![]() ![]() In America, the aerodynamicist Richard Whitcomb produced supercritical airfoils similar to Kawalki's earlier work these were used to devise a supercritical wing that was, in turn, incorporated into both civil and military aircraft. In particular, Hawker Siddeley Aviation designed a number of advanced airfoils that were, amongst other programmes, incorporated into the Airbus A300. Following the end of the conflict, multiple nations continued research into the field, including Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Kawalki, who designed a number of airfoils during the Second World War. The origins of the supercritical airfoil can be traced back to the German aerodynamicist K. A. ![]() Supercritical airfoils are designed to minimize this effect by flattening the upper surface of the wing. The formation of these shockwaves causes wave drag. As the speed of the aircraft approaches the speed of sound, the air accelerating around the wing reaches Mach 1 and shockwaves begin to form. Both the thickness distribution and the camber of the wing determine how much the air accelerates around the wing. Standard wing shapes are designed to create lower pressure over the top of the wing. Supercritical airfoils are characterized by their flattened upper surface, highly cambered ("downward-curved") aft section, and larger leading-edge radius compared with NACA 6-series laminar airfoil shapes. The supersonic flow over a supercritical airfoil terminates in a weaker shock, thereby postponing shock-induced boundary layer separation.Ī supercritical airfoil ( supercritical aerofoil in British English) is an airfoil designed primarily to delay the onset of wave drag in the transonic speed range. Illustrated are: A – supersonic flow region, B – shock wave, C – area of separated flow. Conventional (1) and supercritical (2) airfoils at identical free stream Mach number. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |