e wi thi n
thi s Reynol ds Number range and acci dental di sturb-
ances determi ned whether a hi gh or a l ow val ue of the
drag was mensured at a gi ven val ue of R within this
mnge. One i s remi nded of Bakers experi ments towi ng
ai rshi p model s i n water i n a towi ng basi n where meas-
urements coul d not be repded unti l transi ti on was
defi ni tel y brought about by the use of a cord passi ng
around the model near the nose.
The shape of the scal e-effect curve for the N. A. C. A
0012 ai rfoi l at zero angl e of attack (i i g. 40 (a)) was
studi ed i n the l i ght of boundwy-l ayer cal cul ati ons.
The resul ts i ndi cated that the computed ski n-fri cti on
drag coeffi ci ents to gi ve scal e-effect vari ati ons i n agge-
ment wi th the measured ones requi red the presence of
rather extensi ve I ami nar boundary l ayers i n thi s
cr i ti cal range of the Reynol ds Number. I n fact, for
the N. A. C. A. 0012 ai rfoi l , the l ami nar boundwy l ayer
was found to have become so extensi ve when R TVaS
reduced to the experi mental l y determi ned cr i ti cal vahe
that a further reducti on of R woul d have requi red the
I ami nar boundary l ayer to extend behi nd the computed
l ami nar separati on poi nt, whi ch woul d have i nvol ved
at l east l ocal separati on. I t seems evi dent, therefore,
that the i ncreased drag coei l i ci ents bel ow the cr i ti cal
range are the resul t of thi s condi ti on, whi ch i s.probabl y
associ ated wi th l ami nar separati on and a resulting
i ncrease of the pressure or form drag of the secti on.
I ?ortunatdy, however, thi s phenomenon seems to
appear bel ow the usual fl i ght ramgeof R.
When desi gners are concerned wi th the mi ni mum
drag of an ai rfoi l secti on, i t i s usual l y for hi gh-speed or
crui si ngfi ght, whi ch for modern transport ai rpl anesmay
correspond to a Reynol ds Number of 20,000,000 or more
for some of the wi ng secti ons. The drag coeffi ci ents for
the Reynol ds Number range above the hi ghest reached
i n the tunnel are therefore of more i nterest than those
wel l wi thi n the experi mental range. Unfortunatel y,
the preci si on of the measurements per mi ts onl y an
approxi mate determi nati on of the shape of these scak-
ei l ect curves even i n the hi gher experi mental range of
R so that extrapol ati ons i nto ti e hi gher fl i ght range wi .11
necessari l y be unrel i abl e. Neverthel ess, much en-
gi neeri ng work requi res a knowl edge of ai rfoi l drag
coeffi ci ents wi thi n thi s range so that the engi neer mud
r esor t to extrapol ati on. l ?or thi s purpose the data may
be studi ed i n rel ati on to the S1OPWof the curves for the
vari ous ai rfoi l s (fi g. 40) i n the hi ghest range of 1?
reached i n the experi ments. Such a study i ndi cates
that the ai rfoi l s, excl udi ng the unusual ai rfoi l s N. A.
C. A. 8318, N. A. C. A. 6712, and the Cl ark Y wi th
HandI ey Page sl ot, show a decreasi ng c%~~~wi th 1?
that seems, i n general , to paral l el approxi matel y the
correspondi ng curve for the fl at pl ate. Thus,. i n
general , the sl ope of the c~O~{~scal e-effect ourvea i n
the nei ghborhood of a Reynol ds Number of 8,000,000
may be taken as approxi matel y 0.11, whi ch l eads to
the fol l owi ng extrapol ati on formul a:
where the subscri pt 8td refers to the standard ai rfoi l -
tast resul ts from the vari abl edensi ~ tunnel corres-
pondi ng to an effecti ve Reynol ds Number of npprox-
i l nl l tdy 8,000,000. I n such extrapol ati on fol mml as,
val ues of the exponent have been used between 1/6,
taken from Prandtl s ori gi nal anal ysi s of the compl etel y
turbul ent ski n-fri cti on l ayer, and 0.15, whi ch agreed
better wi th experi ments wi th pi pea and fl at pl ates at
very hi gh val uea of 1?and agrees better wi th von K6r-
mfi ns recent anal ysi s of the compl etel y turbul ent l ayer
i n thi s range of R. I t shoul d be emphasi zed, however,
that these comparati vel y huge exponents are not
conservati ve amd woul d be expected to l ead to pre-
di cti ons of l arge-scal e drag val ues much too l ow, parti c-
ul arl y when the extrapol ati on i s made from measure-
ments made i n the transition regi on; for exampl e, i n
fi gure 40 (a) measurement i n the range between
1, 000, 000and 2, 000, 000shoul d not be extrapol ated by
such methods to 20,000,000. Extrapol ati ons from
R=8,000,000 usi ng the comparati vel y l ow exponent 0.11
are, however, consi dered reasonabl y conservati ve for
aerodynami cal l y smooth ai rfoi l s.
I n regard to profi k+drag coeffi ci ents at l i ft coeffi ci ents
other than the opti mum, i i gure 41 (a) shows the scal e
effects for cdOat CI =0.8 for the symmetri cal ser i es of
ai rfoi l s. The drop i n the scal e-effect curves i n the
transi ti on regi on has di sappeared and the two thi nner
ti oi l s show evi dences of the approachi ng stal l . Curves
for members of the camber ser i es of ai rfoi l s, N. A. C, A.
]012, 2412, 4412, and 6412 at zwo Zi fl are shown i n
l gure 41 (b). Here the Symrnetri cd ai rfoi I i s operati ng
i t i ts opti mum l i ft and the departure from the opti mum
!or the other ai rfoi l s i ncreases wi th camber. A pro.
yessi ve transi ti on from the c%~~%type of scal e effect
n that of fi gure 41 (a) i s apparent. Resul ts (reference
10) from other wi nd tunnel s for the Cl ark Y ai rfoi l ,
whi ch i s i n a sense si mi l ar to the N. A. C. A. 4412 but
UM di ghtl y I ess camber, are al so i ndi cated i n fi gure
41 (b) for compti n. The compmi son of the resul ts Opti mum l i ft coeffi ci ent cZm~.The opti mum l i ft
from the vari ous tunnel s shoul d serve to i ndi cate the coeffi ci ents are presented i n fi gure 42. Thi s character-
l i mi tati ons of accuracy that must be accepted when any
i sti c i s of i mportance mai nl y i n rel ati on to c%val ues at
of the data are extrapol ated to the hi gher ful l -scal e
other val ues of cl . I t i s not possi bl e, nor essenti al for
Reynol ds Numbem.
thi Epurpose, to eval uate c1,P, very accuratel y. h fact,
.050
.040
.030
m
6
n ,020
;
t
2 nlr sH-
,Q=w
~ .008
0
$ (W6
p .00.5
; .004
$
0.003
4,
.092
.ml
IOL?OOO z 3 4 5 6 4000,W 3 4 56/O, ~,CUO 2 3 4 5 Iooaxvwo
Ef f ec f %e Reynol ds Number
(a) Synunebi c d akfoils of varying thkkmus; eI-0_8.
fkfn,
.030 v
\ n
\
\
\ \
\
(b)camber M* cl-o.
FIGURE 41.-Roflh3dlas &cIOnt.
