Some Recent Developments in Airfoil Theory

Abstract

Several recent developments in airfoil and wing theory have as thjeir goals the extension of classical methods to account for characteristically viscous phenomena. Airfoil theory has always recognized the existence of such phenomena as explanations of the presence of circulation and vortex wakes; these new investigations are attempts to include detailed descriptions in theoretical models or to extend classical models into areas of strong viscous effects, such as separation and stalling. Some of these studies follow directly from suggestions made by von Karman, and others are reminiscent of his earlier research. This review is concerned with investigations in four categories: (1) the theory of profiles with boundary layers in steady flow, (2) the theory of profiles with boundary layers in unsteady flow, including extensions of unsteady airfoil theory, (3) the theory of wings with leading-edge separation, and (4) Prandtl wing theory applied to partially stalled wings.