The Downwash Distribution Behind a Delta Wing at Supersonic Speeds

Citation

Palmer, George Marshall (1947) The Downwash Distribution Behind a Delta Wing at Supersonic Speeds. Engineer's thesis, California Institute of Technology. doi:10.7907/3VWX-XE20. https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechETD:etd-12082008-081222

Abstract

At the present date, very little information exists as to the downwash and sidewash in the wake of lifting surfaces for supersonic missiles and airplanes. To the author's knowledge, Reference 1 is the first paper to develop the theory and carry out numerical calculations for the downwash and sidewash behind wings of practical interest. However, the paper only contained brief indications of how to treat the very interesting triangular planform known as the delta wing. It is the purpose of this paper to extend the basic idea for the determination of downwash as used in Reference 1, to the delta wing, and to carry out numerical calculations for a specific case. Although it is possible to develop expressions for the downwash and the sidewash at all points within the Mach cone and in the wake of the wing, see Reference 1, it was not carried out here. This paper applies only to the downwash field in the plane of the wing. Another restriction is that the delta wing half angle be less than the Mach angle.

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