High Speed Flight

High-speed flight
Information Technology Services Slide 1

Introduction
• Air is assumed to be incompressible at low
speed flight. At low speeds, there is very little
change in density.
• The air behaves differently at high speeds
and the effects of ‘compressibility’ (changes
in temperature and density of the air) cannot
be ignored.
• The types of flow pattern associated with
subsonic speeds are entirely different from
the supersonic speeds.
• However, the effects of compressibility do not
suddenly appear when the aircraft attains the
speed of sound.
Introduction
• Generally consider the air to be
incompressible at speeds below Mach 0.4.
• Above Mach 0.4, the air is considered to be
compressible and compressibility effects are
started to be taken account.
• In pure subsonic and supersonic flight the
airflow over a wing or aircraft is predictable
and controllable, to a large extent.
• However, the transonic flight the control and
stability is highly demanded.

The speed of sound
• An important factor in the study of high-speed
flight.
• Small pressure disturbances are caused by
all parts of an aircraft as it moves through the
air.
• These disturbances move outward from their
source through the air at the speed of sound.
• Similar to the ripples on a pond that result
when a stone is thrown in the water.
• Speed of Sound is proportional to the square
root of absolute temperature.

The speed of sound
• When an aircraft below the speed of sound,
the pressure disturbances will be moving
faster than the aircraft, and those
disturbances will travel ahead of the aircraft
and influence the approaching airflow.
• If the aircraft travels through the air at the
speed of sound, the ‘message’ as given by the
pressure wave will not be able to travel out
ahead of it and the pressure waves will pile up
at the source of the disturbance causing a
shock or compression wave to form.
• The speed of sound changes with a change in
the temperature of the air.
The speed of sound
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-
d9A2oq1N38&feature=related
Basic terminology of high-
speed flight
 Mach number
 Freestream Mach number
 Local Mach number
 Subsonic flow
 Transonic flow
 Supersonic flow
 Hypersonic speeds
 Critical Mach number (MCR)
Mach number
• Aircraft that fly near or beyond the speed of
sound have shock waves associated with the
airflow around them.
• It is helpful at these speeds for the pilot of the
aircraft to know the speed of the aircraft in
terms of the speed of sound.
• M1= Mach 1(the speed of sound)
• M2 = Mach 2 (twice the speed of sound)
• M0.5 = Mach 0.5 (half the speed of sound)

Mach number
• Mach number (M) refers to the speed at
which an aircraft is travelling in relation to the
speed of sound.

Freestream Mach number
• The freestream Mach number is the Mach
number of the airflow at a distance from the
aircraft where the airflow is unaffected by the
presence of the aircraft.

Local Mach number
• When an aircraft flies at a certain free stream
Mach number, the flow over it is accelerated in
some places and slowed down in others.
• In aerodynamics, the airflow speed at a
particular location on the surface of the aircraft
expresses as the ratio of the speed of sound and
it is called “Local Mach number”.

Subsonic flow
• The term subsonic flow is used when the
aircraft’s speed is such that the airflow all over
it is less than the speed of sound—the
aircraft’s speed is less than about Mach 0.75
and the airflow all over the aircraft is less than
Mach 1.

Transonic flow
• In transonic flow, the freestream Mach
number (or the aircraft’s speed) is below
Mach 1 but is high enough to produce some
local Mach numbers greater than Mach 1.0.
That is, part of the airflow over the aircraft is
subsonic while some parts of the airflow
move at supersonic speeds (e.g. over the
aerofoil). The Mach numbers range from 0.75
to 1.20.
• Note: The transonic flight regime varies from
aircraft to aircraft .

Supersonic flow
• In supersonic flow, the local Mach numbers
are greater than Mach 1.0, and freestream
flow is Mach 1.0 or more.
• The Mach numbers range from 1.2 to 5.0.
Above Mach 5.0 the ‘heat barrier’ comes into
effect (more about this later).

Hypersonic speeds
• Speeds above Mach 5 are said to be in the
hypersonic range.

Critical Mach number (M ) CR
• As the airflow increases in velocity there will

be an even greater increase in the speed of
airflow over certain parts of the aircraft .
• For example, airflow over the point of greatest
camber of the aerofoil or other protrusions
such as the canopy will be significantly higher
than the freestream airspeed.
• The critical Mach number is the Mach number
(less than 1) at which local airflow velocities
on the aircraft reach supersonic speeds and a
shock wave may form (transonic speed).
• This is the critical Mach number (MCR) of the
aircraft type.
Critical Mach number (M ) CR

Principles of high-speed
airflow
• When the body moving in the atmosphere, it
is making the small pressure disturbances.
• These pressure disturbances are transmitted
as the sound waves.
• The body’s Mach number indicates the
relative speed between these pressure
disturbances and the sound wave.
• If M=0 (the body is stationary), then the
sound waves radiate outward in concentric
circles from the body like ripples from the
point where a stone lands in a pond.
airflow
• If the body is moving with the a speed (M<1)
then the sound waves upstream of it are closer
together because each successive wave is
generated from a point further upstream.
• The speed relative to the body at which each
wave moves upstream is a-V because the
body is moving the same direction as the
waves.
• The opposite effect is happening the
downstream since the spacing between the
waves is greater and the waves are moving at
a+V relative to the body.
airflow
• When the body is moving at the same speed
as the sound wave M=1 (V=a) emits, all of
the pressure waves emitted by the body
reaches a point ahead of it at the same time it
does emitting.
• This pressure compression waves will be
normal to the direction of the body’s travelling
path and it is called a normal Mach line or
normal Mach wave.

airflow
• When the body is moving with speed (“V”)
greater than the speed of sound “a”(M>1),
the Mach wave trails back from the body at
an angle.
• This trailing line is called the oblique Mach
line or the oblique line.
• As the body moves, the wave front
represented by the oblique line propagates
(travels out) at the right angles to itself, at the
speed of sound.

Mach cone
• If an aircraft is moving faster than the speed
of sound, the sound waves produced cannot
move ahead of the aircraft .
• As the aircraft and its environment are three-
dimensional, in reality, a complete conical
Mach wave (a three-dimensional oblique
Mach wave) will be formed around the aircraft
starting at the nose and expanding outward
and extending beyond the rear of the aircraft.
• This is known as the Mach cone.
• Any part of the aircraft protruding through this
cone will form its own conical Mach wave or
Mach cone.
Mach cone
• The faster the aircraft travels, the more
oblique is the Mach line and the narrower the
Mach cone.

Incompressible flow
• At low subsonic speeds the air surrounding an
aircraft undergoes only very small changes in
total pressure without significant changes in
density.
• In these conditions the assumption that the air
is not compressed or ‘incompressible’ is made.
• Hence the term incompressible flow generally
applies to the low end of the subsonic speed
range (below about Mach 0.4).
• This assumption greatly simplifies the
mathematics associated with the study of low-
speed aerodynamics.
Compressible flow
• At high subsonic flight speeds however, there
are significant changes in the pressure of the
air as it meets and flows around the aircraft.
• Since air is a compressible fluid, the
increases in pressure result in significant
changes in density and temperature.
• These changes are responsible for the
various effects observed as the flight speed
increases and become too great to be
ignored hence it is called the “compressible
flow”.
Compressibility effects
• The density and temperature changes to the
airflow, and the effects they have on aircraft
performance, are termed collectively
compressibility effects.
• Some of the more notable of these
compressibility effects are:
 shock waves
 shock drag
 wave drag
 shock stall
 divergence
 control reversal
Shock and expansion waves
• Once supersonic flow is present on the
aircraft, all changes in velocity; pressure,
density and flow direction take place quite
suddenly and in relatively confined regions.
• These changes are dramatic and hence the
term “shock”.
• Aircraft are affected by the formation of three
types of waves in the transonic and
supersonic flight.
• Two of these are classed as compression
waves and the other is termed an expansion
wave.

Shock Wave

Shock and expansion waves
• The expansion wave is not so sudden and
therefore is not so wasteful of energy as the
compression/shock waves.
• The differences in wave types are caused by
the flow direction change that occurs.
• The types of shock waves are:
 normal shock wave
 oblique shock wave
 expansion wave (or fan).

Normal shock wave
• The first wave to appear on an aerofoil,
usually on the top surface.
• Once M is exceed, the aircraft is flying in the
CRIT
transonic speed range with supersonic flow

on the top surface but subsonic flow exists
elsewhere.
• All pressure disturbances behind this sonic
flow cannot be propagated forward because
they run into sonic velocities travelling
rearward.
• A normal shock wave is formed where the air
slows from supersonic to subsonic.

