Aircraft Aerodynamics

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Aircraft Aerodynamics The fundamental idea behind the shape of an aircraft’s wing is that, in forcing a fluid to move faster over one surface of an object than another, the pressure difference between the two surfaces generates a force, or lift, on the object. Creating an aerodynamic aircraft wing is essential in order to generate enough lift for a plane to fly, as too much drag would cause a loss of speed, in turn shrinking the lift force and grounding the aircraft. A conventional aircraft wing produces lift by forcing air to move faster over its smooth, curved upper surface, and slower underneath along the flat, angled bottom of the wing. This lift force is increased by increasing the length of the wing, creating a larger area over which the pressure difference accumulates. Drag on a conventional wing is largely caused by the trailing edge of the wing, which creates an area of extreme low pressure along the back edge of the wing as the aircraft moves at speed through the air. This area generates a turbulent flow in the wing’s wake, producing a large drag force on the aircraft. In order to combat this, aircraft wings are designed with a slow taper towards the trailing edge of the wing, allowing the passing air to gradually return to normal pressure and decreasing the drag force on the plane. In addition to the wing, the body of a conventional aircraft will also generate a drag force, and must be designed with smooth transitions where air will begin and end its contact with the body surface. This transitioning will reduce low pressure points along the craft, preventing unnecessary drag forces from generating. These principles of aerodynamic aircraft design, while still holding true for supersonic aircraft, are greatly exaggerated at the incredibly high speeds reached, and therefore must be accommodated for through the alteration of the wing’s design. In addition to this, the conditions faced also allow for the formation of shock waves, which increase drag exponentially. Firstly, in order to restrict the formation of shock waves, the body of supersonic aircraft must be designed as uniformly as possible. This uniformity is achieved through the long taper of the aircraft’s nose which pierces the air, forcing streamlines to form along the outside of the craft, along with the avoidance of any sudden size changes along the body. While a longer wing is desirable for conventional flight, as it allows for a larger lift force to generate, it greatly hinders the ability of flight as an aircraft approaches and reaches the speed of sound. This is due to the shock waves, which form along the wing, generating an enormous drag force as they move along the wing and break up into a turbulent wake. In order to combat this, the horizontal wingspan of a supersonic aircraft must be reduced, minimising drag caused by shock waves along the wing. Since supersonic aircraft require a short wingspan, the wing must be extended further backwards in order to allow for an appropriate surface for the lift to generate along. This led to the implementation of a swept wing, which works to both minimise and delay shock wave drag forces.
A short horizontal wingspan, however, proved detrimental to the aircrafts performance during take off and subsonic travel, as the wings didn’t generate enough lift at the lower speeds. To allow for travel at both subsonic and supersonic speeds the Delta Wing and variable-sweep designs were implemented. The Delta Wing design, which resembles an upside-down triangle from below, generates appropriate lift along its large surface area, combined with a more powerful jet engine. Alternately, the variable-sweep design enables subsonic and supersonic flight by extending the lower portions of the wing outwards during low speed flight, increasing the lift generated, before retracting into a swept wing for high speed flight, avoiding excessive shock wave generation and propagation. Anonymous. n.d. “Shock Waves.” Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. https://howthingsfly.si.edu/aerodynamics/shock-waves . Dunbar, Brian. 2015. “What Is Aerodynamics?” NASA. https://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/5-8/features/nasa-knows/what-is- aerodynamics-58.html . Elert, Glenn. n.d. “Shock Waves – The Physics Hypertextbook.” The Physics Hypertextbook. https://physics.info/shock/ . Smauro. 2017. “Supersonic Revolution.” HistoryNet. https://www.historynet.com/supersonic-revolution.htm . The Engineer. 2017. “The Evolution of the Aircraft Wing.” The Engineer. https://www.theengineer.co.uk/the-evolution-of-the-aircraft-wing/ .
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