The determi nati on of Cd. val ues at vari ous hft co-
effi ci ents i n engi neeri ng work i s best accompl i shed by
r L consi derati on of i ncrements from c%~i ~. The
method of a general i zed pol ar di scussed i n a l ater
secti on of thi s report gi ve9 such i ncrement9 i n t8r ms of
the departure of c1 from Cl vl as compared wi th the
departure of cl - from Cl at.
the accuracy of the experi mental data i s not sti ci ent
to establ i sh the scal e-effect vari ati ons wi th ,certai nty-.
Neverthel ess, the resul ts show a defi ni te tendency
toward a decremi ug c1~, wi th i ncreasi ng R. Thus
val ues measured i n smal l atmospheri c tunnel s may be
expeckd to be too hi gh. Val ues horn the standard
ai rfoi l tests i n the vari abl edensi ty tunnel may usual l y
.. . .. ... ,._c >&_, -&_. .
.. -- .. .
258 REPORT NO. 6S6-NATI ONAL ADVI SORY COMMI TTEE FOR AERONAUTI CS
be taken as approxi matel y correct wi thi n the usual fuU-
scnl e range but may be somewhat too ti gh for the
hi gher fl i ght range of l ?.
Pi tohi ng-moment Coeffi ci ent c.. -=.and aerodynami c.
center posi ti on a. c.The val ues of the pi tchi ng-
1.0
.8
;
~-.6
2.4
-i
* .2
c
~~
$!.6
E
~ /.4
E
\/.2
Q
y /.0
.2
.? .8
k
~ .6
s .4
u
.2
10$.000 2 3 4 564~.000 2 3 4 510,000,~
Fmvm Q-optiolnm M Immcfellk C1.,1.
moment coeffi ci ent and the aerodynami c-center peti ti on
establ i sh the pi tchi ng-moment characteri sti cs of the
ai rfoi l secti on i n the normal operati ng range between
zero l i ft and the stal l . I n thi s range the pi tchi ng
moment about the mrodynami c+enter poi nt may be
consi dered constant for conventi onal ai rfoi l s. The
accuracy of the l ow-scal e data di d not per mi t the
eval uati on of aerodynami c-center posi ti ons for val ues
of R much bel ow the f@ght range, and the vari ati ons
found i n the l @her range showed l i ttl e consi stency.
Val ues are i ndi cated i n fi gures 2 to 24 and i n tabl e I ,
but i t i s not consi dered advi sabl e i n practi ce to al l ow
for a vrmi ati on of aerodynami c center wi th R. The
cm=~ val ues correspondi ng to these aerodynami c-center
posi ti ons are pl otted i n fi gure 43. The val ues are
nearl y i ndependent of R at hi gh val ues of R but usual l y
show n tendency to i ncrease numeri cal ~ as R is reduced
toward the l ower e.xtremi ~ of the fl i ght range. Thus
l ow-scal e tunnel tests may be expected to gi ve pi tchi ng
moments that are numeri cal l y too l arge.
PREDI ~ON OF AI RFOI L CHARAC1ERI STI C!$ AT ANY
REYNOLDSNUMRERFOR ENGI NEERI NGUSE
I n the consi derati on of methods of predi cti ng wi ng
chnractari ati cs,i t shoul d be remembered that the scope
of thi s report i s codi ned to the predi cti on of the ai ti oi l
secti on characteri sti cs. Actual wi ng characteri sti c are
obtai ned from these secti on characteri sti cs by i ntegra-
ti ons al ong the span wi th sui tabl e al l owances for the
i nduced dotvnfl ow and the correspondi ng i nduced drag.
Such cal cul ati ons as appl i ed to tnpered wi ngs are ful l y
di scussed i n reference 8. I t remai ns therefore to pre-
di ct the ai rfoi l wcti on characteri sti c at any val ue of
the fl i ght Reynol ds Number. The precedi ng di scussi on
has shown that for engi neeri ng purposes many of tho
i mportant ai rfoi l secti on chmncteri sti ca may be con-
si dered i ndependent of R within the fl i ght rauge, so
that for appl i cati on to ti t at any val ue of R those
characteri sti cs may be taken di rectl y from the trtbu-
l ated val ues from the standard ai rfoi l tests i n the
varkbl edensi ty tunnel . There remai n then the two
i mportant seci i on characteri sti cs cI~z ri nd c%, whi ch i n
general .wi l l requi re correcti on to the desi gn Reynol ds
Number before they are empl oyed.
Secti on maxi mum l i ft.For the predi cti on of the
secti on maxi mum l i ft coeffi ci ent cl = at val ues of R
other than the R. val ue for whi ch they are commonl y
tabul ated, the correcti on-i ncrement curves of @e 44
have been prepared from the data i n thi s report. I n
thi s i i gure, curves gi vi ng the correcti ons Acl ~U me
grouped i n fami l i es correspondi ng to the measured scul e-
effect vari ati ons for vaxi ous typw of ai rfoi l s. I n gen-
eral , for normal ai rfoi l s the curves i n fi gure 44 marked O
for mea B, C, D, and E correspond to the symmetri cal
ai rfoi I secti ons of di fferent thi ckness and the curves
i ndi cated by i ncreasi ng numbers correspond to ai rfoi l
secti ons of i ncreasi ng camber.
b practi ce, the parti cul ar curve to be empl oyed for n
gi ven ai rfoi l wi l l be i ndi cated i n the standard tabl es of
ai rfoi l characteri sti cs such as tabl e ~ of thi s report
(see al so reference 3) under: Cl assi fi cati on, SE.
t
, a , , # , , , 1i I
.%9
~-.20
8A..2.2
/oo,cwo 2 3 4 56 @OO,OOQ 2 3 4 5 /0,000,000
FIom 43.-FYtcbing-moment melEeient about the aerdynwnlo csnter, c=,,, ,
Fr om the curve thus desi gnated, the correcti on i ncre-
ment i s read at the desi gn Reynol ds Number. Tho
requi red cl = for the secti on at the pmti cuhr Reynol ds
Number i s then obtai ned by addi ng thi s i ncrement to
the tabul ated Cb val ue.
.2
0
-.
-.
1
-.6
r I I
k
~
I I 1 I I I I I I I I 1 I Ill I I 1 I I I
W
-$
.rLJ
-.
-.
-.
H$ktttk
000
Reynolds Number
FIGURE 44.-SmfeaTect mrrectfons for eI- In order ta obkln the -[on rnaxhntun Mft -dent at the dasked Reynolds Number, apply to the standard-test vefue
the fnorement indicated by the cmve that cmmponds to the .wale-effwt designation of the alrfrtfl.
Ai rfoi l secti on d.rag.-l h desi gn work, val ues of
the sectwn mi ni mum drag coeffi ci ent Cdo mix for aerody-
*
c,
.
0
I
**
b
u
w
:.
