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Airfoil
An airfoil (American English) or aerofoil (British English) is the shape of a wing, blade (of a
propeller, rotor, or turbine), or sail (as seen in crosssection).
An airfoilshaped body moved through a fluid produces an aerodynamic force. The component of this
force perpendicular to the direction of motion is called lift. The component parallel to the direction of
motion is called drag. Subsonic flight airfoils have a characteristic shape with a rounded leading edge,
followed by a sharp trailing edge, often with a symmetric curvature of upper and lower surfaces. Foils
of similar function designed with water as the working fluid are called hydrofoils.
The lift on an airfoil is primarily the result of its angle of attack and shape. When oriented at a suitable
angle, the airfoil deflects the oncoming air (for fixedwing aircraft, a downward force), resulting in a
force on the airfoil in the direction opposite to the deflection. This force is known as aerodynamic force
and can be resolved into two components: lift and drag. Most foil shapes require a positive angle of
attack to generate lift, but cambered airfoils can generate lift at zero angle of attack. This "turning" of
the air in the vicinity of the airfoil creates curved streamlines, resulting in lower pressure on one side
and higher pressure on the other. This pressure difference is accompanied by a velocity difference, via
Bernoulli's principle, so the resulting flowfield about the airfoil has a higher average velocity on the
upper surface than on the lower surface. The lift force can be related directly to the average top/bottom
velocity difference without computing the pressure by using the concept of circulation and the Kutta
Joukowski theorem. [1][2][3][4]
Examples of airfoils in nature and within various vehicles.
Though not strictly an airfoil, the dolphin flipper obeys the
same principles in a different fluid medium.
Contents
Overview
Airfoil terminology
Thin airfoil theory
Derivation of thin airfoil theory
See also
Notes
References
External links
Overview
A fixedwing aircraft's wings, horizontal, and vertical stabilizers are built with airfoilshaped cross sections, as
are helicopter rotor blades. Airfoils are also found in propellers, fans, compressors and turbines. Sails are also
airfoils, and the underwater surfaces of sailboats, such as the centerboard and keel, are similar in crosssection
and operate on the same principles as airfoils. Swimming and flying creatures and even many plants and
sessile organisms employ airfoils/hydrofoils: common examples being bird wings, the bodies of fish, and the
shape of sand dollars. An airfoilshaped wing can create downforce on an automobile or other motor vehicle,
improving traction.
Any object with an angle of attack in a moving fluid, such as a flat plate, a building, or the deck of a bridge, will
generate an aerodynamic force (called lift) perpendicular to the flow. Airfoils are more efficient lifting shapes, Streamlines around a NACA 0012 airfoil at
moderate angle of attack
able to generate more lift (up to a point), and to generate lift with less drag.
A lift and drag curve obtained in wind tunnel testing is shown on the right. The curve represents an airfoil with
a positive camber so some lift is produced at zero angle of attack. With increased angle of attack, lift increases
in a roughly linear relation, called the slope of the lift curve. At about 18 degrees this airfoil stalls, and lift falls
off quickly beyond that. The drop in lift can be explained by the action of the uppersurface boundary layer,
which separates and greatly thickens over the upper surface at and past the stall angle. The thickened
boundary layer's displacement thickness changes the airfoil's effective shape, in particular it reduces its
effective camber, which modifies the overall flow field so as to reduce the circulation and the lift. The thicker
boundary layer also causes a large increase in pressure drag, so that the overall drag increases sharply near and
past the stall point.
Airfoil design is a major facet of aerodynamics. Various airfoils serve different flight regimes. Asymmetric
airfoils can generate lift at zero angle of attack, while a symmetric airfoil may better suit frequent inverted flight
as in an aerobatic airplane. In the region of the ailerons and near a wingtip a symmetric airfoil can be used to
increase the range of angles of attack to avoid spin–stall. Thus a large range of angles can be used without
boundary layer separation. Subsonic airfoils have a round leading edge, which is naturally insensitive to the
angle of attack. The cross section is not strictly circular, however: the radius of curvature is increased before the
Lift and Drag curves for a typical airfoil
wing achieves maximum thickness to minimize the chance of boundary layer separation. This elongates the
wing and moves the point of maximum thickness back from the leading edge.
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Supersonic airfoils are much more angular in shape and can have a very sharp leading edge, which is very sensitive to angle of attack. A supercritical airfoil has its
maximum thickness close to the leading edge to have a lot of length to slowly shock the supersonic flow back to subsonic speeds. Generally such transonic airfoils and
also the supersonic airfoils have a low camber to reduce drag divergence. Modern aircraft wings may have different airfoil sections along the wing span, each one
optimized for the conditions in each section of the wing.
