To find correct combination of elementry flows over

a specified body
1. Source panel method
2. Vortex panel method
. It become standard aerodynamics tool in industry
and a research laboratories.
. These are the numerical method appropriate for
solutions for a computers.
* limitation to non-lifting flows

Source sheet:

Vortex filament:

Vortex sheet:

Vortex sheet over the airfoil

surface:

Vortex sheet over the thin airfoil surface:

ds
dV
2r

Thin Airfoil theory:

Placement of the vortex sheet for thin airfoil analysis.

Determination of the component of freestream velocity normal to

the camber line.

Thin Airfoil theory:

Our purpose is to calculate the variation of (s) such
that the camber line becomes a streamline of the flow
and such that the Kutta condition is satisfied at the
trailing edge; that is, (TE) = 0.
Once we have found the particular (s) that satisfies
these conditions, then the total circulation around
the airfoil is found by integrating (s) from the
leading edge to the trailing edge.
In turn, the lift is calculated from via the KuttaJoukowski theorem.

 The velocity at any point in the flow is the sum of

the of the uniform freestream velocity and the
velocity induced by the vortex sheet.
Let V,n be the component of the freestream
velocity normal to the camber line.

For a thin airfoil at small angle of attack, both are

small values. Using the approximation that for
small , where , where is in radians, Equation
reduces to


Calculation of the induced velocity at the chord
line.

w x

d
2 x

c d
dz
V
0
0 2 x
dx

1 c d
dz

0
2
x
dx

In this section, we treat the case of a symmetric airfoil. As state in section, a symmetric
airfoil has no camber; the camber line is coincident with the chord line.
Hence, for this case, dz/d = 0, and Equation becomes

 The help deal with the integral in Equations and,

let us transform into via the following
transformation:

Since x is a fixed point in Equation and, it

corresponds to a particular value of , namely, 0,
such that

c
sin d
2

Substituting Equations into, and noting that the limits of integration

becomes at the leading edge (where =0) and = at the trailing edge
(where =c), we obtain

1 sin d
V

0
2 cos cos 0

2V

1 cos
sin

1 sin d V 1 cos d

2 0 cos cos 0
0 cos cos 0


V 1 cos d V
d
cos d

0 cos cos 0
0 cos cos 0 0 cos cos 0
V

0 V

1 sin d
V

0
2
cos cos 0

sin n0
cos nd

cos cos 0
sin 0

which is identical to equation. Hence, we have shown that Equation is indeed the
solution to Equation. Also, note that at the trailing edge, where

Equation yields

0
2V
0

which is an indeterminate from. However, using LHospitals rule on Equation,

sin
2V
0
cos

Thus, Equation also satisfies the Kutta condition.

We are now in a position to calculate the lift coefficient for a thin, symmetric airfoil.
The total circulation around the airfoil is
c

d
0

c
sin d
2 0

Using Equation and, equation transforms to

Substituting Equation into, we obtain

2V

cV 1 cos d cV
0

1 cos

Substituting Equation into the Kutta-Joukowski theorem, we find that the lift per unit span is

L' V c V2
c V2
c1
1
V2 c 1
2

c l 2

S c 1
L'
c

Substituting
Equation into, we have
l
qs

dc l
Lift slop=
2
d

sin

Calculation of moments about leading edge:

M 'LE dL V d
Transforming Equation via Equations and, and performing the integration,
we obtain (the details are left):

'
LE

q c
2
2

The moment coefficient is

c m ,le

q Sc
'
LE

where S = c(1).

Hence,

c m ,le

qc
2
'
LE
2

However, from Equation,

Combining equation and, we obtain

c m ,le

cl

cl

2

From Equation, the moment coefficient about the quarter-chord point is

l
m ,c /4
m ,le

Combining Equation and, we have

c m ,c /4 0

Important result:
Theoretical results for a symmetric
airfoil:
Cl =2.
Lift slope = 2.
The center of pressure and the
aerodynamic center are both located
at the quarter-chord point.