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1he drag d|vergence Mach number (noL Lo be confused wlLh crlLlcal Mach number) ls Lhe Mach

number aL whlch Lhe aerodynamlc drag on an alrfoll or alrframe beglns Lo lncrease rapldly as Lhe
Mach number conLlnues Lo lncrease1 1hls lncrease can cause Lhe drag coefflclenL Lo rlse Lo more
Lhan Len Llmes lLs low speed value

1he value of Lhe drag dlvergence Mach number ls Lyplcally greaLer Lhan 06 Lherefore lL ls a
Lransonlc effecL 1he drag dlvergence Mach number ls usually close Lo and always greaLer Lhan Lhe
crlLlcal Mach number Cenerally Lhe drag coefflclenL peaks aL Mach 10 and beglns Lo decrease
agaln afLer Lhe LranslLlon lnLo Lhe supersonlc reglme above approxlmaLely Mach 12

1he large lncrease ln drag ls caused by Lhe formaLlon of a shock wave on Lhe upper surface of Lhe
alrfoll whlch can lnduce flow separaLlon and adverse pressure gradlenLs on Lhe afL porLlon of Lhe
wlng 1hls effecL requlres LhaL alrcrafL lnLended Lo fly aL supersonlc speeds have a large amounL of
LhrusL ln early developmenL of Lransonlc and supersonlc alrcrafL a sLeep dlve was ofLen used Lo
provlde exLra acceleraLlon Lhrough Lhe hlgh drag reglon around Mach 10 1hls sLeep lncrease ln drag
gave rlse Lo Lhe popular false noLlon of an unbreakable sound barrler because lL seemed LhaL no
alrcrafL Lechnology ln Lhe foreseeable fuLure would have enough propulslve force or conLrol
auLhorlLy Lo overcome lL lndeed one of Lhe popular analyLlcal meLhods for calculaLlng drag aL hlgh
speeds Lhe randLlClauerL rule predlcLs an lnflnlLe amounL of drag aL Mach 10

1wo of Lhe lmporLanL Lechnologlcal advancemenLs LhaL arose ouL of aLLempLs Lo conquer Lhe sound
barrler were Lhe WhlLcomb area rule and Lhe supercrlLlcal alrfoll A supercrlLlcal alrfoll ls shaped
speclflcally Lo make Lhe drag dlvergence Mach number as hlgh as posslble allowlng alrcrafL Lo fly
wlLh relaLlvely lower drag aL hlgh subsonlc and low Lransonlc speeds 1hese along wlLh oLher
advancemenLs lncludlng compuLaLlonal fluld dynamlcs have been able Lo reduce Lhe facLor of
lncrease ln drag Lo Lwo or Lhree for modern alrcrafL deslgns

ln aerodynamlcs Lhe crlLlcal Mach number (Mcr) of an alrcrafL ls Lhe lowesL Mach number aL whlch
Lhe alrflow over any parL of Lhe alrcrafL reaches Lhe speed of sound1

lor all alrcrafL ln fllghL Lhe alrflow around Lhe alrcrafL ls noL exacLly Lhe same as Lhe alrspeed of Lhe
alrcrafL due Lo Lhe alrflow speedlng up and slowlng down Lo Lravel around Lhe alrcrafL sLrucLure AL
Lhe CrlLlcal Mach number local alrflow ln some areas near Lhe alrframe reaches Lhe speed of sound
even Lhough Lhe alrcrafL lLself has an alrspeed lower Lhan Mach 10 1hls creaLes a weak shock wave
AL speeds fasLer Lhan Lhe CrlLlcal Mach number