0 .1 .2 .3 4 .5 .6 .7 .8 .9 /.0
Ifa - CZ%lyct=- Cl@,
FIGURE 4s.-OeneraUzd vaiiatfen of A-
nrtmi cal l y smooth ai rfoi l s are fi t obtai ned from the
tabul ated data by means of the extrapol ati on formul a
previ ousl y gi ven,
The C% values at other lift coefficients may now be
obtsi ned from the generahzed vari ati on of Acdowi th
-r
p esented i n fi gure 45, where the standard
Cl m.l z Cl qt
ai rfoi l chsxacteri sti c tabl e i s agai n empl oyed to i i nd
C,m,. The c,.= val ue empl oyed shoul d, of course, cor-
respond to the Reynol ds Number of the C~oval ue bei ng
cal cul ated. Thi s procedure may i nvol vo the use of
cl == val ues correspondi ng to very hi gh Reynol ds
Numbers. These val ues, however, may bo esti mated
by extrapol ati ng the msxi nmm-l i ft scal e-effect curves,
l i ttl e accuraoy bei ng requi red becauso c1 wi l l usual l y
be near Cl o, and Ac% therefore smal l . A ser i es of
Ac% val ues may thus be deri ved for vari ous l i ft coef-
fi ci ents and Reynol ds Numbers. The corresponding
val ues of cdo are then obtai ned by addi ng these i ncre-
ments to the Cdo .3= val ue cal cul ated from the precedi ng
extrapol ati on formul a for the correspondi ng Reynol ds
Number. I n practi ce, a ser i es of val ues of Cdo may
thus be deri ved to form a curve of c%agai nst c1 al ong
whi ch the Reynol ds Number vari es wi th l i ft coeffi ci ent
as i n fl i ght.
LANGLBYMEMORI AL&ONAUTI CAL LABORATORY,
NATI ONALADVI SORYComm-mm FoR bRONAUTI CS,
LANQLEYFI ELD,VA., J une fi4, 1936.
-. :,> ! ___ .. L._. . .. .. -,.1.J.. .
APPENDIX
I NVESTI GA~ONOF CERTAI NCONSI STENTERRORSPRESENTI N TESTRESULTSFROM THE
VARI ABLE-DENSI TY TUNNEL
By I RAH. ABBCPP
JNTEODUGTION
An i nvesti gati on has been made to eval uate three
correcti ons that were not appl i ed to the data, ob~ed
i n the vari abl edensi ty wi nd tunnel , and publ i shed i n
reference 2 and earl i er reports. The need for these cor-
recti ons had been recogni zed, and possi bl e errom i n the
data resul ti ng from the l ack of these correcti ons have
been l i sted as consi stent errors (reference 2) due to the
fol l owi ng effects:
1. Aerodynami c i nterferauce of the model supports
on the model .
2. Effect of the compressed ai r on the effecti ve wei ght
of manometer l i qui ds used to measure the dynami c
pressure. .
3. Combi ned effects on the measured dynami c pres-
sure of bl ocki ng due to the model and to errors i n pi tot-
tube cal i brati on ari si ng fi wm di l Terences i n dynami c
scal e and turbul ence between condi ti ons of use i n the
vari abl edensi ty tunnel and condi ti ons of cal i brati on.
These effects resul t i n errors i n the cal i brati on of the
stati c-pressure ori fi ces used to determi ne the dynami c
preswre.
I NTl l EP13EENCE ORMODEL SUPPOl i Ts
The model supports used i n the varkbl edensi ty tun-
nel and the method of determi ni ng the tare forces are
descri bed i n reference 1. The usual tare teats deter-
mi ne the tare forces on the supports i ncl udi ng the i nter-
ference of the model on the supports. I n addi ti on,
the usual method of determi ni ng g the bal ance al i nement
wi th respect to the ai r-fl ow di recti on by testi ng an ai r-
foi l erect and i nverted i ncl udes any i nterference of the
supports on the model that i s equi val ent to a ch~~e i n
ai r-fl ow di recti on. Earl i er attempts to determi ne any
addi ti onal i nterference of the supports on the model were
i nconcl usi ve except to show that such i nterference was
smal l .
Two ai rfoi l s of moderate thi ckness were chosen to be
used i n the present i nvesti gati on, one bei ng a symmetri -
cal ai rfoi l (N. A. C. A. 0012) and the other amai rfoi l of
moderate camber ~. A. C. A. 4412). Teds were made
of each ai rfoi l usi ng three methods of supporti ng the
model . Besi des the method usi ng the usual support
struts, tests were made wi th the model s mounted on the
usual supports wi th the addi ti on of speci al wi re snp-
por ts and wi th the model s mounted onl y on the wi re
supports. The wi re supports ecmsi sted of three wi res
attached to the quartar+hord poi nt of the model at
260
each wi ng ti p and of a sti ng and angl e-of-attack str ut
so l ocated as to be free from aerodynmni c i nterference
wi th the usual supports. The sti ng used was sym-
metr i cal wi th respect to the ai rfoi l and was attached near
the tmi l i ng edge i nstead of to the l ower surface, as
i s usual .
The tams due to the wi re supports were determi ned
from the data obtai ned from the tests wi th the model s
on the usual supports wi th and wi thout tha wi re
supports. Some di fi i cul ~ vm.sexperi enced i n obtai ni ng
suffi ci entl y accurate tares because of the rel ati vel y
l arge dng of the wi res as compared wi th the drag of
the model . Sti ci ent accuracy was obtai nabl e onl y at
the hi ghest val ue of the test Reynol ds Number ordi nar-
i l y obtai ned (about 3,000,000). The profi l e-drag coeffi -
ci ents obtai ned for the two ai rfoi l s are pl otted as sol i d
l i nes i n fi gures 46 and 47, together wi th data obtoi ned
ti m several tests made wi th the usual supports over
a consi derabl e peri od of ti me. The scatteri ng of tho
poi nts obtai ned from the tasta wi th the usual supports
about the sol i d l i ne i s wi thi n the l i mi ts of the ami dental
errors l i sted i n reference 2, showi ng that there i s no
support i nterference wi thi n the accuraoy of the resul ts
rutl @h val ues of the Reynol ds Number.
I t i s evi dent that the data obtai ned can be anal yzed
i n di fl erent ways. For exampl e, the data obtai ned
wi th the model s mounted on both the usual supports
and the wi re supports can be corrected for the usual sup-
port tares and compared wi th the data from tests wi th
the model s mounted onl y on the wi re supports, The
compari son was made correcti ng the data for the change
i n ai r-fl ow di recti on due to the usual supports and fai l ed
to show any support i nterference wi thi n the test
accuracy.
Anal ysi s of the data to determi ne the effects of the
support i nterference on the measured pi tchi ng-moment
coef%ci enta was more di i %cul t. The support wi res
stretched under the l i ft and drag l oads, necessi tati ng
a correcti on to the measured pi tchi ng-moment coeffi -
ci ents, md the method of supporti ng the model at the
wi ng ti ps rdl owed the model i tsel f to defl ect under the
l i ft l oads much more than when mounted on the usual
supports. The correcti on due to the defl ecti on of the
model i s di i l i cul t to eval uate wi th certai nty because i t
i nvol ves i ntegrati ons al ong the span after determi nati on
Df the span l oad di shi buti on. Accordi ngl y, the effect
of the support i nterference for the pi tdi ng moments
was determi ned onl y at zero l i l t where i t was foond
that the measured pi tchi ng-moment coeffi ci ent was too
l arge (al gebrai cal l y) by 0.002. Thi s same correcti on
had been found previ ousl y from tests wi th symmetri cal
Angl es V.D.T. Do+e Condi t i on
PosNeg Test
TestR,
millions
; 1~~-6 IO-26-33 Wire supporf 3.07
0 /2-30-3I USUO1 = struis 3.24
+ x 1120 4-17-34 . $ 3.20
?06
V 1233 2- 6-35 * * : 3.17
::05
c
w
:;.04
k
al
Q
Q.03
g)
+ D2
.s?
