CHAPTER 5 - CHARACTERISTIC PARAMETERS FOR AIRFOIL AND WING AERODYNAMICS

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CHARACTERIZATION OF AERODYNAMIC FORCES AND MOMENTS

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Parameters That Govern Aerodynamic Forces

The parameters that govern the magnitude of aerodynamic forces and moments include the
following:
• Configuration geometry
• Angle of attack (i.e., vehicle attitude in the pitch plane relative to the flight direction)
• Vehicle size or model scale
• Free-stream velocity
• Density of the undisturbed air
• Reynolds number (as it relates to viscous effects)
• Mach number (as it relates to compressibility effects)

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AIRFOIL GEOMETRY PARAMETERS
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Leading edge—the forward most point on the airfoil
(typically placed at the origin for convenience)
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Trailing edge—the aft most point on the airfoil
(typically placed on the x axis for convenience)
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Chord line—a straight line between the leading and
trailing edges (the x axis for our convention)
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Mean camber line—a line midway between the upper
and lower surfaces at each chordwise position
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Maximum camber—the largest value of the distance
between the mean camber line and the chord line,
which quantifies the camber of an airfoil
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Maximum thickness—the largest value of the
distance between the upper and lower surfaces, which
quantifies the thickness of the airfoil
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Leading-edge radius—the radius of a circle that fits
the leading-edge curvature
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Airfoil-Section Nomenclature

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Leading-Edge Radius and Chord Line

Mean Camber Line

The locus of the points midway between the upper surface
and the lower surface, as measured perpendicular to the
chord line, defines the mean camber line

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Maximum Thickness and Thickness Distribution

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WING-GEOMETRY PARAMETERS
A wing is a three-dimensional shape made up of two-dimensional airfoil sections. By placing
the airfoil sections in various spanwise combinations, wings, horizontal tails, vertical tails,
canards, and/or other lifting surfaces are formed.
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The wing area ,S
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The wing span , b
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The average chord , c
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The aspect ratio , AR
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The root chord, cr , tip chord, ct
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Taper ratio , λ
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The sweep angle , Λ
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The mean aerodynamic chord, mac
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The dihedral angle
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Geometric twist

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What is wing loading?

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EXAMPLE 5.1: Aspect ratio of a delta wing
Develop an expression for the aspect ratio of a delta wing in terms of the leading-edge sweep
angle (ΛLE).

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EXAMPLE 5.2: Calculate the wing-geometry parameters for the Space Shuttle Orbiter
To calculate the wing-geometry parameters for the Space Shuttle Orbiter, the complex shape of
the actual wing is replaced by a swept, trapezoidal wing, as shown in figure below. For the
reference wing of the Orbiter , the root chord cr is 57.44 ft, the tip chord ct is 11.48 ft, and the
span b is 78.056 ft. Using these values which define the reference wing, calculate (a) the wing
area S , (b) the aspect ratio AR , (c) the taper ratio λ, and (d) the mean aerodynamic chord
mac .

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