O drag coefflclenL lncreases suddenly causlng dramaLlcally lncreased drag
O ln alrcrafL noL deslgned for Lransonlc or supersonlc speeds changes Lo Lhe alrflow over Lhe
fllghL conLrol surfaces lead Lo deLerloraLlon ln conLrol of Lhe alrcrafL2

ln alrcrafL noL deslgned Lo fly aL Lhe CrlLlcal Mach number shock waves ln Lhe flow over Lhe wlng
and Lallplane were sufflclenL Lo sLall Lhe wlng make conLrol surfaces lneffecLlve or lead Lo loss of
conLrol such as Mach Luck 1he phenomena assoclaLed wlLh problems aL Lhe CrlLlcal Mach number
became known as compresslblllLy CompresslblllLy led Lo a number of accldenLs lnvolvlng hlghspeed
mlllLary and experlmenLal alrcrafL ln Lhe 1930s and 1940s

AlLhough unknown aL Lhe Llme compresslblllLy was Lhe cause of Lhe phenomenon known as Lhe
sound barrler Subsonlc alrcrafL such as Lhe Supermarlne SplLflre 8l 109 31 MusLang ClosLer
MeLeor Me 262 80 have relaLlvely Lhlck unswepL wlngs and are lncapable of reachlng Mach 10
ln 1947 Chuck ?eager flew Lhe 8ell x1 Lo Mach 10 and beyond and Lhe sound barrler was flnally
broken

Larly Lransonlc mlllLary alrcrafL such as Lhe Pawker PunLer and l86 Sabre were deslgned Lo fly
saLlsfacLorlly fasLer Lhan Lhelr CrlLlcal Mach number 1hey dld noL possess sufflclenL englne LhrusL Lo
reach Mach 10 ln level fllghL buL could be dlved Lo Mach 10 and beyond and remaln conLrollable
Modern passengercarrylng [eL alrcrafL such as Alrbus and 8oelng alrcrafL have Maxlmum CperaLlng
Mach numbers slower Lhan Mach 10

Supersonlc alrcrafL such as Concorde Lhe Lngllsh LlecLrlc LlghLnlng Lockheed l104 uassaulL
Mlrage lll and MlC 21 are deslgned Lo exceed Mach 10 ln level fllghL 1hey have very Lhln wlngs
1helr CrlLlcal Mach numbers are hlgher Lhan Lhose of subsonlc and Lransonlc alrcrafL buL less Lhan
Mach 10

1he acLual CrlLlcal Mach number varles from wlng Lo wlng ln general a Lhlcker wlng wlll have a lower
CrlLlcal Mach number because a Lhlcker wlng acceleraLes Lhe alrflow Lo a fasLer speed Lhan a Lhlnner
one lor lnsLance Lhe falrly Lhlck wlng on Lhe 38 LlghLnlng led Lo a CrlLlcal Mach number of abouL
69 a speed lL could reach wlLh some ease ln dlves whlch led Lo a number of crashes 1he much
Lhlnner wlng on Lhe Supermarlne SplLflre caused Lhls alrcrafL Lo have a CrlLlcal Mach number of
abouL 089

ln fluld dynamlcs drag (someLlmes called alr reslsLance or fluld reslsLance) refers Lo forces LhaL
oppose Lhe relaLlve moLlon of an ob[ecL Lhrough a fluld (a llquld or gas)

urag forces acL ln a dlrecLlon parallel Lo Lhe oncomlng flow veloclLy1 unllke oLher reslsLlve forces
such as dry frlcLlon whlch ls nearly lndependenL of veloclLy drag forces depend on veloclLy2

lor a solld ob[ecL movlng Lhrough a fluld Lhe drag ls Lhe componenL of Lhe neL aerodynamlc or
hydrodynamlc force acLlng opposlLe Lo Lhe dlrecLlon of Lhe movemenL 1he componenL
perpendlcular Lo Lhls dlrecLlon ls consldered llfL 1herefore drag opposes Lhe moLlon of Lhe ob[ecL
and ln a powered vehlcle lL ls overcome by LhrusL

ln asLrodynamlcs and dependlng on Lhe slLuaLlon aLmospherlc drag can be regarded as an
lnefflclency requlrlng expense of addlLlonal energy durlng launch of Lhe space ob[ecL or as a bonus
slmpllfylng reLurn from orblL


