Linear Approximation for Supersonic Flow Past a Delta Wing

1997 ◽  
Vol 140 (4) ◽  
pp. 319-333 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shuxing Chen
1956 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 290-318 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. B. Whitham

A method is presented for treating problems of the propagation and ultimate decay of the shocks produced by explosions and by bodies in supersonic flight. The theory is restricted to weak shocks, but is of quite general application within that limitation. In the author's earlier work on this subject (Whitham 1952), only problems having directional symmetry were considered; thus, steady supersonic flow past an axisymmetrical body was a typical example. The present paper extends the method to problems lacking such symmetry. The main step required in the extension is described in the introduction and the general theory is completed in §2; the remainder of the paper is devoted to applications of the theory in specific cases.First, in §3, the problem of the outward propagation of spherical shocks is reconsidered since it provides the simplest illustration of the ideas developed in §2. Then, in §4, the theory is applied to a model of an unsymmetrical explosion. In §5, a brief outline is given of the theory developed by Rao (1956) for the application to a supersonic projectile moving with varying speed and direction. Examples of steady supersonic flow past unsymmetrical bodies are discussed in §6 and 7. The first is the flow past a flat plate delta wing at small incidence to the stream, with leading edges swept inside the Mach cone; the results agree with those previously found by Lighthill (1949) in his work on shocks in cone field problems, and this provides a valuable check on the theory. The second application in steady supersonic flow is to the problem of a thin wing having a finite curved leading edge. It is found that in any given direction the shock from the leading edge ultimately decays exactly as for the bow shock on a body of revolution; the equivalent body of revolution for any direction is determined in terms of the thickness distribution of the wing and varies with the direction chosen. Finally in §8, the wave drag on the wing is calculated from the rate of dissipation of energy by the shocks. The drag is found to be the mean of the drags on the equivalent bodies of revolution for the different directions.


2015 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 80-126 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shuxing Chen ◽  
Chao Yi

1950 ◽  
Vol 1 (4) ◽  
pp. 305-318
Author(s):  
G. N. Ward

SummaryThe approximate supersonic flow past a slender ducted body of revolution having an annular intake is determined by using the Heaviside operational calculus applied to the linearised equation for the velocity potential. It is assumed that the external and internal flows are independent. The pressures on the body are integrated to find the drag, lift and moment coefficients of the external forces. The lift and moment coefficients have the same values as for a slender body of revolution without an intake, but the formula for the drag has extra terms given in equations (32) and (56). Under extra assumptions, the lift force due to the internal pressures is estimated. The results are applicable to propulsive ducts working under the specified condition of no “ spill-over “ at the intake.


1973 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 120-128 ◽  
Author(s):  
J E Barsby

SummarySolutions to the problem of separated flow past slender delta wings for moderate values of a suitably defined incidence parameter have been calculated by Smith, using a vortex sheet model. By increasing the accuracy of the finite-difference technique, and by replacing Smith’s original nested iteration procedure, to solve the non-linear simultaneous equations that arise, by a Newton’s method, it is possible to extend the range of the incidence parameter over which solutions can be obtained. Furthermore for sufficiently small values of the incidence parameter, new and unexpected results in the form of vortex systems that originate inboard from the leading edge have been discovered. These new solutions are the only solutions, to the author’s knowledge, of a vortex sheet leaving a smooth surface.Interest has centred upon the shape of the finite vortex sheet, the position of the isolated vortex, and the lift, and variations of these quantities are shown as functions of the incidence parameter. Although no experimental evidence is available, comparisons are made with the simpler Brown and Michael model in which all the vorticity is assumed to be concentrated onto an isolated line vortex. Agreement between these two models becomes very close as the value of the incidence parameter is reduced.


Estimates for pressures on the surface of a given delta wing at zero incidence in a steady uniform stream of air are obtained by numerically integrating two semi-characteristic forms of equations which govern the inviscid supersonic flow of an ideal gas with constant specific heats. In one form of the equations coordinate surfaces are fixed in space so that the surface of the wing, which has round sonic leading edges, is a coordinate surface. In the other, two families of coordinates are chosen to be stream-surfaces. For each form of the equations, a finite difference method has been used to compute the supersonic flow around the wing. Convergence of the numerical results, as the mesh is refined, is slow near the leading edge of the wing and an extrapolation procedure is used to predict limiting values for the pressures on the surface of the wing at two stations where theoretical and experimental results have been given earlier by another worker. At one station differences between the results given here and the results given earlier are significant. The two methods used here produce consistent values for the pressures on the surface of the wing and, on the basis of this numerical evidence together with other cited numerical results, it is concluded that the pressures given here are close to the true theoretical values.


A theory is developed of the supersonic flow past a body of revolution at large distances from the axis, where a linearized approximation is valueless owing to the divergence of the characteristics at infinity. It is used to find the asymptotic forms of the equations of the shocks which are formed from the neighbourhoods of the nose and tail. In the special case of a slender pointed body, the general theory at large distances is used to modify the linearized approximation to give a theory which is uniformly valid at all distances from the axis. The results which are of physical importance are summarized in the conclusion (§ 9) and compared with the results of experimental observations.


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