Normal shock wave
• As the air flows through the normal shock
wave, it undergoes a rapid compression.
• The compression decreases the kinetic
energy of the airstream and converts it into a
pressure and temperature increase behind
the shock wave.
• The heat rise behind the shock wave is either
radiated to the atmosphere or absorbed by
the wing surface and ending up with losing
energy.
• This losing energy is known as the “wave
drag”.

Normal shock wave
http://selair.selkirk.bc.ca/Training/Aerodynamics/shockwave-formation.html

Normal shock wave
• While travelling well below the speed of
sound, no shock waves are being produced
to slow the aircraft down.

Normal shock wave
• At M=0.8, the flow immediately in front of the
shock wave is supersonic, but all the rest of
flow is subsonic.
• The shock wave will form on the top surface first
in any aerofoil.

Normal shock wave
• At M=1.0, the area of the supersonic flow has
increased but the flow behind the shock wave
is still subsonic.

Normal shock wave
• At M=1.1, nearly all the flow is supersonic,
but there are still small some regions of the
subsonic flow immediately in front of the LE
at the stagnation point where the flow is
about to rest, and immediately behind the TE
is forming the transonic region.

Normal shock wave
• At M=2, the flow is all supersonic and the
bow wave will attach itself to the LE as an
oblique shock wave.

Oblique shock wave
• An oblique shock wave is inclined an angle to
the upstream flow and may remain
supersonic downstream of the shock wave.
• It will occur when a supersonic flow
encounters a corner that effectively turns the
flow into itself and compresses.
• The upstream streamlines are uniformly
deflected after the shock wave so that after
leaving the shock it will continue on parallel to
the surface behind the shock .
Oblique shock wave

Oblique shock wave

Oblique shock wave

Expansion wave (or fan)
• A Prandtl-Meyer expansion fan is a centred
expansion process, which turns a supersonic
flow around a convex corner.
• The fan consists of infinite number of Mach
waves, diverging from a sharp corner.
• In case of a smooth corner, these waves can
be extended backwards to meet at a point.
• Each wave in the expansion fan turns the
flow gradually (in small steps).



Shock-induced stall
• Flow separation at transonic speeds is generally
related due to the presence of the shock.
• The normal shock wave on the top and bottom
surface of the aerofoil, causes a decrease in the
speed and energy of the airflow behind the
shock.
• Result in breaking away the boundary layer
behind the shock wave or creating more
turbulent flow.

Shock-induced stall

Shock-induced stall
• Because of boundary layer separation (stall)
on low speed aerodynamics causes certain
observable effects, for example:
 buffeting, because of the turbulence on
controls surfaces and other parts of the
aircraft
 loss of useful lift and therefore a stall
 changes to the pressure distribution, causing
longitudinal pitch changes.

Shock-induced stall
• The shock stall results from a separated
boundary layer acts just like the low speed
stall (buffeting, loss of lift, and a shift in the
centre of pressure).
• The major difference in the way they occur is
the high angle of attack stall will always occur
at a particular high angle of attack, however
the shock stall is dependent on aircraft
speed, not angle of attack, and thus occurs at
low angles of attack.
• Separated flow due to a shock stall can
cause severe damage to the airframe,
especially the empennage.
Shock-induced drag (or shock
drag)
• Refers as drag divergence, or drag rise or
force divergence.
• Shock drag occurs at transonic speeds where
drag increases dramatically because of the
shock wave formation.
• Shock drag is similar to form drag and skin
friction in that the drag opposes the motion of
the body through the air by exerting forces
either at right angles or tangential to the
surfaces of the body.

