Wing Theory—Incompressible Fluids

A high Reynolds number flow about a lifting wing typically forms a thin boundary layer on its surface, which smoothly merges with a thin vortical wake behind it. An asymptotic theory, based on wing’s thickness, camber, angle of attack and aspect ratio, can turn this simple observation into a fair approximation for the pressure loads acting on a finite wing in generally non-uniform motion. This book unfolds this theory step-by-step, revisiting a few well-known and some less-known results along the way. The fidelity of the approximation is demonstrated in numerous examples. The stress in the book is on mathematical rigor, and all non-trivial steps are scrutinized in numerous appendices. The book can be a basis for a graduate course on theoretical aerodynamics, but can also be a reference for quite a few practical aerodynamic models.

1.Introduction.- 2.Thick wing sections in steady motion.- 3.Thin wing sections in steady motion.- 4.Thin wing sections in non-uniform motion.- 5.Permeable membrane wings.- 6.Partially separated wake.- 7.Linearized theory of thin wings of finite span.- 8.High-aspect-ratio wings in steady motion.- 9.High-aspect-ratio wings in nonuniform motion.- 10.Drag, losses and the Trefftz plane.- 11.Low-aspect-ratio wings in nonuniform motion.

Gil Iosilevskii is a professor at Technion—Israel Institute of Technology. His main research interests include aerodynamic theory of wings and bodies in unsteady motion, asymptotic wing theories, flight mechanics of fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft and animals aero- and hydro-dynamics.