What is area rule in aircraft design?
What is area rule in aircraft design?
The area rule says that two airplanes with the same longitudinal cross-sectional area distribution have the same wave drag, independent of how the area is distributed laterally (i.e. in the fuselage or in the wing).
Who discovered the area rule?
Richard Whitcomb
It’s a design principle known as the “area rule,” pioneered in the 50’s by Richard Whitcomb (who also happens to have invented the winglet), an engineer at the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics. It’s a rule designed to minimize wave drag, which starts to appear as aircraft near Mach 1.
Why do you think Richard Whitecomb’s inventions were such important advances in aircraft design?
His development of the “area rule” revolutionized how engineers looked at high-speed drag and impacted the design of virtually every transonic and supersonic aircraft ever built.
Why is the area rule important?
The reason for using the area rule on these fighter aircraft was to reduce the peak value of the drag which occurs at Mach 1 and so enable supersonic speeds with less thrust than would otherwise have been necessary.
Who invented the Delta wing?
designer Alexander Lippisch
The practical delta wing was pioneered by the German aeronautical designer Alexander Lippisch in the years following the First World War, using a thick cantilever wing without any tail.
Why does the area rule work?
What is meant by critical Mach number?
Definition. In aerodynamics, the critical Mach Number (Mcr or Mcrit) of an aircraft is the lowest Mach number at which the airflow over any part of the aircraft reaches the speed of sound.
What is tuck under aircraft?
Mach tuck is an aerodynamic effect whereby the nose of an aircraft tends to pitch downward as the airflow around the wing reaches supersonic speeds. This diving tendency is also known as tuck under. The aircraft will first experience this effect at significantly below Mach 1.
What is a lambda wing?
Introduction. The lambda shaped wing is in fact a delta wing with a crank in the trailing edge region. The existence of. the crank at the trailing edge enables the wing to have a higher aspect and taper ratio than a simple delta. wing.
Why do supersonic planes use delta wings?
Benefits of a delta wing: Since a low relative thickness keeps wave drag down (a drag component which occurs only in supersonic flow), this makes delta wings especially attractive for supersonic aircraft. The large root chord gives the delta wing a high internal fuel volume even at a low relative thickness.
