Aeronautics and astronautics – Aircraft sustentation – Sustaining airfoils
Patent
1990-07-31
1992-05-12
Barefoot, Galen
Aeronautics and astronautics
Aircraft sustentation
Sustaining airfoils
244 36, B64C 314
Patent
active
051121204
ABSTRACT:
The invention is a natural flow wing and a method for constructing the same. The method comprises contouring a three-dimensional upper surface and a three-dimensional lower surface of the natural flow wing independently of one another into a prescribed shape. Experimental data and theoretical analysis show that flow and pressure-loading over an upper surface of a wing tend to be conical about an apex of the wing, producing favorable and unfavorable regions of performance based on drag. The method reduces these unfavorable regions by shaping the upper surface such that a maximum thickness near a tip of the natural flow wing moves aft, thereby contouring the wing to coincide more closely with the conical nature of the flow on the upper surface. Nearly constant compressive loading characterizes the flow field over a lower surface of the conventional wing. Magnitude of these compressive pressures on the lower surface depends on angle of attack and on a streamwise curvature of the lower surface of the wing and not on a cross-sectional spanwise curvature. The method thereby shapes the lower surface to create an area as large as possible with negative slopes. Any type of swept wing may be used to obtain the final, shaped geometry of the upper and lower surfaces of the natural flow wing.
REFERENCES:
patent: 2709052 (1955-05-01), Berg
patent: 3946688 (1976-03-01), Gornstein et al.
patent: 4264279 (1981-04-01), Dereng
patent: 4619423 (1986-10-01), Holmes et al.
patent: 4655412 (1987-04-01), Hinklemann
Bauer Steven X. S.
Wood Richard M.
Barefoot Galen
Helfrich George F.
The United States of America as represented by the Administrator
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