drag)
• Kinetic energy from the air is converted into
heat energy as the airflow slows down
through the shock wave.
• Let consider the aircraft moving through still
air, rather than air moving over a stationary
aircraft.
• As the aircraft travels at transonic and
supersonic speeds shock waves attached to
it are ‘dragged’ through the air.
• As these shock waves pass they impose
changes on the air through which they pass.
drag)
• The energy imparted to the air by the shock
waves to heat it and compress it must be in
turn supplied by the aircraft.
• Hence more energy has to be supplied to
enable the aircraft to travel at speeds where
shock waves are present on the aircraft and
so the term this shock-induced drag or shock
drag is introduced.
• Shock drag is the major obstacle in getting
through the transonic range and maintaining
Mach 1 or greater.
drag)
• The transonic flight range is associated with the
first appearance of the shock waves on the
aircraft’s surfaces.
• Shock drag may be considered to consist of two
types of drag: wave drag and boundary layer
drag.
• Wave drag is the drag which results from the
wave-making process, that is, drag caused by
the dissipation of energy in the shock wave.
• Boundary layer drag is caused by the thickened,
turbulent boundary layer or separated boundary
layer.
drag)

drag)
• Shock drag can cause an increase in drag
coefficient (C ) up to ten times normal.
D
• The Mach number where shock drag starts is

called the force divergence Mach number
and usually exceeds the critical Mach number
by 5-10%.
• The term divergence comes from the
compressibility effects encountered as the air
changes its characteristics.

drag)
• As the speed of our aircraft increases further
into the supersonic, the drag rise will peak
and then drop off to a point around one-and-
a-half to two times its subsonic value.
• It is true to say that a significant amount of
the power for a supersonic jet is required, not
to fly supersonic speed, but to get it through
the transonic flight regime.

drag)

Mach angle
• The angle formed by the shock wave in
relation to the body (of the aerofoil or the
aircraft).
• At M ,a normal shock wave occurs on the
CRIT
aerofoil at 90° to the airflow.

• At M 1.0 this wave attaches itself to the
trailing edge as an oblique shock wave.
• At some higher Mach number, the bow wave
will also attach itself to the leading edge as
an oblique shock wave.
• As speed increases, the angle of these
waves will decrease.
Mach angle
• The nose of an aircraft will form a cone made
up of a shock wave, called a Mach cone the
shock on the leading edge or trailing edge of
a wing will form a wedge shape.

Mach Cone Angle
• In 3D motion, the disturbances propagating
from a moving point source expand outward
as spheres, not circles. If the speed of the
source (V) is greater than the local speed of
sound (a), these spheres are enclosed with a
Mach cone.
• The Mach cone angle is the angle between
the upper and lower Mach line.

Mach Cone

Design effect and Shock wave
• The critical Mach number ( M ) indicates the CRIT
speed at which shock waves begin to appear

on the aircraft.
• Designers can increase the M of the aircraft CRIT
and reduce the strength of the shock waves.

• The designers usually concern about modern
commercial transport aircraft to operate at as
high speed as possible without encountering
the troublesome and costly effects of shock
drag.
• A high M results in faster flight times, less
CRIT
fuel wastage and less impact on the

structure.
Design effect and Shock wave
• Overall, it is important to give the airflow as
gradual acceleration and deceleration as
possible.
• This means the aerofoils, fuselage, tailplane,
control surfaces and engine nacelles are
made as slim as possible.
• Making the acceleration and deceleration of
the airflow as gradual as possible reduces
the strength of the shock waves and so
reduces shock drag and shock-induced
separation.

Aerodynamic heating
• Any fluid flowing over a surface will
experience a reduction in velocity of the fluid
when direct contact with the surface because
of friction between the fluid and the surface
over which it flows.
• This friction causes aerodynamic heating of
both the fluid and the surface of the body.
• At low speeds the amount of heat involved is
small and does not cause any significant
problems; but as the speed increases this rise
in temperature of the aircraft structure
becomes very significant.
Aerodynamic heating
• Another form of aerodynamic heating is
called ram temperature rise due to the effect
of dynamic pressure and temperature rise.
• This heating occurs where there is a very
large reduction in airflow velocity, so the
greatest temperature rises occur at the
various stagnation points on the aircraft (e.g.
the leading edges or nose of the aircraft).
• When the flow becomes turbulent, the
heating effect is significantly more than for
laminar flow. Hence in areas on the aircraft
that are subject to turbulent flow, local skin
temperatures may be significantly higher.
Heat barrier and Sound barrier
• The aircraft passes through the sound barrier
and heat barrier is different.
• The sound barrier problems are eventually left
behind as higher speed is progressed,
however by going faster the heating problems
simply get worse.
• The heat barrier is the aerodynamic limit as a
barrier imposed by the limitations of the
aircraft materials constructed.
• The aircraft speed is limited by the ability of its
materials to withstand the temperatures
experienced at that speed, and not to
compromise on changing conditions of airflow.
Aerodynamic heating
• Aerodynamic heating can have disastrous
effects on the structure of the aircraft.
• Therefore the aircraft is fitted with skin
temperature sensors that warn the aircrew if
a skin overheat is about to occur.

