Properties of a two-parameter family of thin conically cambered delta wings by slender-body theory

Abstract

Slender theory with exact boundary conditions is used to calculate the flow past a thin conically cambered delta wing. The (spanwise) camber-line consists of a straight central part with two drooping pieces at the sides, the points of junction being termed the shoulders. The shape is not given at the start but is the result of a series of conformal transformations. Attention is concentrated on flow which is attached at the leading edges ; incidence and lift and drag coefficients are worked out for this condition. It is found that, for a given lift coefficient, moving the shoulder outboard reduces the droop and droop angle required and also reduces the error introduced by neglecting second order terms. For low lift coefficients the lowest drag is obtained with shoulder position well outboard, but for high lift coefficients least drag is obtained when the shoulder position is along the centre-line and the camber-line reduces to a circular arc.