The Flow About Arbitrary, Three-Dimensional Smooth Bodies

Abstract

This study presents a new method for evaluating the flow about an arbitrary three-dimensional body using submerged triangular source patches. The patches are more sophisticated than used previously by Smith and Hess [1],2 since they allow a linear variation of the source strength across the patch. Calculations show that the combination of these new patches and submergence of the resultant faceted singularity sheet produces very accurate flows with a small amount of computer time.