<
$DI
00 as.2 ~4 L6 L8 *1.O *f.2 *1.4
Liftc oef f i c i ~t , ~
FlavFE 4&-Lift and drag chmnctmfstlm af the N. A. C. UXU2 alrfoiI es delemnlned
from M with the madol monnted on the usnal mpport strata and on @ wire
~Pm.
ai rfoi l s and had been appl i ed so that no new correcti ons
were necessary.
ZFFEC1I VE WEI GHl ? OFMANO=ZR LI QUI DS
The dynami c pressure i s measured by two manome-
ter s connected to two sets of cal i brated stati c-pressure
or i i i cesM descri bed i n reference 1. One manometer
i s fdl ed wi th grai n al cohol andtheotherwi th di sti l l ed
water, the one fdl ed wi th al cohol bei ng ordi nari l y
used to hol d the dynami c pressureconstant through-
out r Ltest because i t i s more easi l y read than
the water manometer. Readi ngs of the water
manometer taken duri ng each test serve to check
the nl cohol manometer and to i ndi cate any
change i n the speci i i c gravi ty of the al cohol ,
whi ch i s obtai ned from ti me to ti me by cal i brati ng
the al cohol manometer at atmospheri c pressure
agai nst a head of di sti l l ed water.
I t i s apparent, aa has been poi nted out by
Rel f, that when the tank i s fi l l ed wi th compressed
ai r the i ncreased densi ty of the ai r reduces the
effecti ve wei ght of the al cohol or water i n the
manometers Thi s effect may be consi dered as a
buoyancy of the ai r on the l i qui d and may be
computed, but there i s no assurance that the
effects of other factors such as the amount
of ai r di ssol ved i n the l i qui d are negl i gi bl e.
An e.speri mental determi nati on of ti e effect of
ti vel y smal l buoyancy effect on the mercury was com-
puted and appl i ed to the resul ts as a correcti on. The
effects of other factors on the mercury were consi dered
negl i gi bl e. I n addi ti on to the correcti on determi ned
i n thi s way, a further smal l correcti on was appl i ed to
the speci fi c gravi ty to compensate for the smal l change
i n bal ance cal i brati on wi th ai r densi ty due to the buoy-
ancy of the ai r on the bal ance counterwei ghts. The
net correcti on at 20 atmospheres tank pressure was
found to be 2.o percent for the al cohol and 1.7 percent
for the water, the dynami c pressure as measured bei ng
too hi gh. I t i s pl anned to repl ace the manometers by
a pressure bal ance i n the near future. Measurements
of dynami c pressure wi l l then be i ndependent of speci fi c
gravi ~.
CALI BRATI ON OFSTATI GPR=UREOEI FI OZS
The stati c-pressure ori fi cw used to measure the dy-
nami c pressure are cal i brated by maki ng a vel oci ty
survey at the test secti on, usi ng a cal i brated pi tot tube
(reference 1). The cal i brati on may be i n error partl y
because of di .fbrences i n dynami c scal e and turbul ence
between condi ti ons of pi tot-tube cal i brati on and of use
i n the vari abl edensi ty tunnel and al so because of pos-
si bl e bl ocki ng effects of the modeL I t i s evi dent that
a new method of cal i brati on i s necessary to el i mi nate
these uncertai nti es.
These uncertai ntks may be l argel y el i mi nated by
cal i brati ng pi tot tubes on an ai rpl ane i n ~~ht and by
cal i brati ng si mi l ar pi tot tubes, si mi l arl y mounted on a
model of the ai rpl ane i n the tunneL A detai l ed 1/20-
V.D.T. Dofe Condition T-t R,
compressed ai r was made by cal i brati ng the al cohol
and water manometers at several tank pressures agai nst
a thi rd manometer fi l l ed wi th mercury. The compara-
Test millions
1090-2 12-19-33 Wire supper} 3.II
o 1065-2 II- 8-33 Usuol = struts 3.05
x 1159-8 7-27-34 P * = 3.00
.06
+ 732 12-/5-31 ~ = = 3.21
tfo5
~.
.?
:.04
k
a
~.D3
~
+
I .02
*
Q
o
L.ol
Q.
o
-2 0 .2 .4 .6 .8 1.0 1.2 f.4 16
L iffc w f f i c i en t , CL
FIQVEE47.IM and drag ohamcteristimof theN.A. 0. A_4412akfoil as detarminti Crom te&a
Mththemwlel mmmtd on thenswd snppxttita and on qmzkdwiremppmts.
the ] scal e model of the l ?C-2W2 ai rpl ane (reference 20) and
the ai rpl ane i tsel f were mai l abl e. Three nonswi vel i ~~
pi tot tubes were mounted on the ai rpl ane as shown i n
fi gure 48. These pi tot tubes were 2 i nches i n di ameter
..
ADVI SORY COMMI TTEE FOR AERONAUTI CS 262 REPORTNO. 586-NATI ONAL
wi th two staggered rows of stati c-pressurehol es. Each
row consi sted of 12 equal l y spaced hol es 0.22 i nch i n
di ameter. The pi tot tubes were cal i brated i n fl i ght
agai nst a previ ousl y cal i brated tmi l i ng ai r-speed head.
Three geomehkd.l y si mi l ar pi tot tubes 0.10 i nch i n
di ameter were ai mi I arl y mounted on the model and
cal i brated i n the vari abl e-densi ~ tunnel . Great care
SYuficnI(Axisof
fube parallelfo
axes of tubes 0+
stofions2 and 3J
lx,
P
) 0; 50
was tnken to make the smal l pi tot tubes geometri cal l y
si mi l ar to the l arge ones and to mount them i n the
correct posi ti ons on the model .
The pi tot tubes were cal i brated i n the tunnel over
fi n rmgl e+f-attack range from 8 t.o 14 and over a
mnge of the test Reynol ds Number from 1,000,000 to
2,500,000. Tests were made wi th three tai l setti ngs.
m
Al l p rewures were measured by a mul ti pl e-tube, photo-
recordi ng manometer usi ng a mi xture of al cohol and
water. Rati os of pressures were obtai ned di rectl y
from rati os of measured defl ecti ons and are i ndependent
of tho speci i i c gravity of the manometer l i qui d. A
test w-asmade wi th the pi tot tubes i nterchanged as to
peti ti on on the model to check the accuracy wi th whi ch
they were made. The r cs.dts checked sati sfactori l y.
Surveys were made upstream from the model wi th and
wi thout the model i n pl ace usi ng a bank of 21 smaI I
pi tot tnbw mounted on a str ut extendi ng across the
tunnel , surveys bei ng made on the verti cal center l i ne
and 6 and 12 i nches to one si de of the center l i ne,
The data obtai ned from these surveys are used to check
the cal i brati on of the stati c-prwsure ori fi ces from ti me
to ti me as requi red. l ?orce tests were al so made on the
model wi th and wi thout the pi tct tubes i n pl ace and
wi th several tai l setti ngs.
