Questions tagged [airfoil]
The 2D shape of a section of aircraft wing.
186
questions
3
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2answers
109 views
Why do airfoils in an airplane's wings have different shape and size along its span?
Why wings of an airplane consist of different shape and size of airfoil. What will happen if the thickness of wing are same throughout the wing?
1
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1answer
94 views
Is there a database of airfoils for a given Reynolds number?
I'm trying to design my ultralight airplane. I know the basics of aerodynamics and airplane design, however, my question is
if there are any tools (online, software, database ) that suggest the best ...
2
votes
2answers
117 views
Difference between symmetrical and cambered airofoil?
I have seen images of cambered and symmetrical wings but apart from that what are the major differences between them?
I have also read that symmetric wings don't produce any lift at 0° AOA whereas ...
0
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0answers
40 views
How do I calculate the air pressure on the maximum bulge of the airfoil?
Picture 2: source.
Consider I have an airplane and it wing, of course. The cross-section of the airfoil is as the picture 1. The leading edge and the wind direction are depicted there. The leading ...
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0answers
33 views
Where can I find data comparing coefficient of lift (and drag) curves for any airfoil with and without flaps deployed
I'm doing my masters thesis on a FISHBAC wing so I'm hoping to find coefficient of lift and drag curves for any airfoil with and without (any type of) flaps deployed (and preferably leading edge ...
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0answers
84 views
Are there any lift or lift coefficient equations which factor in the flap deflection angle?
I'm asking this because I tested a NACA 2412 wing with an adjustable flap in a subsonic wind tunnel and I'm getting the lowest Cl values for the highest flap deflection angle.. which to my knowledge ...
1
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1answer
165 views
How much lift do supercritical airfoils produce?
Compared to your regular asymmetric cambered airfoil, How much does lift do supercritical airfoils produce?
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1answer
179 views
Why does the stall angle decrease as camber increases?
I have a rough idea about why $C_{{l}_{max}}$ increases with increase in camber.
But I can't explain why the stall angle decreases simultaneously.
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0answers
21 views
How to calculate the moment/torque at the center axis of a blade?
How do I calculate the moment/torque at the center axis (same plane with lift and drag force) of a blade with NACA airfoil standard when it is placed inside a wind tunnel or exposed to airflow?
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1answer
158 views
Is the highly optimized high subsonic cruise airfoil less safe for higher AOA flight? [duplicate]
An examination of the 737 airliner wing profile and that of a blue whale leads to the question of whether the high Reynolds number subsonic cruising airfoil and the low speed, high AOA airfoil are ...
8
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4answers
3k views
Why are the wings of some modern gliders tadpole shaped?
Why are the wings of some modern gliders tadpole shaped, rather than teardrop shaped? An example is the Schleicher ASG 29. Or did they just add a flat plate at the trailing edge for the flaps and ...
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0answers
71 views
Why the lift and drag coefficients for the simulations differ from the experimental value?
I am doing CFD simulations for NACA Airfoil 2415 using K-Omega SST model on ANSYS fluent. I am using an tetrahedral unstructured mesh with 20 Inflation layers on the wall. I have been comparing my ...
2
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1answer
108 views
Do commercial passenger airplanes have cambered airfoils?
It seems to me that they logically would, since they have no need to fly upside down like an aerobatic plane would (so they would not need a symmetric airfoil for any conceivable reason). That being ...
2
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1answer
165 views
Do Alaskan bush pilots generate a Clmax of 5 with 90° flaps?
I understand the Alaskan bush pilots use 90° flaps in the Valdez STOL competition. I think this would stall the flaps. And if so, it wouldn't increase lift and reduce stall speed, but Javafoil says ...
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1answer
54 views
How can a NACA2312 airfoil or similar have a camber location from 30 to 39% without a change in airfoil name?
How can a NACA2312 airfoil or similar have a camber location from 30 to 39% without a change in airfoil name?
Was fooling around in javafoil, and noticed I could go from 30% camber to 39% camber, ...
2
votes
2answers
118 views
Shouldn't the upwash on an airfoil increase the effective angle of attack?
From what I understand, induced drag comes from a reduction of the effective angle seen by the airfoil.
However, from wind tunnel smoke visualization, we can see that the streamlines at the leading ...
