The subsonic flow past swept wings at zero lift without and with body

Abstract

Note.--This memorandum is a summary of the material contained in a number of earlier Royal Aircraft Establishment Reports by the authors and Was prepared at the request of the Aeronautical Research Council for publication as an R. & M. A review is given of the effects associated with the subsonic inviscid flow past swept wings at zero lift with the aim of providing the information needed for an understanding of the flow phenomena, methods of obtaining the full benefit of sweep are described. Detailed solutions for incompressible flow are given for three basic cases : (a) the sheared wing of infinite span (b) the centre-section of a swept wing of infinite span (c) the flow in the curved intersection line between wing and body. These solutions are used to find approximate solutions for any given wing of finite aspect ratio. The Prandtl-Glauert procedure is extended and applied to derive approximations for the compressible flow in the subcritical region. The special cases treated in detail are : the flow in the tip regions of wings ; tapered wings ; wing-fuselage interference for symmetrical arrangements; and modifications to the wing or to the body shape, for instance to restore sheared-wing conditions.