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It is stated that the index value 6000, as found in normal tests of wing sections with a 20 cm chord, falls in the same region where the transition of laminar to turbulent flow takes place on thin flat plates. It is to be expected that slightly cambered, thin wing sections will behave similarly. The following test of two such wing sections were made for the purpose of verifying this supposition.
Report is a brief summary of investigations on symmetrical and cambered airfoils in the DVL high-speed tunnel. Some information on the effects of low aspect ratio are also included.
A limited number of lifting-surface-theory solutions for wings with chordwise loadings resulting from angle of attack, parabolic-ac camber, and flap deflection are now available. These solutions were studied with the purpose of determining methods of extrapolating the results in such a way that they could be used to determine lifting-surface-theory values of the aspect-ratio corrections to the lift and hinge-moment parameters for both angle-of-attack and flap-deflection-type loading that could be used to predict the characteristics of horizontal tail surfaces from section data with sufficient accuracy for engineering purposes. Such a method was devised for horizontal tail surfaces with full-span elevators. In spite of the fact that the theory involved is rather complex, the method is simple to apply and may be applied without any knowledge of lifting-surface theory. A comparison of experimental finite-span and section value and of the estimated values of the lift and hinge-moment parameters for three horizontal tail surfaces was made to provide an experimental verification of the method suggested. (author)
Report presents results of wind tunnel tests of cambered aerofoils and body-wing combinations used for biplanes. Aerodynamic characteristics including drag, lift-drift ratio and stability derivatives are given.
The object of this investigation was to determine the characteristics of various types of wings having sufficient depth to entirely inclose the wing bracing, and also to provide data for the further design of such sections. This type of wing is of interest because it eliminates the resistance of the interplane bracing, a portion of the airplane that sometimes absorbs one-quarter of the total power required to fly, and because these wings may be made to give a very high maximum lift. Results of the investigation of the following subjects are given: (1) effect of changing the upper and lower camber of thick aerofoils of uniform section; (2) effect of thickening the center and thinning the tips of a thin aerofoil; (3) effect of adding a convex lower surface to a tapered section; (4) effect of changing the mean thickness with constant center and tip sections; and (5) effect of varying the chord along the span.
The effect of the characteristics of an airplane on balance, stability, and controllability, based on free flight tests, is discussed particularly in respect to the longitudinal motion. It is shown that the amount of longitudinal stability can be varied by changing the position of the center of gravity or by varying the aspect ratio of the tail plane, and that the stability for any particular air speed can be varied by changing the camber of the tail plane. It is found that complete longitudinal stability may be obtained even when the tail plane is at all times a lifting surface. Empirical values are given for the characteristics of a new airplane for producing any desired amount of stability and control, or to correct the faults of an airplane already constructed. (author)
This investigation is an extension of NACA report no. 75 for the purpose of studying the effect of various modifications in a given wing section, including changes in thickness, height of lower camber, taper in thickness, and taper in plan form with special reference to the development of thick, efficient airfoils. The method consisted in testing the wings in the NACA 5-foot wind tunnel at speeds up to 50 meters (164 feet) per second while they were being supported on a new type of wire balance. Some of the airfoils developed showed results of great promise. For example, one wing (no. 81) with a thickness in the center of 4.5 times that of the U. S. A. 16 showed both uniformly high efficiency and a higher maximum lift than this excellent section. These thick sections will be especially useful on airplanes with cantilever construction. (author)
A systematic series of 27 wing sections, characterized by a small travel of the center or pressure, have been investigated at 20 atmospheres pressure in the variable density wind tunnel of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics. The results are consistent with each other, and indicate that for such "stable" sections a small effective camber, a small effective S-shape and a thickness of 8 to 12 per cent lead to good aerodynamic properties.
The aerodynamic characteristics of 24 airfoils are given for speeds of 0.5, 0.65, 0.8, 0.95, and 1.08 times the speed of sound, as measured in an open-jet air stream 2 inches in diameter, using models of 1-inch chord. The 24 airfoils belong to four general groups. The first is the standard R. A. F. family in general use by the Army and Navy for propeller design, the members of the family differing only in thickness. This family is represented by nine members ranging in thickness from 0.04 to 0.20 inch. The second group consists of five members of the Clark Y family, the members of the family again differing only in thickness. The third group, comprising six members, is a second R. A. F. Family in which the position of the maximum ordinate is varied. Combined with two members of the first R.A.F. family, this group represents a variation of maximum ordinate position from 30 to 60 percent of the chord in two camber ratios, 0.08 and 0.16. The fourth group consists of three geometrical forms, a flat plate, a wedge, and a segment of a right circular cylinder. In addition one section used in the reed metal propeller was included. These measurements form a part of a general program outlined at a Conference on Propeller Research organized by the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics and the work was carried out with the financial assistance of the committee (author)
In order to give the large-scale characteristics of a variety of airfoils in a form which will be of maximum value, both for airplane design and for the study of airfoil characteristics, a collection has been made of the results of airfoil tests made at full-scale values of the reynolds number in the variable density wind tunnel of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics. They have been corrected for tunnel wall interference and are presented not only in the conventional form but also in a form which facilitates the comparison of airfoils and from which corrections may be easily made to any aspect ratio. An example showing the method of correcting the results to a desired aspect ratio has been given for the convenience of designers. In addition, the data have been analyzed with a view to finding the variation of the aerodynamic characteristics of airfoils with their thickness and camber.