Movable highlift devices, flaps and sometimes slats, are fitted to airfoils on almost every aircraft. A trailing edge flap acts similarly to an aileron; however, it, as
opposed to an aileron, can be retracted partially into the wing if not used.
A laminar flow wing has a maximum thickness in the middle camber line. Analyzing the Navier–Stokes equations in the linear regime shows that a negative pressure
gradient along the flow has the same effect as reducing the speed. So with the maximum camber in the middle, maintaining a laminar flow over a larger percentage of
the wing at a higher cruising speed is possible. However, some surface contamination will disrupt the laminar flow, making it turbulent. For example, with rain on the
wing, the flow will be turbulent. Under certain conditions, insect debris on the wing will cause the loss of small regions of laminar flow as well. [5] Before NASA's research
in the 1970s and 1980s the aircraft design community understood from application attempts in the WW II era that laminar flow wing designs were not practical using
common manufacturing tolerances and surface imperfections. That belief changed after new manufacturing methods were developed with composite materials (e.g.,
graphite fiber) and machined metal methods were introduced. NASA's research in the 1980s revealed the practicality and usefulness of laminar flow wing designs and
opened the way for laminar flow applications on modern practical aircraft surfaces, from subsonic general aviation aircraft to transonic large transport aircraft, to
supersonic designs. [6]
Schemes have been devised to define airfoils – an example is the NACA system. Various airfoil generation systems are also used. An example of a general purpose airfoil
that finds wide application, and predates the NACA system, is the ClarkY. Today, airfoils can be designed for specific functions using inverse design programs such as
PROFOIL, XFOIL and AeroFoil. XFOIL is an online program created by Mark Drela that will design and analyze subsonic isolated airfoils. [7]
Airfoil terminology
The various terms related to airfoils are defined below:[8]
The suction surface (a.k.a. upper surface) is generally associated with
higher velocity and lower static pressure.
The pressure surface (a.k.a. lower surface) has a comparatively higher
static pressure than the suction surface. The pressure gradient between
these two surfaces contributes to the lift force generated for a given
airfoil.
The geometry of the airfoil is described with a variety of terms :
The leading edge is the point at the front of the airfoil that has maximum
curvature (minimum radius).[9]
The trailing edge is defined similarly as the point of maximum curvature at
the rear of the airfoil. Airfoil nomenclature
The chord line is the straight line connecting leading and trailing edges.
The chord length, or simply chord, , is the length of the chord line. That
is the reference dimension of the airfoil section.
The shape of the airfoil is defined using the following geometrical parameters:
The mean camber line or mean line is the locus of points midway between the upper and lower surfaces. Its shape
depends on the thickness distribution along the chord;
The thickness of an airfoil varies along the chord. It may be measured in either of two ways:
Thickness measured perpendicular to the camber line.[10][11] This is sometimes described as the "American
convention";[10]
Thickness measured perpendicular to the chord line.[12] This is sometimes described as the "British convention".
Some important parameters to describe an airfoil's shape are its camber and its thickness. For example, an airfoil of the
NACA 4digit series such as the NACA 2415 (to be read as 2 – 4 – 15) describes an airfoil with a camber of 0.02 chord located
at 0.40 chord, with 0.15 chord of maximum thickness. Different definitions of airfoil
thickness
Finally, important concepts used to describe the airfoil's behaviour when moving through a fluid are:
The aerodynamic center, which is the chordwise length about which the pitching moment is independent of the lift
coefficient and the angle of attack.
The center of pressure, which is the chordwise location about which the pitching moment is zero.
An airfoil designed for winglets (PSU
Thin airfoil theory 90125WL)
Thin airfoil theory is a simple theory of airfoils that relates angle of attack to lift for incompressible, inviscid flows. It was
devised by GermanAmerican mathematician Max Munk and further refined by British aerodynamicist Hermann Glauert
and others[13] in the 1920s. The theory idealizes the flow around an airfoil as twodimensional flow around a thin airfoil. It
can be imagined as addressing an airfoil of zero thickness and infinite wingspan.
Thin airfoil theory was particularly notable in its day because it provided a sound theoretical basis for the following
important properties of airfoils in twodimensional flow:[14][15]
1. on a symmetric airfoil, the center of pressure and aerodynamic center lies exactly one quarter of the chord behind the
leading edge.
2. on a cambered airfoil, the aerodynamic center lies exactly one quarter of the chord behind the leading edge.