Aerodynamic heating
Several methods have been tried to overcome
problems associated with aerodynamic
heating.
 insulation by shielding or blankets
 developing materials that withstand higher
temperatures
 radiating the heat away from the surfaces
 circulating cooling fluid under the surface
 refrigerating under the surfaces.
 Internal cooling for the equipment, fuel, and
crew is also necessary
 Light alloys are usable up to about Mach 2.
Aircraft and wing design for
high-speed flight

Thickness/chord (t/c) ratio
• Thickness/chord ratio is the ratio of the
aerofoil thickness to the chord length usually
expressed as a percentage.
• The lower the t/c ratio, the higher the critical
Mach number.
• In simple terms, the lower the ratio, the
thinner the wing.

• Thin sections and laminar flow are used on
most high-speed aircraft.
• Laminar flow aerofoils are thinner than the
normal low-speed aerofoil and have a gently
graduated camber with the point of maximum
camber being further back on the surface.
• Some laminar flow aerofoils have so little
camber and they are almost symmetrical.
• The end effect is that a smoother, more
gradual acceleration is imparted to the
airflow.
• The laminar flow aerofoil will have a relatively
sharp or small radius leading edge.
• The t/c ratio of most modem fighter aircraft
is around 7-8% and achieving an MCR of
about 0.8 Mach.
• The t/c ratio can be reduced to achieve
MCR over 0.9; however, there are major
structural concerns with the design of
wings such a thin wing.
• The thin wings are hard to manufacture
with the required strength and rigidity.
Some drawbacks of the laminar flow aerofoil
are:
 A low value of maximum lift coefficient (CL )
increases the stall speed.
 Behaviour of the aerofoil near the high
incidence stall is inferior to the conventional
aerofoil because of the rate at which the
transition point moves forward in the stall.
 Aerofoils of this shape are very sensitive to
slight changes of contour, in fact so sensitive
on some that even a spot of dirt can cause
the transition point to move up to that spot.
Fineness ratio
• Applies to such things as the body and nacelles
of our aircraft.
• The same principles which applied to the
thickness/chord ratio of the aerofoil apply to the
aircraft as a whole.
• The fineness ratio is the ratio of the length to the
maximum diameter of a streamline body.
• The reciprocal of the thickness ratio, although
these two measures are generally reserved for
two different kinds of aerodynamic body.
• The higher the fineness ratio, the slimmer is the
body and the higher the critical Mach number.

Area rule
• Already discussed the necessity for the airflow at
transonic and high subsonic speeds to be given
a gradual increase in speed and then a gradual
decrease.
• To achieve this the cross-sectional area of a
body (fuselage) must increase gradually and
then decrease.
• For high-Speed objects, the maximum cross-
sectional area should be about half way, rather
than a third of the way back.

Area rule
http://videos.howstuffworks.com/nasa/2133-
supersonic-flight-video.htm

Area Rule
• Anything added to this body, for example
wings, will cause a sudden increase in the
cross-sectional area (of the body as a whole).
• To compensate for the increase caused by
the addition of the wings or tail we must
decrease the cross-section of the fuselage.
• Making the aircraft conform to area rule will
often give the fuselage a distinctive waist
This waist is sometimes called a wasp waist
or the coke-bottle effect.

Area rule

Area rule

Divergence (or wing torsional
divergence)
• Aerofoils in high-Speed airflows can suffer
from an aeroelastic problem called divergence.
• This phenomena is caused by the high
dynamic pressures due to the compressible
flow, and elastic deflection of the structure.
• Divergence is a violent instability which causes
immediate failure.
• This is different from force divergence or
shock-induced stall.
divergence)
• If the aerofoil is above divergence speed, any
airflow disturbance causes an increase in lift
(acting at the aerodynamic centre) of the
aerofoil.
• If the aerodynamic centre is ahead of the
elastic axis of the wing, then the wing will twist
leading edge up. This will result in a further
increase in angle of attack, producing even
more lift and the cascading effect continues
until total failure occurs.
divergence)
• To avoid problems with divergence, wings
must have a high torsional stiffness
(resistance to twisting).
• Such a characteristic is difficult to build into
wings with a very thin section.
• A compromise must be made between the
desirable aerodynamic shape and the
structural necessity.