The resul ts obtai ned from the cal i brati on of the pi tot
tubes are presented i n fi gure 49. The data are pre-
sented as rati os of the dynami c pressures measured by
the pi tot tubes to the dynami c pressure as usual l y
obtai ned -&cm the stati c-pressure ori .i i ces. A fai rl y
consi stent vari ati on of the resul ts i s shown wi th
changes i n Reynol ds Number and tai l setti ngs. The
resul ts obtai ned horn the cal i brati on of the pi tot tubes
i n fri ght are shown by outl i ned areas i ndi cati ng the
l ocati on of al l poi nts obtai ned.
Compari sons between the tunnel and fl i ght resul ts
have been made on the basi s of angl es of attack, cor-
rected i n the case of the tunnel resul ts for the tunnel -
1 I
on w i ng c hor d) St abi l i zer ong l a El e vo t or angl e
.23 10
.
~
@
:
a
9
*
QJ
$+
*
$
&
b
t
$
t
\
o
>?
$
,4ngIe of of f ac k , a, degr ees
I UBE49.Calfbmtfon of pitot M mmmti on the FC-2W2 afrplann fn ilfght and on the FC-2W2 ah-plane mcdel fn the varfabkhnsftg wind tunnel. RW!JMS
mrmclexf for tnnnel-wfdl effect.
wall effect. Force teats made in the tunnel and i n
fl i ght show that thi s method of compari son i s very
nearl y equi val ent to maki ng the compari sons at equal
l i ft coeffi ci ents. A val ue of the rati o g/qOwas sel ected
from the tunnel d~ta to correspond M wel l as poti bl e
to fl i ght condi ti ons of tr i m and Reynol ds Number for
each pi tot-tube posi ti on at each angl e of attack. The
val ues obtai ned were, i n general , hi gher than the fl i ght
val uea at smal l angl ea of attack. Accordi ngl y, the
val ues obtai ned were reduced by i ncreaskg the val ue
of go by 1.5 percent, whi ch i s equi val ent to a change
i n the stati c-pressure-ori fi ce cal i brati on factor from
1.172 to 1.190. The val uea of the rati o so obtai ned
me pl otted on the fi gure as sol i d l i nes, and the val ues
agree reasonabl y wel l wi th the tl i ght data at smal l
1.6 ..32
/.4 .28
1.2 .24
--
&g/e of af f ac k , d, degr ees
k I OUEE HJ .-Compufsm of data obtained In CJght and in the variabledem$ity wind
tonml for tbe FC-2W2 akplane and model.
angl es of attack. A compari son of the tunnel and
I l i ght data i ndi cates that a further correcti on, whi ch
may be due to bl ocki ng effects, may be desi rabl e at
hi gh angl ea of attack. The ai rpl ane model , however,
had l arge drags at hi gh angl es of attack as compared
wi th model s normri l l y used i n the tunnel , maki ng the
appl i cati on of thi s addi ti onal correcti on questi onabl e
for the usual ai rfoi l tests.
The resul ts of the force teats of the model are shown
by means of composi te curv~ drawn as sol i d l i nes i n
fi gure 50, The curves were obtai ned from the test
resul ts by sel ecti ng, at each angl e of attack, test resuMs
to correspond as wel l as possi bl e wi th fl i ght condi ti ons
of tr i m and Reynol ds Number. The tunnel resul ts
hove been ful l y corrected i ncl udi ng correcti ons to the
effecti ve Reynol ds Number. Data obtai ned i n fl i ght
tests (reference 20) are shown on the fi gure.
Al though the model was much more detai l ed and
accurate than i s usual i n wi nd-tunnel model s, i t was
not consi dered before the teds to represent the ai r-
pl ane wi th sui i i ci ent accuracy and detai l to gi ve
rel i abl e drag resul ts. Therefore too much emphasi s
houl d not be gi ven to the good agreement of drag
coeffi ci ents obtai ned i n fl i ght and i n the tunnel . At
l i ft coeffi ci ents l eas than 1.0 the agreement between
fl i ght and tunnel data i s consi dered sati sfactory. At
hi gher l i ft cdl i ci ents some di vergence of the tunnel
md i 3i ght data i s i ndi cated. As previ ousl y stated,
the resul ts obtai ned from the pi tobtube cal i brati on
showed that an addi ti onal correcti on to the cal i brati on
factor of the stati c-pressure ori .i i ce mi ght be desi rabl e
~t hi gh angl es of attack. Such a correcti on has been
determi ned from fi gure 49 and appl i ed to the data.
The resul ts are pl otted as dotted l i nes i n fi gure 50 and
show an i mproved agreement of the l i ft coeffi ci ents
obtai ned i n fl i ght and i n the tunnel at hi gh angl es of
wttack.
Thi s addi ti onal correcti on i s not ordi nari l y appl i ed to
the data obtai ned i n the vari abl -densi ty tunnel be-
cause i t i s doubtful whether the correcti on i n most cases
woul d gi ve a better approxi mati on to the actual condi -
ti ons than no correcti on. The pi tot+tube cal i brati on
tests were l ess accurate at hi gh mgl es of attack than at
l ow ones and, aa previ ousl y stated, the drag of the
model ma l arger than i s the case for the model s usual l y
tested. Another fact i ndi cati ng that thi s correcti on i s
smal l i s that, up to the poi nt of maxi mum l i ft, the l i ft
curves obtai ned i n the tunnel for some ai rfoi l s are very
nearl y strai ght. Any appreci abl e correcti on of thi s
type woul d resuh i n such l i ft curves bei ng concave
upward.
CONCLUSIONS
1. The resul ts of the i nvesti gati on show no i nter-
ference of the model supports on the model for Whi ch
correcti ons had not previ ousl y been made.
2. The i nvesti gati on of the effects of compressed ai r
on the effecti ve wei ght of the manometer l i qui d showed a
2.0 percent error i n the measured dynami c pressure; the
dynami c pressure as previ ousl y measured was too l arge.
3. The i nvesti gati on of the cal i brati on of the stati c
pressure orhi ces showed an error of 1.5 percent i n thi s
cal i brati on; the dynami c pressure as previ ousl y meas-
ured was too smal l .
4. The total effect of the i nvesti gati on i s a change i n
the measured dynami c pressure of 0.5 percent; the
dynami c prwsure as previ ousl y measured was too l arge.
Data previ ousl y publ i shed (reference 2 md earl i er
reports) to whi ch these correcti ons have not been
appl i ed may be corrected by c.h-~ the coeffi ci ents
to correspond to a reducti on of measured dynami c
prmwre of 0.5 percent.
REFERENCES
1. Jacobs,EaatrnanN., and Abbott, I m H.: The N. A. C. A.
Vari abl e-Densi tyWi i d Tunnel T. R, No. 416, ~. A.
C. A. 1932.
2. Jacob%EastmanN., Ward, KennethE., and Pi nkerton,
Robert M.: The characteri sti csof 78 Rel ated AWoi 2
Secti onsfrom Teatsi n the Vari abl e-Densi ty Wi nd Tun-
neL T. I L No. 460,N. A. C. A., 1933.