This report gives a simple and exact method of calculating the lift distribution on thin wing sections. The most essential feature of the new theory is the introduction of an "ideal angle of attack," this angle being defined as that at which the flow enters the leading edge smoothly or, more precisely, as the angle of attack at which the lift at the leading edge equals zero. The lift distribution at this particular angle is shown to be a characteristic property of the section and has been termed the "basic distribution." it is shown that the lift of a wing section may always be considered to consist of (a) the basic distribution and (b) the additional distribution, where the latter is independent of the mean camber line and thus identical for all thin sections. The specific reason for the poor aerodynamic qualities of thin wing sections is pointed out as being due to the fact that the additional lift in potential flow becomes infinite at the leading edge. It is established that the essential parameter occurring in this analysis is the radius of curvature at the leading edge. It is further established that the actual slope of the lift curve is dependent on this parameter. The theoretical lift distribution is compared with the distribution obtained by direct measurement on a number of the more conventional wing sections. The new theory is of value in calculating the strength of wing sections.
Aerodynamic force tests were made on a combination of a Clark Y wing and a narrow auxiliary airfoil to find the best location of the auxiliary airfoil with respect to the main wing. The auxiliary was a highly cambered airfoil of medium thickness having a chord 14.5 per cent that of the main wing. It was tested in 141 different positions ahead of, above, and behind the nose portion of the main wing, the range of the test points being extended until the best aerodynamic conditions were covered. A range of positions was found in which the combination of main wing and auxiliary gave substantially greater aerodynamic efficiency and higher maximum lift coefficients (based on total area) than the main Clark Y wing alone. In the optimum position tested, considering both the maximum lift and the speed-range ratio, the combination of main wing and auxiliary gave an increase in the maximum lift coefficient of 32 per cent together with an increase in the ratio of 21 per cent of the respective values for the main Clark Y wing alone.
Pressure measurements were made in flight on the right upper wing of an M-3 airplane. The effects of tip plan form, washout, and transverse camber were investigated with eight tip forms in unyawed conditions through the range of positive lift coefficients from zero lift to the stall. The conclusion is that the tip plan form does not influence the span distribution of the coefficients of normal force and moment. It is shown inferentially that temperature, humidity, and the aging of the wood and fabric wing structure used on the M-3 airplane have an appreciable influence on the load distribution.
This report gives the results of tests in the NACA full-scale and variable-density tunnels of a new wing section, the NACA 23012, which is one of the more promising of an extended series of related airfoils recently developed. The tests were made at several values of the Reynolds number between 1,000,000 and 8,000,000. The new airfoil develops a reasonably high maximum lift and a low profile drag, which results in an unusually high value of the speed-range index. In addition, the pitching-moment coefficient is very small. The superiority of the new section over well-known and commonly used sections of small camber and moderate thickness is indicated by making a direct comparison with variable-density tests of the NACA 2212, the well-known NACA family airfoil that most nearly resembles it. The superiority is further indicated by comparing the characteristics with those obtained from full-scale-tunnel tests of the Clark y airfoil.
Wind-tunnel tests are reported of six 3-blade 10-foot propellers operated in front of a liquid-cooled engine nacelle. The propellers were identical except for blade airfoil sections, which were: Clark y, R.A.F. 6, NACA 4400, NACA 2400-34, NACA 2rsub200, and NACA 6400. The range of blade angles investigated extended for 15 degrees to 40 degrees for all propellers except the Clark y, for which it extended to 45 degrees. The results showed that the range in maximum efficiency between the highest and lowest values was about 3 percent. The highest efficiencies were for the low-camber sections.
An aid in airplane design, charts have been prepared to show the effects of wing taper, thickness ratio, and Reynolds number on the spanwise location of the initial stalling point. Means of improving poor stalling characteristics resulting from certain combinations of the variables have also been considered; additional figures illustrate the influence of camber increase to the wing tips, washout, central sharp leading edges, and wing-tip slots on the stalling characteristics. Data are included from which the drag increases resulting from the use of these means can be computed. The application of the data to a specific problem is illustrated by an example.
Report presents the results of an investigation made in the NACA 7 by 10-foot wind tunnel of a NACA 23012 airfoil with 30-percent-chord venetian-blind flaps having one, two, three, and four slats of Clark y section. The three-slat arrangements was aerodynamically the best of those tested but showed practically no improvement over the comparable arrangement used in the preliminary tests published in NACA Technical Report No. 689. The multiple-slat flaps gave slightly higher lift coefficients than the one-slat (Fowler) flap but gave considerably greater pitching-moment coefficients. An analysis of test data indicates that substitution of a thicker and more cambered section for the Clark y slats should improve the aerodynamic and the structural characteristics of the venetian-blind flap.
Theoretical tunnel-wall corrections are derived for an airfoil of finite thickness and camber in a two-dimensional-flow wind tunnel. The theory takes account of the effects of the wake of the airfoil and of the compressibility of the fluid, and is based upon the assumption that the chord of the airfoil is small in comparison with the height of the tunnel. Consideration is given to the phenomenon of choking at high speeds and its relation to the tunnel-wall corrections. The theoretical results are compared with the small amount of low-speed experimental data available and the agreement is seen to be satisfactory, even for relatively large values of the chord-height ratio.