The load near the apex of a lifting swept wing in linearised subsonic flow

Abstract

Recent work of Hewitt on subsonic lifting-surface theory for wings with pointed apices has shown that representing both the singularity in the load at the apex and the detailed behaviour of the load near the apex leads to large increases in the accuracy of collocation methods. The strength of the singularity has been found in earlier calculations as a function of the apex angle of the wing. These calculations are extended here to include the nonsingular factor in the load, which also depends on the apex angle. Interpolation formulae are obtained, which provide an accurate closed-form approximation to the behaviour of the load distribution near the apex for all apex angles.