3. Jacob~EastmanN., and Pi nkerLwn, Robert M.: Tests i n
the Varf.abl e-Densi ty Wi i d Tunnel of Rel atedAfrfoi l s
Havi ngthe Maxi mumCamberUnusual l yFar ForwarcL
T. FLNo. 537,N. A. C. A., 1935.
4. Wenzi nger,Carl J., and Shortal ,Joseph A.: The Aero-
dynami cCharacteri sti cs of a Sl ottedCl ark Y Wi ng as
AfRetedby the Auxi l i aryAi rfoi l Posi ti on. T. R. No.
400,N. A. C. A., 1931.
5. Pl attj Robert C., and Abbofi I ra H.: Aerodynami cChar-
aoteri sth of N. A. C. A. 23012 and 23o21 Airfoi2e wi th
20-PercenM2hord Eti rnal -Ai rfoi l Fl apsof N. A. C. A.
23012Secti on. T. FLNo. 573,N. A. C. A., 1936.
6. hI i l l Wan, Cl arkB.: On the Lti Di stri buti onfor a Wfngof
Arbi traryPl anFor mi n a Ci rcul arWi nd TunneL Pub-
l i cati onNo. 22, C. I . T., 1932.
7. Jacobs,EaatmanN., and Pi nkerton,Robert M.: T- of
N. A. C. A. Ai rfoi l si n the Vari abl e-Deti ty Wi nd Tun-
neL Seri es230. T. N. No. 567,N. A. C. A., 1936.
S. Andemon,R. F.: Determi nati onof the Characteri sti cs of
Taperedi t%- T. I L No. 572,N. L C. A., 1936.
9. Jacobs,EaatrnanN., and C2ay,Wi l l i amC.: Characteri sti cs
of the N. A. C. A. 23012Afrfoi 2from Textsi n the FuR-
Sca2eand Vari abl eDensi tyTuri n* T. R. No. 63o,
N. A. C. A., 1935.
10. P2att, Rober t C.: Turbulence Faotoraof N. A. U. A. Wi nd
Tunne2aaaDetarmfnedby SpberaTests. T. R. No. 668,
N. A. C. I L, 1936.
11. Stack,John: Teetsfn the Vari abl e-Densi ty Wi ndTunnelto
I nvesti gatethe Effeotaof Sc.a2e and Turbuknceon Ai r-
foi 2charaoteri sti ca.T. N. No. 364 N. A. C. A., 1931.
12. Toussai nt, A., and Jacobs, E.: EsperfmentalMethods-
Wi ndTunne2a.Vol . I I I , di v. I of Aerodynarnfo Theory,
W. F. Durand,edi tor,JuWa Spri nger(Berl i n),1936,p.
332.
13. von Kdrm4n,Th., and Mi l .Wan,C. B.: On the Theory of
Lami naryBoundary Layers I nvol vi ng Separati on. T.
I L No. 504,N. A. C. A., 1934.
14. Dryden, H. L.: Ai r Fl ow i n the BoundaryLayer Near a
Pl ate. T. R. No. 662,N. A. C. A., 1936.
15. Dryden,H. L., and Kuethe,A. M.: Effect of Turbu2.enoe
i n Wfnd Tunnel Mawmeroents. T. R. No. 342, N. A.
C. A., 1930.
16. Jacobs,EastmanN.: The Aerodynami cChamoteri sti oa of
Ei ght Very Thi ak Ai rfoi hifrom Tests i n the Vari abl e-
Densi ty Wi nd Tunnel . T. R. No. 391, N. A. C. A., 1931.
17. Jonm, B. Mel vfM Wal l i ng. I L A. S. Jour., vol . XXXvI I I .
No. 285, %pt. 1934, pp. 753-769.
18. Hi ggi ns, Gor ge J., and Jacobs, Eastman N.: Tho Effeot
of a Fl ap and Ai l erons on the N. A. C. A. -M6 Ai rfoi l
&cti on. T. R No. 260, N. A. C. A., 1927.
19. Jacobs, Eastman N., and Pi nkerton, Rober t M.: Premum
Di stri buti on over a Symmetri cal Ai rfoi l Seoti on wi th
Trafl i ng Edge Fl ap. T. R. No. 360, N. A. C. A., 1930.
20. Thompson, F. L., and Kei ater, P. H.: Li ft and Drag Char.
acterkti m of a Cabi n Monopl ane Determi ned i n Fl i ght.
T. N. No. 362, N. A. C. A., 1931.
AI RFOI L SECTI ON CHARACTERI STI C AS AFFECTEDBY VARI ATI ONSOF THE
TABLE I
I MPORTANT AI RFOI L SECTI ON CHARACTERI STI CS
N. A. C. A. aicfo41
m. . - . . . . . . -----. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
W12-----------------------------
c4J15.._ . . ..__. __.. _....__.
mu-----------------------------
2412 _._.. _... __.__ -------
mu.. -... -... --.-. -.- . . . ------
ma-s -------------------------
2R1r2 . . . ..__. .._. _.__._-..
am----------------------------
4412------------------------------
1416------------------------------
Ha------------------------------
& 470
8.233
0. 10I
3.410
L 760
.ES2
.440
.!ZM
.142
%370
am
O.m
3.E40
L 740
.871
.49
8.610
Hll
1.730
.874
:E
.113
7.340
IL240
X&x
1. m
.EQ9
.4S3
.214
. ma
8.240
0. Mm
3.420
LZ36
:2
.218
.110
W
0.070
3.4m
L7WI
.s34
.449
.221
.112
am
&3W
3.%30
L 760
%
8.370
a 310
1540
L 770
.W4
.454
awl
S.670
3.340
L7KI
.Sm
:E
.110
:!%
am
L6WI
.674
.433
.219
.111
7. m
O.m
2340
L730
.SS1
.431
.219
.110
8.210
O.Crm
3.3m
L7@I
.ssl
.441
.219
.110
-------
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
:
0
0
0
0
0
0
8
2 o
21
z o
21
21
2 o
22
L 3
-------
L 2
-L 2
L 2
-L 2
L 2
L 3
L 6
-L 4
L2
1. 2
L 2
L 2
L 2
L4
. 6
. 7
.
i
28
. 9
3. 9
3. 9
-4.0
-4.0
-4.1
4. 1
3. 7
26
4. o
-4.1
3;
-4,3
z:
-2 a
-4.0
-4.0
-4.1
-4.2
4. 3
-4.4
+4
3. 1
-h 9
h 9
-e% 1
6. 2
-0.3
&2
h 9
5. 4
%,,,
.-------
0
:
0
;
o
0
0
0
0
0
0
!
o
0
0
0
0
0
. -----
o
0
0
0
0
:
0
.14
.14
.U
:Z
.42
.ZJ
--..---
.as
.as
.Cs
.16
.2a
.12
.27
.m
.m
.10
.23
.2%
.10
.40
.10
.02
.11
.!22
:a
.23
.23
:2
::
.67
.n
.32
%
.37
.35
.51
.b7
.22
.m
.22
.31
:%
.40
.69
:Z
%
::
.70
%.f.
10,W1
.m
.W
.Wi2
:%%
.W
.0131
.0123
.Wi9
.WJ3
.mn
.W77
.0376
:E
.Im77
.OK1
.@35
.m
.W84
.mn
.0149
. Olhs
.B38
.W92
.m
.0103
. ola4
.0427
.0179
.U207
.W1
.W@I
:E
.W!J
.0337
. Olm
.0m7
*.m
. @mo
.Im79
.WJ3
.Wm
.ms4
.WB3
.0179
.0162
. mm
. m75
. 0)76
.mn
:%!!
