Use of camber and twist to produce low-drag delta or swept-back wings, without leading-edge singularities, at supersonic speeds

Abstract

Camber and twist is applied to the problem of producing low-drag wings with no leading-edge pressure singularities, at design lift. The suction peaks near the leading edges of the wing are removed and the associated adverse pressure gradients reduced. This is equivalent to keeping the pressures finite along the leading edge, and thus making the leading edge an attachment line. Linearised wing theory is used. The optimising process of Ref. 1 is used to obtain some wings with minimum drag due to lift. Suggestions are made for modifying the load distribution and shape of the wing if required. An outline of the general method for designing cambered and twisted wings and, in particular, those with no leading-edge load is also given.