The sound barrier
• The changes of sound that occur in the
transonic regime are quite significant.
• Therefore the designers of the aircraft they
designed aircraft to get as much speed as
possible without reaching the critical Mach
number and the term sound barrier evolved.
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHrwgRsX
0BI

The sound barrier
The rise and fall of the lift /drag coefficient as
the speed of the aeroplane increases.

The sound barrier
• As the speed increases, the CL increases
initially; however at the point the CD starts to
rise sharply there is a dramatic drop in CL.
• As the drag rise peaks and falls so does the
CL fall and rise.
• At a speed just above Mach 1, the CL begins
to drop gradually to a certain point leaving an
aerofoil in supersonic flow producing less lift
than it does in a subsonic flow.

The sound barrier
• In low speed flight, the advantages of
symmetrical aerofoils is that the C of P does
not move with changing AOA.
• However, this does not come to in a shock-
induced stall.
• When the shock-induced separation starts,
the centre of pressure moves forward to
approximately the 25% chord position.
• As speed increases, the shock waves move
back and the boundary layer re-attaches.
• The centre of pressure now moves aft to the
50% position.
The sound barrier

The sound barrier
• The overall effect shows that as the aircraft
passed through the transonic region, the drag
is increased while lift is reduced.
• However, it is also found that the aeroplane is
now flying smoothly on the other side of the
sound barrier.

Devices to prevent or delay
separation
• The separation is caused by the boundary
layer becoming sluggish, and losing energy
over the rear part of the aerofoil.
• It then separates becoming thick and
turbulent.

Devices to prevent or delay
separation
To avoid this separation, certain design
features have been created, some of these
are:
 vortex generators -
 leading edge notches and saw-tooths
 thickened trailing edge
 wing fences
 droop snoot and leading edge flaps.
Vortex generators
• In order to reduce the drag caused by
supersonic flow over portion of the wing,
small airfoils called vortex generators are
installed vertically into the airstream.
• Can be achieved by delaying the separation
due to the excessive angles of attack or
shock wave formation.
• Because of the low aspect ratio of the vortex
generators, they develop strong tip vortices.

Vortex generators
• These tip vortices draw high energy (high
velocity) air from outside the sluggish
boundary layer and introduce it into the
boundary layer.
• This re-energises the boundary layer air
helping to delay separation.

Vortex generators

Vortex generators
• Vortex generators function in the same way
regardless of how the separation is caused—
they re-energise the boundary layer to delay
the separation.
• When used to delay shock-induced
separation their effect is to increase the
strength of the shock wave needed to cause
the separation.
• Their effectiveness is partly offset by a slight
low-speed drag penalty:

Vortex generators
• The location of vortex generators is usually
the result of a lot of expensive research and
testing.
• When used to delay shock-induced
separation at high speed, they are usually
mounted in rows on top of the wing.
• For low-speed separation prevention they
may be mounted almost anywhere on the tail
surfaces and wings.
• Care is needed as not to damage them or
change them in anyway.
Vortex generators
Vortex generators can be classified as the co-
rotating or contra-rotating types.
 Co-rotating vortex generators are all angled
in the same direction and generate vortices
which rotate in the same direction.
 Contra-rotating vortex generators are angled
alternately in opposing directions and
generate alternate vortices which rotate in
opposite directions.

Types of vortex generators

Leading edge notch or saw-
tooth
• Usually found on aircraft with swept or delta
wings.
• One of the problems with swept or delta
wings is the tendency for spanwise airflow to
cause separation at the tips first which will
lead to the problems with roll control.

tooth
• A notch or saw-tooth creates a single,
powerful vortex out near the wing tip causing
two effects:
• It straightens the airflow thus checking its
spanwise movement.
• It injects high energy air into the boundary
layer thus delaying separation in that region.

tooth

Thickened trailing edges
• Thickened trailing edges cause small vortices
to be shed at the trailing edge similar to the
vortices generated by vortex generators.
• Not as effective as vortex generators
because the vortices do not affect the airflow
very far forward on the rear of the aerofoil.