.m
.m
.0377
.m
.m
. OHS
.Wi3
:%
.W34
.m
:l%x
. Olw
.m
:%%
.W
. ml
. Olw
.0184
. G276
.Cwo
.Cm3
.W4
.Wxl
.0103
.0423
. 01%3
.OmB
. ml
%%
.0104
.W
.0129
.0205
. Olm
c
-..,.
----------
0
0
0
0
:
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
.-------
0
0
I
0
. ------. --
. -----
0
0
8
0
0
----------
.. . . . . . . .
. 043
. Cu3
-.045
. 045
. 034
----------
. m
. m
. 037
. 012
. 010
,---- ..---,
,. --.-.-.-,
,--------
. 010
. 010
. 011
-.014
-.011
-.014
.W
.033
.m
: E
---------
. ass
-. m
. m
. Q32
. w
--------
--------- .
. w
-. cm
. 091
. 0a5
. m
----. ---- .
---------.
. C&5
. am
. mu
. 093
. 092
.--------
. . . . . . . ..-
--------- -
. 133
. m
. 431
. 135
NUMBER
,
a. L
I
&t@ &t c)
-------.. -_.-.--_--
LO
LO :
H :
-.. .--. -. --__.-----
----------- ----------
----------- ----------
---------- --------- -
.6 3
.6 3
3
i ; 4
LI 3
- -------- -._____
---------- .----.-..-
L2 4
L1 3
1
k:
L6 :
---------- ---------
--.---..-.- ----._.----
----------- -----------
L7 4
8
:: 3
0
:! o
0
---------- -----------
----------- ------------
.5 3
3
ii
:
i i 0
---.--.---- ------------
---------- -----------
---.--..--- ------------
-----------------------
7
H 7
5
i:
20 ;
---------- . -----------
---------- . ----------
. ------- . -----------
.6 6
5
i ;
.9 :
.9
.4 ?
LO 7
L1
LO :
0
i! 0
. . . . . . . . ..- - ..-. -.. ..
.6 2
i; i
L1
L4 z.
. . . . . . . . ..- - .. -----
----------- _ _______
.- .-.-.- - . . . . . . . ..- .
.8 2
i! -;
L2 5
L1 8
----------- - --------
.--- .. --- _ -------- .
----------- - --. ..-. ..
LO 1
L4
L4 :
L7 -4
1.4 8
----------- . .--- . --
---------- . .--------
---------- - -----------
1
i?
;
i; 2
---------- -- ---- . .
,.------. -. ----------
---------- _ ----.-- .
----------- - --------- .
/A/B/c/.
... A. . .
REPORT NO. 586-NATI ONAL ADVI SORY COMMI TTEE FOR AERONAUTI CS
TABLE I Conti nued
I mportant AI RFOI L SECTI ON CHARAC1ERI STI C3 -Conti nuei
N. A. C. A. alrfdl
me------------------------
so-----------------------
me--------------------------
fwkb Splft t i p at m.)
me-----------------------
fwith aplft ti p at@)O.)
m12--------..---.. -.--...
mkh SPlft flap at 75.)
ala-------------------------
m15----------------------
(wfth splft ti p at7s0.)
ml ---------------------
ml..----._---. --_--.-.-,
miti alift filmat 75.)
mu..---..---------..
m12..-..-..--__ ._--. __.-.
miti .mlft tip at 75.)
w12-----------------------
(with 2w2 llflp w Up.)
E.TW!-.._-__.__ .__. -----
(with 236r2 flap set m.)
X3rk Y 10--------------------
(Vi IthHfmdl eY Page slot.)
&ml
:%
L 7S9
.S22
.449
.222
.112
& 4m
;g
:911
.449
.224
. m
8.110
5.910
am
3.433
L 740
.919
.449
ILlm
%!
(Ax
.8s2
.444
8. Ifn
H%
L 740
.S37
.446
Km
km
8.210
w
L8@
.924
.4m
& 210
:%J
:H
8.124
w
L~
.m
.423
am
Lmo
.449
&240
%
L 740
.857
.449
&210
~ lm
33m
LtS6
%
8.140
&m
% 410
L~
L7@l
.m
.441
9. m
&m
4m
3.frm
2 C40
L2M
:%
.261
.135
(d=$.)
7. 3
7. 4
7. 4
7. 6
7.8
h 7
-46
-3.9
7. 2
7. 3
7. 4
7. 6
K 7
9. o
9. 2
&o
l & 1
--------
.--- -.
am
.Qa5
:E
.103
--------
- -----
--- ...
.035
i%
.Ca3
.U3
:%
.077
J. am
.- .
--------
14. 3 $. m
1& 6
L 1
16. 2
--------
.-----
?WI
---------
.0$3
s. ma
. . . . . . . . .
--. . . . . .
L 2
,--...,
.032
. . . . . . . . .
........
16. 6
,.. -,
.-----
.----
. . . . . . . .
,. . ..-.
23
--------
-- --- .
17. 3
------. .
------
-. ---
.. ---
-------
.Q
.
.:
.8
i :
13.8
----
--------
12 .5
.---
11.9
--------
-4.2
43
-4.2
-4.2
-4.1
-41
2;
-4.1
+.a
~. 0a4
.------- .
.----- .
--------
--------
---------
. KrJ
.-.-.-.--
..-.---
J.ma
.------
---------
.--. .
.-.---
.----
.101
. lMI
. Im
.0a7
%%
J.102
-------
.------
J.la3
,-.-----
S.la
,--
$.m
J.m
~.m
~.m
J.IB3
J.m
.--.-..--
--------
,--------
.---
%*PC
0.3!
.%
.?i
.C
.%
i :
- . m
. 24
. 1(
.31
.3f
.a
::
-------
..-----
.......
.10
------
.07
------
,.---
,------
-------
------
. ....
----
-----
------,
.-.---,
... -.
.a3
-------
------,
------.
------
-. .-.-,
-. ----,
------.
-------
.07
.15
.19
.13
:~
.45
------.
-------
.70
-------
.IK1
------.
.76
.76
.69
:8
.a
::
.64
.@
a. c. I
u
o . {. %&
(Pa-c% d (wA C)
I I I I
: y;: -o. lWJ L 2 -2
. 197 -4
.0120 -. K@ ii -8
.0124 . 210
. Ol a . . . . . . . . . . . . . --1:. . . . . -. . ! ! . .
. Ui 3 ------------ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. Oi m ------------ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. 0411 . . . . . . . . . ..- . . . . . . . . . ..- . . . . . . . . . . . .
.0127 -.132 L 5 2
. 01Z3 . Ha
. Olm . 133 ;: :
.0140 . 137
. Ol?a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..J!.. ..-. -..:-
.0215 . . . . . . . . . ..- . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
.02.m ------------ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
.Im2 ------------ ------------ . . . . . . . . . . . .
~.167
1-4~
.6 a
------------ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . --------- . . .
.--. .. ---- ---------- .- . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
------------ ---------- -. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
------------ ------------ ----------- . . . . . . . . . . . . .
----------- . . . . . . . . ..- - . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
------------ ------------ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
7. 169
$_. ~
1.2 7
------------ ------------ ------------ . . . . . . . . . . . .