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0answers
52 views
What is the reason for circulation of air around an airfoil? Based upon the circulation of air, why are airfoils shaped the way they are? [duplicate]
Foreword: I am an Aerospace Engineering student and next year is my third and final year, starting September 2019.
I was taught approximately 2 semesters ago that the correct theory of lift is that ...
4
votes
1answer
86 views
What is the comparative roughness of fabric surfaces?
"The Design of the Aeroplane" by Darrol Stinton (1983) lists comparative roughness of aircraft skin material (pg 154). Unfortunately it does not list dope & fabric.
What is the comparative ...
2
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1answer
129 views
Where is the midspan airfoil located on the 737?
The 737 has a root airfoil, two midspans, and one outboard. Is the midspan located under the fuselage or between root and tip?
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0answers
54 views
What are the effects of endplate on airfoil section?
A 3D wing cannot achieve the same high lift/drag ratio (more than a hundred sometimes) displayed by a 2D profile (airfoil section).
This is due to 3D effects like spanwise flow, wingtip losses(...
2
votes
1answer
160 views
Shock wave on airfoil
I was wondering the other day, during the trans sonic regime, when the velocity over the airfoil becomes supersonic,why does the shock wave standing on the airfoil moves downstream when the free ...
2
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1answer
210 views
Would adding a slat and a slotted flap increase the max CL of a multi element airfoil to 6.5?
Would adding a slat and a slotted flap increase the of a multi element foil to 6.5?
I understand, as a general rule, the max $C_L$ for a classic NACA airfoil is as follows:
Base: 1.5
Slat: + 0.7
...
3
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2answers
173 views
What are the scale effects of GA wing tip airfoils?
[ update: I am adopting an improved description provided by Peter Kämpf: "...only looking at the airfoils in isolation..." ]
The goal of this question is to determine if wing tip airfoil scale plays ...
1
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1answer
91 views
NACA Airfoil 0005.4
I have come across this NACA profile
NACA 0005.4 mod
and it is not clear how to interpret this airfoil. Is this considered a 4 digit NACA profile? What does the number after dot mean?
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1answer
39 views
How could I find the air velocity and lift force?
As shown below I have this information as shown below in the picture. I got the density according to the ISA standard 𝜌 = 1.225[kg/m^3] and 𝐶𝐿 = 𝐶𝐿𝛼 (𝛼−𝛼0) is calculated as below :
α=−4: CL=...
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vote
2answers
296 views
How could I find 𝐶𝐿𝛼 lift coefficient slope?
I'm trying to find 𝐶𝐿𝛼 lift coefficient slope through the below diagram, could anyone explain for me please, how could I find it?
by the way, I depend on this equation 𝐶𝐿 = 𝐶𝐿𝛼 (𝛼−𝛼0)
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1answer
93 views
Foil lift question as foil get thicker/taller
I am working on a project and just need to understand one concept that I cannot find an answer to anywhere and hoping you could answer for me.
The project I'm working on is with airfoils and the main ...
6
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1answer
1k views
Is drag coefficient lowest at zero angle of attack?
The drag coefficient of a symmetric airfoil is lowest when its angle of attack is zero. I'm not sure if this is true in general.
0
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4answers
443 views
Does an rc plane tail also have airfoil or is it just flat material? [closed]
I've chosen an airfoil for the wing, now i'm confused weather i should do the same for tail or just attach a flat piece of wood as tail. I'm going for conventional tail design.
This is my first ever ...
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0answers
80 views
Is there a relationship between 2D airfoil aerodynamic results and a revolution body from that airfoil?
The airfoil would be symmetric and the axis of revolution would be its chord line.
Edit1: To clarify the question, suppose we have a NACA 0010. Then, using for example XFoil, I'm able to get, for ...
5
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2answers
498 views
What is the difference between static and dynamic stall?
What are the static and dynamic stalls on the aircrafts wing? When would we encounter static and when dynamic one? What is the difference between them?
3
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2answers
125 views
How can I tell from the location of flow separation if an airfoil is stalled?
I am in the process of completing a carbon airfoil for my track car (sedan) and I am looking to determine stall angle visually. AKA, wool tufts and highway runs with my GoPro pointed upward from the ...
2
votes
1answer
203 views
Why are hexa airfoils used on rockets despite having more drag that diamond airfoils? [closed]
I was doing a study on airfoils shape for a rocket. I tested the diamond and the hexagonal airfoil with Missile DatCom, RasAero and the Shock Expansion theory and from my results it seems like the ...