An airfoil section is displayed at the
3. the slope of the lift coefficient versus angle of attack line is units per radian.
tip of this Denney Kitfox aircraft,
As a consequence of (3), the section lift coefficient of a symmetric airfoil of infinite wingspan is: built in 1991.
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where is the section lift coefficient,
is the angle of attack in radians, measured relative to the chord line.
(The above expression is also applicable to a cambered airfoil where is the angle of attack measured relative to the zerolift
line instead of the chord line.)
Also as a consequence of (3), the section lift coefficient of a cambered airfoil of infinite wingspan is:
where is the section lift coefficient when the angle of attack is zero.
Airfoil of Kamov Ka26 helicopters
Thin airfoil theory does not account for the stall of the airfoil, which usually occurs at an angle of attack between 10° and 15°
for typical airfoils. [16] In the midlate 2000's, however, a theory predicting the onset of leading edge stall was proposed by
Wallace J. Morris II in his doctoral thesis. [17] Morris's subsequent refinements contain the details on the current state of theoretical knowledge on the leading edge stall
phenomenon. [18][19] Morris's theory predicts the critical angle of attack for leadingedge stall onset as the condition at which a global separation zone is predicted in the
solution for the inner flow. [20] Morris's theory demonstrates that a subsonic flow about a thin airfoil can be described in terms of an outer region, around most of the
airfoil chord, and an inner region, around the nose, that asymptotically match each other. As the flow in the outer region is dominated by classical thin airfoil theory,
Morris's equations exhibit many components of thin airfoil theory.
Derivation of thin airfoil theory
The airfoil is modeled as a thin lifting meanline (camber line). The meanline, y(x), is considered to produce a
distribution of vorticity along the line, s. By the Kutta condition, the vorticity is zero at the trailing edge. Since
the airfoil is thin, x (chord position) can be used instead of s, and all angles can be approximated as small.
From the Biot–Savart law, this vorticity produces a flow field where
is the location where induced velocity is produced, is the location of the vortex element producing the velocity
and is the chord length of the airfoil.
Since there is no flow normal to the curved surface of the airfoil, balances that from the component of main flow
, which is locally normal to the plate – the main flow is locally inclined to the plate by an angle . That is:
and
By the Kutta–Joukowski theorem, the total lift force F is proportional to
and its moment M about the leading edge to
The calculated Lift coefficient depends only on the first two terms of the Fourier series, as
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The moment about the 1/4 chord point will thus be,
From this it follows that the center of pressure is aft of the 'quarterchord' point 0.25 c, by
The aerodynamic center, AC, is at the quarterchord point. The AC is where the pitching moment M' does not vary with angle of attack, i.e.,
See also
Circulation control wing
Hydrofoil
Kline–Fogleman airfoil
Parafoil
Notes
1. "...the effect of the wing is to give the air stream a downward velocity 11. Phillips, Warren F. (2010). Mechanics of Flight (2nd ed.). Wiley & Sons. p. 27.
component. The reaction force of the deflected air mass must then act on the ISBN 9780470539750.
wing to give it an equal and opposite upward component." In: Halliday, David; 12. Bertin, John J.; Cummings, Russel M. (2009). Pearson Prentice Hall, ed.
Resnick, Robert, Fundamentals of Physics 3rd Edition, John Wiley & Sons, Aerodynamics for Engineers (5th ed.). p. 199. ISBN 9780132272681.
p. 378
13. Abbott, Ira H., and Von Doenhoff, Albert E. (1959), Theory of Wing Sections,
2. "If the body is shaped, moved, or inclined in such a way as to produce a net Section 4.2, Dover Publications Inc., New York, Standard Book Number 486
deflection or turning of the flow, the local velocity is changed in magnitude, 605868
direction, or both. Changing the velocity creates a net force on the body" "Lift
14. Abbott, Ira H., and Von Doenhoff, Albert E. (1959), Theory of Wing Sections,
from Flow Turning" (http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/K12/airplane/right2.html).
Section 4.3
NASA Glenn Research Center. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/2011070
5131653/http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/K12/airplane/right2.html) from the 15. Clancy, L.J. (1975), Aerodynamics, Sections 8.1 to 8.8, Pitman Publishing
original on 5 July 2011. Retrieved 20110629. Limited, London. ISBN 0273011200
3. "The cause of the aerodynamic lifting force is the downward acceleration of air 16. Aerospaceweb's information on Thin Airfoil Theory (http://www.aerospaceweb.
by the airfoil..." Weltner, Klaus; IngelmanSundberg, Martin, Physics of Flight – org/question/aerodynamics/q0136.shtml)
reviewed (https://web.archive.org/web/20110719102847/http://user.unifrankfurt. 17. Morris, Wallace J., II (2009). "A universal prediction of stall onset for airfoils at
de/~weltner/Flight/PHYSIC4.htm), archived from the original (http://user.unifra a wide range of Reynolds number flows" (http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2009P
nkfurt.de/~weltner/Flight/PHYSIC4.htm) on 20110719 hDT.......146M). Ph.D. Thesis.