------------ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
...........- ----------- .... ----.... -------.....
............ ............ ------------ ............
---------- ............ ............ ............
7. 201
s. =
L2 7
.. . . . . . . . ..- . . . . . . . ..- . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
.. . . . . . . . . . . ------------ . . . . . . . . . ..- . . . . . . . . . . . .
------------ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
.- -------- ------------ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
..-. .----- ---.-.----.- . . . . . . . . . ..- . . . . . . . . . . . .
. 03S1 . m 1.1 6
------------ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
7.m
1. 245
1.1 6
.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ------------ . . . . . . . . . . . .
.---------.- ------------ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..- .
----------- . . . . . . . . . . ..- ------------ . . . . . . . . . . . .
.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .._ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
----------- ------------ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
.0101 . m 23 7
.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..- ----------- . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . ..- ------------ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
----------- ------------ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
-------- . . . .. ------ . --------- -. . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1.191
1 .~
23 7
-.-..-.---- ------------ . . ------- --- . . . . . . . . ----
----------- . . . . . . . . . ..- . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..- . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .- . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . ..- ------------ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
.m . 019 1.0 7
----------- . . . . . . . . . ..- . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..- . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1.m
s. ~
1.0 7
. . . . . . . . . . . . A----- - . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
----------- - ----------- . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
----------- - . . . . . . . . ..- . . . . . . . . . . . . - . . . . . . . . . . .
----------- . . . . . . . . . ..- - . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . ..- . . . . . . . . . ..- . . . . . . . . . ..- . . . . . . . . . . . .
.We9 .m .6 8
. m74
:%
9
.m ;::
.WS .011 H
.OxQ ------------ . .._..!.:_ . . . . . . . . . . . .
.0119 . . . . . . . . . ..- . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
.0161
$.~
.5 8
---------- . . . -------- . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..- --- . . . . . . . . . . . .
.0184
1-. @-J
L 2 11
. . . . . . . . ..- . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..-
. W8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
.0242 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
.0249 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
.0230 ------------ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
.O.wl ------------ . . . . . . . . . ..- . . . . . . . . . . . .
.0264 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
.W2 . . . . . . . . . ..- . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. ml . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..- . . . . . . . . . . . .
. oml . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
.m . . . . . . . . . ..- . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. M81 .-- . . . ..- . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1&e footnDtal,& 39.
Weofzm td~~mti mtme apmmbmtfw~ti
7V81W ofthedrf gthat8ppf k9approximately over the entire umfuf rango of 11!1
Uft ma
CmJ6dents
JSlope of Ifft cnrm determfnd from lfnmr Ifft un-ve appmxfmatlng -anti
-..,. fe taken about the wm@namfo cantea of the Plafn wfng and k fafrly con.
llft ~
~et at M@ lift ddan~
*Dfawntinnfty premnt fn the @e offti
. . .. . fs taken abcmt tbe aaredynamfo center of the wing w4th nap neutral and Is
fdrf mutantatbkh Ifft tidenb.
IO%ot N. A. O. A.
AI RFOI L SECTI ON CHARACTERI STI CSAS
AI RFOJL
AFFECTED BY VARI ATI ONS OF THE REYNOLDS NUMBER 267
TABLE I I
SECTI ON CHARACI ERI STI CS
I
OkuffkMon
N. A. C . A. afrfoff
OhordI
ao9 . . . . . .._.. .-_ . . . . . . . . ..___ .-_.__.
am . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
W15-----------------------------------------
mls-----------------------------------------
%12. . . . . . . . ..- . . . . . . . -----------------------
23012. . . . . . . . . . .._ . . . .._. _-.-. __ . . ..__
ml%33.._ . . . .._. __ . . . . . . . . _________
2R112.- . . . ..-_ -_ . . . . . . . . . .._.. _....._-
Mm-----------------------------------------
u12.._.._.__.-. .-.__ . . . . . . . . ..___ . .
4416-----------------------------------------
6412_... _... -_._ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
m12----------------------------------------
m18-----------------------------------------
wm Mth split ti p at w--------------------
2X112Wltb eput Imp at w..-. _________
mlz Wltb 2put Ilap at 76------------------
m16----------------------------------------
23015Wftb aput tip at 7P-.. __________
We-...-.- . . . . . . ..-.. --.. -.-. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
23021wfth splft flnp at 7b0_._ . . . . .._-.-_
WIL--------------------------------------
4W2 Wi thql l f t ti pat 760_. -... -----------
mlz Wftb Z301zfl ap3 rip___________
ZJI12 Wltb ZJ312 de aet m..._._..._.-
& Cfazk Y wfth Han ey Page slot 1o------.
SE 2
c
. . .
R, ~
(znfflfons)
8.29
a37
&61
7.84
&24
&16
arm
Hl!
7.92
7.92
a 21
&10
a45
&11
am
a 10
&37
a 21
&21
&Is
azu
:2
8.14
am
Funds.nzantel.wMon chaiaotdstks
o
0
0
i o
L2
L 2
-i :
2:
5. 9
7. 3
7. 2
12 1
14. 3
lh 6
L 1
le. 2
L 2
16. 5
23
17. 3
-Ti :
-4.3
am
.Ow
.W7
. fm
.039
. lIN
. Qa7
.C@s
.02a
:%
.W3
.@J6
.W5
@.wl
4.W4
O.@s
.0%3
d.a36
.092
6.094
. lfm
O.m
.101
4.102
O.m
o
0
0
0
.14
.a3
.20
.10
.%
.32
.22
.37
.35
.24
-------
-------
I
-------
.10
-------
.07
-------
.26
.. . ..-.
.07
.45
.76
Lm&
.mn
S&
.Cc170
:%%
.W-3
:$%
.ml
.0115
.0127
.167
. lGS
.231
. ml
1.1fr3
.0101
T.191
. W76
r.m
.W
.0161
.0248
I
e=
..&
o
0
0
0
. 6f3
. cm
. 010
: E
. w
-. 0s.5
. la
. 169
. 132
. ZO
.230
l_. ~
. m
. 245
. W5
. m
. 019
. 225
: E
.-- . . ..
a. L @rcent
c from@)
1.0
i!
L7
i:
i;
.6
Jj
1.2
Lb
i;
H
k:
23
LO
LO
.5
.5
-------
AbovI
b
:
4
3
7
6
;
2
1
;
;
7
7
6
6
7
7
:
8
8
-------
1
meannm. @t310M 0[ Ilft cnrve dekmnfned from ffnmz lfft orzrve appmxfmntfng axperfmanhl
~Type of Me affact on mazinmm Mt. Ilft me.
j Type of Uftimrve x m shown fn the sktim below: 7Ve,fne of the drag that applfw approxfrzmtaly over the autfre nzafrd range of IUt
~.~/:-p ~:~.ft.dm.
.,,. Is taken about the rIer@mamfa mntw of the pkdn wfng and Is fafdy con.
~0- fe tien about the aanxfymemfa cent8r of the * wfth tip neutral (??)
and k fafrly mnstant at hfgh Ifft tidant&
t Tnrbulenm ferlor fs 264.
10NOt N. A. C. A.
JAngla of zero lfft detamfned from lfnaar Mft URVe appmzfznetfng ezperfmentaf

NACA All Re

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

NACA All Re

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

REPORT No.

You might also like