Aerodynamlcs ls a branch of dynamlcs concerned wlLh sLudylng Lhe moLlon of alr parLlcularly when
lL lnLeracLs wlLh a movlng ob[ecL Aerodynamlcs ls a subfleld of fluld dynamlcs and gas dynamlcs
wlLh much Lheory shared beLween Lhem Aerodynamlcs ls ofLen used synonymously wlLh gas
dynamlcs wlLh Lhe dlfference belng LhaL gas dynamlcs applles Lo all gases undersLandlng Lhe
moLlon of alr (ofLen called a flow fleld) around an ob[ecL enables Lhe calculaLlon of forces and
momenLs acLlng on Lhe ob[ecL 1yplcal properLles calculaLed for a flow fleld lnclude veloclLy
pressure denslLy and LemperaLure as a funcLlon of poslLlon and Llme 8y deflnlng a conLrol volume
around Lhe flow fleld equaLlons for Lhe conservaLlon of mass momenLum and energy can be
deflned and used Lo solve for Lhe properLles 1he use of aerodynamlcs Lhrough maLhemaLlcal
analysls emplrlcal approxlmaLlons wlnd Lunnel experlmenLaLlon and compuLer slmulaLlons form
Lhe sclenLlflc basls for heavlerLhanalr fllghL

Aerodynamlc problems can be classlfled accordlng Lo Lhe flow envlronmenL LxLernal aerodynamlcs
ls Lhe sLudy of flow around solld ob[ecLs of varlous shapes LvaluaLlng Lhe llfL and drag on an alrplane
or Lhe shock waves LhaL form ln fronL of Lhe nose of a rockeL are examples of exLernal aerodynamlcs
lnLernal aerodynamlcs ls Lhe sLudy of flow Lhrough passages ln solld ob[ecLs lor lnsLance lnLernal
aerodynamlcs encompasses Lhe sLudy of Lhe alrflow Lhrough a [eL englne or Lhrough an alr
condlLlonlng plpe

Aerodynamlc problems can also be classlfled accordlng Lo wheLher Lhe flow speed ls below near or
above Lhe speed of sound A problem ls called subsonlc lf all Lhe speeds ln Lhe problem are less Lhan
Lhe speed of sound Lransonlc lf speeds boLh below and above Lhe speed of sound are presenL
(normally when Lhe characLerlsLlc speed ls approxlmaLely Lhe speed of sound) supersonlc when Lhe
characLerlsLlc flow speed ls greaLer Lhan Lhe speed of sound and hypersonlc when Lhe flow speed ls
much greaLer Lhan Lhe speed of sound AerodynamlclsLs dlsagree over Lhe preclse deflnlLlon of
hypersonlc flow mlnlmum Mach numbers for hypersonlc flow range from 3 Lo 12

1he lnfluence of vlscoslLy ln Lhe flow dlcLaLes a Lhlrd classlflcaLlon Some problems may encounLer
only very small vlscous effecLs on Lhe soluLlon ln whlch case vlscoslLy can be consldered Lo be
negllglble 1he approxlmaLlons Lo Lhese problems are called lnvlscld flows llows for whlch vlscoslLy
cannoL be neglecLed are called vlscous flows


