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972 How An Airfoil Works

WINNER OF THE 1999 BEST REPORT REWARD!!!

AIR FOIL
QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS

AUTHOR: Mealani Nakamura

E-MAIL: mealani@mit.edu
COURSE: 2
CLASS/YEAR: 3

MAIN FUNCTIONAL REQUIREMENT: Provide enough lift to counter the weight of the plane.

Lift and weight are two of the four forces acting on an airplane, the other two are drag and thrust (see Figure 1).

Figure 1: The Four Forces Acting on an Airplane

DESIGN PARAMETER: Wing (Airfoil)

GEOMETRY/STRUCTURE:

The airplane generates lift using its wings. The cross-sectional shape of the wing is called an airfoil. A typical
airfoil and its properties are shown in Figure 2, and are also described below.

Figure 2: Typical Airfoli (Cross-Sectional Shape) of An Airplane Wing

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Chord: Extends from leading edge to trailing edge of the wing

Camber line: Points halfway between chord and upper wing surface
Angle of attack: Angle between direction of airflow and the chord

EXPLANATION OF HOW IT WORKS/ IS USED:

The wings provide lift by creating a situation where the pressure above the wing is lower than the pressure
below the wing. Since the pressure below the wing is higher than the pressure above the wing, there is a net
force upwards.

To create this pressure difference, the surface of the wing must satisfy one or both of the following conditions.
The wing surface must be:

0. Cambered (curved); and/or

1. Inclined relative to the airflow direction.

Several airfoils are shown in Figure 3. However, the airfoils shown in Figure 3 are useless without viscosity.

Figure 3: A Few Different Airfoils

Note: There Are An Infinite Number of Possibilities; i.e. a) Flat Bottom; b) Slightly Curved Bottom; c)
Symmetrical

Viscosity is essential in generating lift. The effects of viscosity lead to the formation of the starting vortex (see
Figure 4), which, in turn is responsible for producing the proper conditions for lift.

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Figure 4: Starting Vortex Formation

As shown in Figure 4, the starting vortex rotates in a counter-clockwise direction. To satisfy the conservation of
angular momentum, there must be an equivalent motion to oppose the vortex movement. This takes the form of
circulation around the wing, as shown in Figure 5. The velocity vectors from this counter circulation add to the
free flow velocity vectors, thus resulting in a higher velocity above the wing and a lower velocity below the
wing (see Figure 6).

Figure 5: Circulation of Air Around Wing

Figure 6: Vector Addition Results in a Lower Velocity Below The Wing and a Higher
Velocity Above The Wing
The following presents two of several ways to show that there is a lower pressure above the wing than below.

One method is with the Bernoulli Equation, which shows that because the velocity of the fluid below the wing
is lower than the velocity of the fluid above the wing, the pressure below the wing is higher than the pressure
above the wing.

A second approach uses Euler's Equations (which the Bernoulli equation is derived from) across the
streamlines. Due to the curvature of the wing, the higher velocities and acceleration over the top of the wing
requires a pressure above the wing lower than the ambient pressure.

Thus, using either of the two methods, it is shown that the pressure below the wing is higher than the pressure
above the wing. This pressure difference results in an upward lifting force on the wing, allowing the airplane to
fly in the air.

DOMINANT PHYSICS:

Bernoulli Equation:

Outside of the boundary layer around the wing, where the effects of viscosity is assumed to be negligible, some
believe that the Bernoulli equation may be applied. (Note: there is currently much debate over the validity of
applying Bernoulli to the flow around an airplane wing. Even here at MIT, there are advocates both strongly for
and against the use of this equation.) Simple and neat, the application of the Bernoulli equation, however,
requires the flow to be:

Steady
Incompressible, and
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Frictionless;

Furthermore, there can be no energy sources or sinks along the streamline. The Bernoulli equation is applied
along a streamline, taking the form:

(P1/p) + (1/2)v12 + gz1 = (P2/p) + (1/2)v22 + gz2 = a constant (1)

Where:

Units
Variable Description Metric English
P Is the pressure of the fluid, Pa psi
p Is the density of the fluid, kg/m3 lbm/ft3
v Is the velocity of the fluid relative to the airfoil, m/s ft/s

g Is magnitude of the acceleration for body forces, m/s2 ft/s2

and
z Is the height at that point. m ft

The subscripts 1 and 2 indicate different points along the same streamline of fluid flow.

Figure 7: Points Along a streamline For the Application of the Bernoulli Equation
Take point 1 to be at a point on the streamline far in front of the wing (see Figure 7). Here, the pressure is P1 =
Pambient. Take point 2 to be at a point above the curved surface of the wing, outside of the boundary layer. It is
assumed that compared to the other terms of the equation, gz1 and gz2 are negligible (i.e. the effects due to
gravity are small compared to the effects due to kinematics and pressure). Thus, Equation 1 becomes:

(Pambient/p) + (1/2)vambient2 = (Pabove/p) + (1/2)vabove2 = a constant (2)

For the second case, take point 1 to be again at a point on the streamline in front of the wing. Since the values
for Pambient and vambient are the same as for the first case, the constant from Equation 2 is also assumed to be the
same. Take point 2 to be at a point below the wing, outside of the boundary layer. With the same assumptions as
in the first case, Equation 1 and 2 become:

(Pbelow/p) + (1/2)vbelow2 = (Pabove/p) + (1/2)vabove2 = a constant (3)

Since the velocity of the fluid below the wing is slower than the velocity of the fluid above the wing, to satisfy
Equation 3, the pressure below the wing must be higher than the pressure above the wing.
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Euler's Equations:

In a qualitative look at Euler's Equations, the movement of the fluid flow around the curved upper surface of the
wing may be likened to that of a car going around a bend.3 As you will learn or have already learned in freshman
physics, when the car turns, a force must accelerate the car towards the center of the turn (see Figure 8).
Similarly, as the fluid particle follows the cambered upper surface of the wing, there must be a force acting on
that little particle to allow the particle to make that turn.