2
votes
2answers
208 views
What's the theoretical background of the critical angle of attack?
The critical angle of attack seems to be at all (most?) airfoils around 15-20°. Why is that? Why is it in this range and not lower or higher? Is it just the result of optimizing airfoils? Or is it ...
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0answers
267 views
What is the relationship between the Center of Pressure and flap deployment?
I have been reading regarding the Center of Pressure of an airfoil (Cp) and the relationship with angle of attack.
What is a good way to explain in layman's terms why the pressure changes in such a ...
1
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1answer
133 views
Anyone able to help identify what aerofoil this is?
Firstly, apologies for the potato quality of the image below. I am attempting to determine the qualities of a VTOL and cannot find any data online. If anyone knows what aerofoil this could be that ...
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0answers
75 views
What is subcritical and supercritical boundary layer?
What is subcritical and supercritical boundary layer?
What is the difference between them?
5
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2answers
737 views
What is a rudder or fin stall?
What is a rudder or fin stall, how will the aircraft behave in that situation, and how should the pilot recognise it? What is the recovery procedure? And what is rudder reversal?
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1answer
114 views
What airfoil type is used on the B727-200F?
What airfoil type is used on the Boeing 727-200F? Is it a NACA profile or something else?
0
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1answer
260 views
What to be considered in designing airplane tail (vertical and horizontal stabilizer, elevators and rudder)? [closed]
I would like to make a small amateur triplane with it maximum weight approximately 400 kgs with maximum speed 100 knots (180 kph). I have read many discussions about how to calculate the wing ...
2
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0answers
77 views
Where can I find airfoil data for the Beechcraft 1900D tail?
I am creating a CAD model of Beechcraft 1900D from images for a project. So far most info is available in http://www.users.on.net/~grypen/b1900d.html except the airfoil used by the tails. I have ...
2
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3answers
128 views
Fabric-covered Clark Y Max Coefficient of Lift
I'm looking at the Aeronca C-3 Collegian, which had a Clark Y airfoil, and I'm finding the following:
Wing area: 142 ft²
Empty weight: 466 lbs
Payload: 470 lbs
Stall speed: 38 mph
When I do the math ...
1
vote
1answer
119 views
What was the Airfoil of Handley Page P.115?
This extreme sweptback delta was built to test the Concorde wing at low speeds, sources say it had a biconv 6% airfoil, but I failed in finding data about it.
12
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4answers
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Why isn't there a single best airfoil for subsonic flight?
Why does airfoil used by modern subsonic aircraft (this is true for transonic airliners too) vary from plane to plane?
Haven't we figured out a single best airfoil shape, with the highest lift to ...
4
votes
2answers
548 views
Why does a sharp leading edge result in a larger pressure peak?
I know in the real world the sharp leading edge (LE) will results in a larger pressure peak compared to a large radius LE.
And that there are three types of stall.
But I want the explanation in ...
1
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1answer
107 views
Is high speed buffet possible at supersonic speed?
Since high speed buffet is caused by boundary layer separation due to shock wave and at supersonic flight there is no shock wave directly onto the airfoil (it is attached to the trailing edge), is ...
11
votes
4answers
658 views
Why does the aerodynamic center exist?
I am a glider pilot and instructor with a master’s degree in actuarial mathematics. I teach aerodynamics every winter for upcoming glider pilots.
As you surely know, the aerodynamic center is the ...
7
votes
1answer
183 views
Why does strong shock wave-boundary-layer interaction produce a bubble reattachment?
The picture represents a lambda type shock wave, separating the boundary layer at its foot. Separation causes a recirculation bubble to appear. I understand why separation has happened, but what is ...
1
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1answer
303 views
Circular arc airfoil wing: why does the wing nose down twist due to camber?
I am reading this paper:
"Computational Investigation of Microscale Shrouded Rotor
Aerodynamics in Hover" Vinod K. Lakshminarayan, James D. Baeder ; JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN HELICOPTER SOCIETY56, ...
-2
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1answer
350 views
the usage of thin airfoils for high-speed flight [closed]
what is The usage of thin aerofoils for high-speed flight
I tried those answers:
They are perfect for controlling the local angle of attack, for instance in turbomachinery and flaps.
At ...
