State-of-the-Art
Airfoil flows have been solved for a number of years with all possible formulations
and Kutta conditions in both steady and unsteady flow. There are studies that
address the precision of each method.
Three dimensional flows are somewhat more complicated and programming seriously more
elaborate. Nevertheless, there have been several improvements of the Kutta condition
(especially for rotor flows and marine propellers), while the improved hardware has
allowed the development of very sophisticated tools.
VSAERO is one of the codes most widely used and documented, both at the research and
industry levels. Problems that are routinely solved consists of tens of thousands of
panels for configurations as complex as a full aircraft.
Related Material
Selected References
- Hess JL, Smith, AMO. Calculation of Potential Flow About Arbitrary Bodies,
in Progress in Aeronautical Sciences, Vol. 8, 1967, pages 1-138.
- Maskew B.
Program VSAERO. A Computer Program for Calculating the non-Linear Aerodynamic
Characteristics of Arbitrary Bodies, NASA CR-166476, 1982.
- Katz J, Plotkin J. Low Speed Aerodynamics, McGraw- Hill Inc., New York, 1991.
- Berger SA. Laminar Wakes, American Elsevier Publ., Ner York, 1971.
- Kellog OD. Foundations of Potential Flow. Dover Ed. New York, 1953.
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