Wing fences
• Similar dimensions to vortex generators
except extending chordwise for a
considerable distance on the top surface.
• Primarily to check the spanwise flow of air
along the surface.
• Generates a vortex which has a similar effect
to a wing notch.

Wing fences
• The boundary layer fence, plus other devices
such as the saw-tooth or notched leading
edge, cause an increase in drag; however,
this small increase is more than
compensated for by the large amount of
boundary layer drag these devices reduce or
eliminate.
• Also reduce buffeting and weaken the shock
wave.

Droop snoot and leading edge
flaps
• Refers to the capability of the aerofoil to
down turn its leading edge.
• If the leading edge is capable of being
extended as well as drooping it is termed a
leading edge flap.
• Actually the term droop snoot tends to be
universally used regardless of whether the
leading edge is also extendable or not.

Droop snoot and leading edge
flaps
• Although it can be used to advantage on
low-speed aircraft as well, the droop snoot
is most often used on high-speed aerofoils
to prevent separation at the lower end of
the speed range when the aerofoil is at
high angles of attack (e.g. during take-off
and landing).

Sweepback
• Sweepback has several beneficial effects on
the high-speed characteristics of a surface.
 Increase in MCR number
 Increase force divergence Mach number
 Increase in Mach number at which the drag
rise peaks.
 The drag rise peak will be reduced to a lower
CD.
 Decrease in the magnitude of changes in force
and moment coefficients.
 Reduces loss of lift due to compressibility.
Sweepback

Sweepback
• Sweeping the wings the effective chord can
be increased.
• Since the thickness is not changed, the ratio
of t/c has been reduced.
• Lower t/c ratio, higher MCR is achieved.

Advantages of sweepback

• Due to reduction in the aerofoil’s maximum lift
curve, less sensitive to gusts and turbulence
with having experience less disturbance for a
given aspect ratio and wing loading.
• Sweep back raises the divergence speed.
• A swept forward wing lowers the divergence.
The swept forward wing has never become
popular because of its significant aeroelastic
problems.
• All high-Speed aerofoils are designed for
operation within their divergence speed limits.
• A small positive effect on weathercock
stability.
• The wing advancing into the airflow (wing)
produces more lift, and hence more induced
drag. The retreating wing similarly produces
less drag (on the left-hand side). The drag
differential due to the yawing movement thus
produces a counter clockwise moment
opposing the yaw.
• Sweepback contributes to lateral stability in
the same way as dihedral.

Yawing moment on sweep
wing

Rolling moment on swept wing

Disadvantages of sweepback
• Tapering and sweeping back wings tendency
to wingtip stall first.
• Tip stall reduces the stall warning and causes
dangerous lateral control problems.
• Designers may need to use a high level of
sweepback to obtain the necessary
performance, but the structural considerations
will require a high level of taper.
• The aerofoil must be aerodynamically tailored
to provide the necessary stall characteristics.
Wingtip stall on sweepback
wing

• The designer must also provide the right lift
distribution for cruise conditions to reduce the
drag.
• The methods and devices which may be
used to achieve this are:
 Washout.
 gentle reduction of the aerofoil camber
throughout the span.
 Fences.
 Slats.
• Due to the reduction of maximum lift at slow
subsonic speeds the stall speed of the
aircraft will increase, and increase the wing
surface area to control this problem to
compromise the benefits of using sweep
wings.
• To gain performance advantages on sweep
wings, the side effects of increased stall
speed, increased take-off speed and
increased landing speed are generally
accepted.

• Sweepback also reduces the effectiveness of
trailing edge controls.
• If a single slotted flap across 60% of a wing,
the flaps will give the following increase in
C - to the wing when operated:
LMAX
• straight wing—approximately 50% increase

• swept wing (35° sweep)—approximately 20%
increase.