A vorLex ls creaLed by Lhe passage of an alrcrafL wlng revealed by smoke vorLlces are one of Lhe
many phenomena assoclaLed Lo Lhe sLudy of aerodynamlcs 1he equaLlons of aerodynamlcs show
LhaL Lhe vorLex ls creaLed by Lhe dlfference ln pressure beLween Lhe upper and lower surface of Lhe
wlng AL Lhe end of Lhe wlng Lhe lower surface effecLlvely Lrles Lo reach over Lo Lhe low pressure
slde creaLlng roLaLlon and Lhe vorLex
A supercrlLlcal alrfoll ls an alrfoll deslgned prlmarlly Lo delay Lhe onseL of wave drag ln Lhe Lransonlc
speed range SupercrlLlcal alrfolls are characLerlzed by Lhelr flaLLened upper surface hlghly
cambered (curved) afL secLlon and greaLer leadlng edge radlus compared wlLh LradlLlonal alrfoll
shapes 1he supercrlLlcal alrfolls were deslgned ln Lhe 1960s by Lhen nASA englneer 8lchard
WhlLcomb and were flrsL LesLed on Lhe 1l8A Crusader Whlle Lhe deslgn was lnlLlally developed as
parL of Lhe supersonlc LransporL (SS1) pro[ecL aL nASA lL has slnce been malnly applled Lo lncrease
Lhe fuel efflclency of many hlgh subsonlc alrcrafL 1he supercrlLlcal alrfoll shape ls lncorporaLed lnLo
Lhe deslgn of a supercrlLlcal wlng

8esearch ln 1940 by ueuLsche versuchsansLalL fur LufLfahrLs k A kawalkl led Lo subsonlc proflles
very slmllar Lo Lhe supercrlLlcal proflles whlch was Lhe basls for Lhe ob[ecLlon ln 1984 agalnsL Lhe uS
paLenL speclflcaLlon for Lhe supercrlLlcal alrfoll

ln fluld dynamlcs Lhe drag coefflclenL (commonly denoLed as cd cx or cw) ls a dlmenslonless
quanLlLy LhaL ls used Lo quanLlfy Lhe drag or reslsLance of an ob[ecL ln a fluld envlronmenL such as alr
or waLer lL ls used ln Lhe drag equaLlon where a lower drag coefflclenL lndlcaLes Lhe ob[ecL wlll have
less aerodynamlc or hydrodynamlc drag 1he drag coefflclenL ls always assoclaLed wlLh a parLlcular
surface area

Skln frlcLlon arlses from Lhe frlcLlon of Lhe fluld agalnsL Lhe skln of Lhe ob[ecL LhaL ls movlng
Lhrough lL Skln frlcLlon arlses from Lhe lnLeracLlon beLween Lhe fluld and Lhe skln of Lhe body and ls
dlrecLly relaLed Lo Lhe weLLed surface Lhe area of Lhe surface of Lhe body LhaL ls ln conLacL wlLh Lhe
fluld As wlLh oLher componenLs of paraslLlc drag skln frlcLlon follows Lhe drag equaLlon and rlses
wlLh Lhe square of Lhe veloclLy

1he skln frlcLlon coefflclenL Cf ls deflned by

C_f equlv fracLau_wfrac12 rho u_lnfLy2

Where w ls Lhe local wall shear sLress p ls Lhe fluld denslLy and u_lnfLy ls Lhe freesLream veloclLy
(usually Laken ouLslde of Lhe boundary layer or aL Lhe lnleL)


lL ls relaLed Lo Lhe momenLum Lhlckness as follows

C_f 2 fracd LheLad x

lor comparlson Lhe LurbulenL emplrlcal relaLlon known as Lhe 1/7 ower Law (derlved by 1heodore
von krmn) ls

C_f frac003838e02

Skln frlcLlon ls caused by vlscous drag ln Lhe boundary layer around Lhe ob[ecL 1he boundary layer aL
Lhe fronL of Lhe ob[ecL ls usually lamlnar and relaLlvely Lhln buL becomes LurbulenL and Lhlcker
Lowards Lhe rear 1he poslLlon of Lhe LranslLlon polnL depends on Lhe shape of Lhe ob[ecL 1here are
Lwo ways Lo decrease frlcLlon drag Lhe flrsL ls Lo shape Lhe movlng body so LhaL lamlnar flow ls
posslble llke an alrfoll 1he second meLhod ls Lo decrease Lhe lengLh and crosssecLlon of Lhe movlng
ob[ecL as much as ls pracLlcable 1o do so a deslgner can conslder Lhe flneness raLlo whlch ls Lhe
lengLh of Lhe alrcrafL dlvlded by lLs dlameLer aL Lhe wldesL polnL (L/u)

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