4. "...if a streamline is curved, there must be a pressure gradient across the 18. Morris, Wallace J.; Rusak, Zvi (October 2013). "Stall onset on aerofoils at low
streamline..."Babinsky, Holger (November 2003), "How do wings work?" (htt to moderately high Reynolds number flows" (https://www.cambridge.org/core/jo
p://www.iop.org/EJ/article/00319120/38/6/001/pe3_6_001.pdf) (PDF), Physics urnals/journaloffluidmechanics/article/stallonsetonaerofoilsatlowtomoder
Education, doi:10.1088/00319120/38/6/001 (https://doi.org/10.1088%2F00319 atelyhighreynoldsnumberflows/648F9A27BAEEBE84CF381225519749BC).
120%2F38%2F6%2F001) Journal of Fluid Mechanics. 733: 439–472. Bibcode:2013JFM...733..439M (htt
5. Croom, C. C.; Holmes, B. J. (19850401). Flight evaluation of an insect p://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2013JFM...733..439M). doi:10.1017/jfm.2013.440
contamination protection system for laminar flow wings (https://ntrs.nasa.gov/s (https://doi.org/10.1017%2Fjfm.2013.440). ISSN 00221120 (https://www.world
earch.jsp?R=19850067951). cat.org/issn/00221120).
6. Holmes, B. J.; Obara, C. J.; Yip, L. P. (19840601). "Natural laminar flow 19. Traub, Lance W. (20160324). "SemiEmpirical Prediction of Airfoil Hysteresis"
experiments on modern airplane surfaces" (https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R= (http://www.mdpi.com/22264310/3/2/9). Aerospace. 3 (2): 9.
19840018592). doi:10.3390/aerospace3020009
(https://doi.org/10.3390%2Faerospace3020009).
7. XFOIL (http://web.mit.edu/drela/Public/web/xfoil/)
20. Ramesh, Kiran; Gopalarathnam, Ashok; Granlund, Kenneth; Ol, Michael V.;
8. Hurt, H. H., Jr. (January 1965) [1960]. Aerodynamics for Naval Aviators. U.S.
Edwards, Jack R. (July 2014). "Discretevortex method with novel shedding
Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C.: U.S. Navy, Aviation Training
criterion for unsteady aerofoil flows with intermittent leadingedge vortex
Division. pp. 21–22. NAVWEPS 0080T80.
shedding" (https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journaloffluidmechanics/
9. Houghton, E.L.; Carpenter, P.W. (2003). Butterworth Heinmann, ed. article/discretevortexmethodwithnovelsheddingcriterionforunsteadyaerofoil
Aerodynamics for Engineering Students (5th ed.). p. 18. ISBN 0750651113. flowswithintermittentleadingedgevortexshedding/22E8CCED8CF58230DB0
10. Houghton, E. L.; Carpenter, P.W. (2003). Butterworth Heinmann, ed. E3DDFA0637D72). Journal of Fluid Mechanics. 751: 500–538.
Aerodynamics for Engineering Students (5th ed.). p. 17. ISBN 0750651113. Bibcode:2014JFM...751..500R (http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2014JFM...751..
500R). doi:10.1017/jfm.2014.297 (https://doi.org/10.1017%2Fjfm.2014.297).
ISSN 00221120 (https://www.worldcat.org/issn/00221120).
References
Anderson, John, D (2007). Fundamentals of Aerodynamics. McGrawHill.
Desktopaero (https://web.archive.org/web/20070222145228/http://www.desktopaero.com/appliedaero/airfoils1/tatderivation.html)
University of Sydney, Aerodynamics for Students (http://s6.aeromech.usyd.edu.au/aero/thinaero/thinaero.pdf)
Batchelor, George. K (1967). An Introduction to Fluid Dynamics. Cambridge UP. pp. 467–471.
External links
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airfoil 4/5
5/7/2018 Airfoil Wikipedia
UIUC Airfoil Coordinates Database (http://www.ae.uiuc.edu/mselig/ads/coord_database.html)
Airfoil & Hydrofoil Reference Application (http://www.skiasengineering.gr/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=19&Itemid=47)
FoilSim (http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/K12/airplane/foil2.html) An airfoil simulator from NASA
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