• Sweepback increases lateral stability
• Excessive lateral stability contributes to Dutch
roll and reduces controllability.
• Produce marginal controllability during
crosswind take-offs and landings where a
certain amount of controlled sideslip is
desirable.
• large swept wing aircraft with high wings have
(anhedral) and lateral control devices to
reduce the lateral stability providing for
crosswind take-off and landing requirements.
• The swept wing creates structural and
aeroelastic problems.
• Sweep wing has a greater structural span
than a straight wing of same area and AR.
• Increase wing structural weight as greater
bending and shear material must be
distributed in the wing to produce the same
designed strength.
• Due to the influence of wing deflection on the
spanwise lift distribution, wing bending will be
occurred.
• Wing bending causes tip rotation (LE
down) tends to unload the tips and move
the average centre of pressure for the
aerofoil forward.
• Total drag on the swept planform will be
higher than on a rectangular planform after
passing through the transonic range.
• Only of major significance if the aircraft is
to be continuously operated at high
supersonic speeds.
Advantages/disadvantages of
delta wings
• A high degree of sweepback on a very thin
wing.
• Structurally stronger and easier to build than
a swept back wing.
• The low t/c ratio reduces wave drag at
supersonic speeds.
• A large span reduces induced drag at all
speeds.

delta wings
• The long chord of will assist in reducing the
t/c ratio percentage.
• The large area provides a cushioning effect
when near the ground.
• The high degree of sweep on the delta wing
provides a surprising advantage, and
particularly on the Concorde.

delta wings
• The tendency for sweepback to cause tip
stall.
• On the delta wing, as the tip stall tries to
move inboard, it is swept off the leading edge
as a very strong and stable vortex.
• The low pressure core of the vortex actually
applies a suction to the forward facing parts
of the aerofoil providing a lift boost and form
thrust—in effect, negative drag.

delta wings
• This effect will occur only on highly swept
wings of over approximately 55° sweep, and
assists in all flight regimes; however it is most
significant at high CL, for example, in landing.
• The main disadvantage of delta wings is the
increased drag resulting in a lower lift drag
ratio.

Variable geometry
• Variable geometry, or swing wing allows to
use the best qualities and minimise the
disadvantages of straight wings, highly swept
wings and everything in between.
• The wide acceptance of variable geometry
since its early-day problems is quite easy to
see by the number of modern aircraft that use
it.
• The main disadvantage of variable geometry
is the complexity and weight of the
mechanism required for actuation.

Aerofoils for high-speed flight
• For an aerofoil in supersonic flow, straight
lines, flat surfaces, and sharp corners are, up
to a point as good as curves and rounded
corners. They are also easier to build.
 Flatplate
 Double-wedge
 Bi-convex.

Flatplate
• A good example of how simple a very
effective supersonic aerofoil can be.
• In supersonic flight the changes that occur
due to compressibility can be used to
produce a lifting force.
• The flatplate is actually the single most
effective and stable lifting surface for
supersonic flight if it has enough strength.
• Aircraft has to fly below the speed of sound,
and a flatplate makes a lousy aerofoil at
subsonic speeds.

Flatplate
• At give a flat plate a small angle of attack in a
supersonic flow, oblique shock waves form
on the forward lower and rear upper edges
and that expansion waves form on the
forward upper and rear lower edges.
• The expansion wave expands the air and
reduces the pressure; the oblique shock
wave compresses the air and increases the
pressure.
• From lift and drag can be attained.

The flatplate as a supersonic
aerofoil

The pressure distribution
over a flatplate

Double-wedge aerofoil
• Easiest way to make a flatplate a viable
proposition.
• Allows to put in the necessary structure for
stiffness and strength.

• Very little difference at supersonic speeds
whether the thickest point is at 40% chord or
60% chord.
• The best position subsonic flight would be at
40%.

• For the double-wedge with a small angle of
attack the following changes occur to the
shock waves are:
 The forward upper wave reduces in strength
and the lower wave increases in strength.
 The increased wave strength on the lower
wave causes an increase in pressure which
provides lift to the forward half of the wedge.
 The expansion wave on the top surface
expands the airflow and reduces the
pressure, creating the lift for the rear half of
the aerofoil.

Bi-convex aerofoil
• As effective as any of the previously
mentioned ones; however it is better at
subsonic speeds than the others.

Bi-convex aerofoil

High Speed Flight

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• As the airflow increases in velocity there will

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transonic speed range with supersonic flow

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• The Mach number where shock drag starts is

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aerofoil at 90° to the airflow.

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speed at which shock waves begin to appear

and reduce the strength of the shock waves.

fuel wastage and less impact on the

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