Figure 8: Centripetal Force on a Car Accelerating Around a Curve

This force comes from a pressure gradient above the wing surface. Starting at the surface of the wing and
moving up and away from the surface, the pressure increases with increasing distance until the pressure reaches
the ambient pressure. Thus, a pressure gradient is created, where the higher pressures further along from the
radius of curvature push inwards towards the center of curvature where the pressure is lower, thus providing the
accelerating force on the fluid particle.

Thus due to the curved, cambered surface of the wing, there exists a pressure gradient above the wing, where the
pressure is lower right above the surface. Assuming a flat bottom, the pressure below the wing will be close to
the ambient pressure, and will thus push upwards, creating the lift needed by the airplane.

LIMITING PHYSICS:

Stalling:

At angles of attack below around ten to fifteen degrees, the lift increases with an increasing angle. However, if
the angle of attack is too large, stalling takes place. Stalling occurs when the lift decreases, sometimes very
suddenly. The phenomena responsible for stalling is flow separation (see Figure 9). Flow separation is the
situation where the fluid flow no longer follows the contour of the wing surface.

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Figure 9: Flow Separation Due To a Large Angle of Attack

Fluid particles flowing along the top of the wing surface experience a change in pressure, moving from the
ambient pressure in front of the wing, to a lower pressure over the surface of the wing, then back up to the
ambient pressure behind the wing. The region where fluid must flow from low to high pressure (adverse
pressure gradient) is responsible for flow separation. If the pressure gradient is too high, the pressure forces
overcome the fluid's inertial forces, and the flow departs from the wing contour. Since the pressure gradient
increases with an increasing angle of attack, the angle of attack should not exceed the maximum value to keep
the flow following the contour. If this angle is exceeded, however, the force keeping the plane in the air will
decrease, and may even disappear altogether.

PLOTS/GRAPHS/TABLES:

None Submitted

OTHER PLACES YOU CAN FIND AIRFOILS:

Helicopters
Boat sails
Hydrofoils

GLOSSARY:

Viscosity:

Viscosity can be described as the "thickness," or, for a moving fluid, the internal friction of the fluid. Viscosity
measures the ability of the fluid to dissipate energy. A parameter of viscosity is the coefficient of viscosity,
which is equal to the shear stress on a fluid layer over the speed gradient within the layer.

Viscosity is essential in generating lift; it is responsible for the formation of the starting vortex, which in turn is
responsible for producing the proper conditions for lift.

Boundary layers:

Viscosity is responsible for the formation of the region of flow called the boundary layer. There are two types of
boundary layers:

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1. Laminar
2. Turbulent

In a laminar boundary layer, the fluid molecules closest to the surface will slow down a great deal, and appear to
have zero velocity because of the fluid viscosity. In turn, these surface molecules create a drag on the particles
flowing above them and slow these particles down. The effect of the surface on the movement of the fluid
molecules eventually dissipates with distance from the surface. The area where these viscous effects are
significant is called the boundary layer.

In a turbulent boundary layer, eddies, which are larger than the molecules, form. The slower eddies close to the
surface mix with the faster moving masses of air above. As a result, the air molecules next to the wing surface in
a turbulent boundary layer move faster than in a laminar boundary layer (for the same flow characteristics).

A turbulent boundary layer has the following properties over a laminar boundary layer:

1. The drag is higher, and

2. The turbulent boundary layer is not as susceptible to flow separation.

The two types of boundary layers may thus be manipulated to favor these properties.

Streamlines:

A streamline is the path that a fluid molecule follows. Every point along the streamline is parallel to the fluid
velocity.

REFERENCES/MORE INFORMATION:

See also on this site: Hydrofoil, Sailboat

1. Barnard, R.H. and Philpott, D.R., Aircraft Flight: a description of the physical principles of aircraft flight,
Essex, England: Longman Group Limited, 1995.
2. Bertin, John J. and Smith, Michael L., Aerodynamics for Engineers, Third Edition, Upper Saddle River,
NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1998.
3. Brisson, John, Assistant Professor, Mechanical Engineering Department, January 12, 1999 12:00 PM.
4. Hubin, W.N., The Science of Flight: Pilot-oriented Aerodynamics, Iowa: Iowa State University
Press/AMES, 1992.
5. Perdichizzi, Richard F., Technical Instructor, Aeronautics and Astronautics Department, January 13, 1999
10:00 AM.
6. White, Frank M., Fluid Mechanics, New York: McGraw-Hill, Inc., 1994.

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