Flow over an Airfoil

Lecture By : Deepak Prasad

Lecture Outline
 Lecture - Content
 What is an airfoil?
 Airfoil application/nomenclature
 Lift and drag force
 Lift characteristics
 Activities
 Open discussion
Course Learning Outcomes
 Apply the fundamentals of fluid mechanics to solve problems involving
fluids.
Lesson Learning Outcomes
 On successful completion of this lesson, students should be able to:

 Calculate lift and drag acting on an airfoil.

 Explain how an airfoil generates lift.
What is an Airfoil?
 Consider a wing of an airplane as shown in Fig. 1. The wing extends in
the y-direction (the span direction).

Figure 1. Airfoil section

 The freestream V∞ is parallel to the xz plane. Any section of the wing
cut by a plane parallel to the xz plane is called an airfoil.
Applications of Wings/Airfoils

Figure 2. Aeroplanes.

Figure 3. Wind turbine.

Applications of Wings/Airfoils

Figure 4. Racing cars. Figure 5. Production cars.

 Airfoil Nomenclature
Upper Surface
Lower Surface

Figure 6. Airfoil nomenclature.

Mean Camber Line: is the locus of points halfway between the upper and lower surfaces
measured perpendicular to the mean camber line itself.
Leading Edge: Most forward point of mean chamber line.
Trailing Edge: Most rearward point of mean chamber line.
Chord, c: Distance from leading to trailing edge.
What Causes Aerodynamics Forces?
 Forces acting on the airfoil/wing comes from 2 sources:
 Pressure distribution (P) over the body surface. (P)
 Acts normal to the surface.

Figure 7. Pressure distribution.

 Shear stress (t) distribution over the body surface.

 Acts tangential to the surface.

Figure 8. Shear stress distribution.

Resolving the Aerodynamics Forces?
 V∞ = free-stream velocity
 α = angle of attack and is defined as the angle between chord line (c) and V∞
 Total aerodynamic force, R, can be resolved
into two force components
R

 Lift, L: Component of R perpendicular

to free-stream velocity
 Drag, D: Component of R parallel α
to free-stream velocity V∞

Figure 9. Resultant aerodynamics forces.

 Lift and Drag Force

1  The unit for lift and drag is Newtons, N.

Lift : L   ACLV2
2
1  A = Planform Area [A= C × b (b is the span)]
Drag : D   ACDV2
2  ρ = is the density
L CL  CL is the coefficient of lift (Dimensionless)

D CD  CD is the coefficient of drag (Dimensionless)
 L/D is the lift to drag ratio
Forces Acting on a Plane During Flight
 During a horizontal flight
 Lift = weight
 Thrust = Drag
 Power generated as the plane moves
forward is
1
P  D  V   ACDV3
2
Figure 10. Forces acting on a plane.
Example
The wing of a small airplane is rectangular in plan having a span of 9 m
and chord length of 1.5 m. In a horizontal flight at 200 km/hr, the
aerodynamic lift force acting on the wing is 20 kN. If the lift-to-drag ratio
is 10, make calculations for

a) the lift and drag coefficients, and

b) power required for the flight.

Take density of air as 1.2 kg/m3.

Example Solution
 Given
C  1.5 m b  9 m A  9 1.5 13.5 m 2 V  200 km / hr  55.56 m / s
L CL
L  20 kN   10   1.2 kg / m3
D CD
a)
1
L   ACLV2
2
2L 2  20 10 3
CL    0.8
 AV 1.2 13.5  55.56
2 2
Example Solution
L CL 0.8
  10 therefore CD   0.08
D CD 10
b)

L CL 20 kN
  10 therefore D   2 kN
D CD 10
P  D  V  2  103  55.56  111.12 kW
How Does an Airfoil Generate Lift?
 Bernoulli’s Principle

P V2
 z C
 g 2g

Figure 11. Velocity streamline. Figure 12. Pressure contour.

 Lift Characteristics

Figure 13. Pressure contour at α = 0°. Figure 14. Pressure contour at α = 10°.
Figure 15. Pressure coefficient
 With increasing α: at different α.
 Suction on the upper surface increase.
 This causes the lift to increase.
 The drag also increases as α increases
Lift Characteristics
 The lift increases with increasing α.
Lift or Lift Coefficient

 It reaches a maximum and then

starts to drop.
 This is known as stalling which is
Stalling
caused by flow separation.
 The drag increases significantly after
stall.

Angle of Attack, a
Figure 16. Lift characteristics at different α.
Class Activity
 What are the units of lift and drag?
 The component of the aerodynamic force that is
normal to the free-stream velocity is called _______?
Homework
A small airplane has a mass of 1800 kg and a wing
area of 42 m2. Determine the lift and drag coefficients
of this airplane while cruising at an altitude of 4000
m at a constant speed of 280 km/hr and generating
190 kW of power.
Additional Resources
 Airfoil nomenclature
 Video link
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fk2J5LtdSg

 How airfoils generate lift?

 Video link
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fk2J5LtdSg
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFO4PBolwFg
Thank you for
your attention.