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Note on the Experimental Aspect of one of the Assumptions of Prandtl's Aerofoil Theory

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 August 2017

Extract

Mr. Glauert's paper “Theoretical Relationships for the Lilt and Drag of an Aerofoil Structure ” strikes a bold note in asking us to discuss the fundamental principles of Prandtl's aerofoil theory rather than its detailed application. His suggestion is a particularly good one, however difficult the task. Justification of the geeneral truth of the suggestions brought forward by Lanchester, and so ably developed bv Prandtl and his colleagues and others, have frequently been afforded by the application of the theory, and similar support only awaits the seeking. But, to achieve its greatest utility, the theory should enable us to extrapolate experimental knowledge with confidence; an example is provided by the question as to what limit, if any, exists to the camber of wings on economic grounds and apart from burble considerations. An approximate tally—rough, in some cases—of the theory with observation over a limited range is inadequate to establish it sufficiently for such a purpose. The theory may indicate with truth the existence of, say, a limit to a certain development, but its numerical calculation of the limit may yet be widely wrong.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Royal Aeronautical Society 1923

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References

Note page 503 * Mr. Harris Booth first suggested to me the existence and importance of the Pitot boundary. He also added the note that is given above as a caution and which differentiates it from, say, the slip-stream boundary used in airscrew theory.

Note page 505 * I regret that the paper dealing with this question is not yet published.

It is therefore a little difficult to see that the pressure diagram along the chord is determined by the methods developed by Joukowski, and is not rather controlled by viscosity.