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The Drag of Non-Planar Thickness Distributions in Supersonic Flow

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 June 2016

E. W. Graham ,
B. J. Beane  and
R. M. Licher
E. W. Graham
Affiliation:
Douglas Aircraft Company, Inc., Santa Monica, California
B. J. Beane
Affiliation:
Douglas Aircraft Company, Inc., Santa Monica, California
R. M. Licher
Affiliation:
Douglas Aircraft Company, Inc., Santa Monica, California
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Summary

For many conventional aircraft, the thickness of the wing and fuselage can be represented approximately by source distributions in the plane of the wing and on the axis of the fuselage. Such aircraft may be considered as having essentially planar thickness distributions. However, missiles with cruciform wings, biplane arrangements, “ ring ” wings and so on, require non-planar source distributions to represent the wing and fuselage thickness. For this reason, the term “ spatial thickness distribution ” is used.

To simplify the investigation of spatial thickness distributions, a singularity representing an element of volume is introduced. It is shown that the optimum distribution of such elements in a prescribed space gives rise to a minimum wave drag value consistent with that obtained for a Sears- Haack optimum body of revolution.

Type
Research Article
Information
Aeronautical Quarterly , Volume 6 , Issue 2 , May 1955 , pp. 99 - 113
Copyright
Copyright © Royal Aeronautical Society. 1955

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References

1. Sears, William R. On Projectiles of Minimum Wave Drag. Quarterly of Applied Mathematics, Vol. IV, No. 4, 1947.Google Scholar
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4. Jones, R. T. Theoretical Determination of the Minimum Drag of Airfoils at Supersonic Speeds. Journal of the Aeronautical Sciences, Vol. 19, No. 12, December 1952.Google Scholar
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