Chapter 15

Elliptic lift loading

15.1 The elliptic lift loading

Solving the lifting line equation for the lift distribution is quite dicult, but an easier problem is the investigation of a stipulated lift distribution. A distribution that can be handled easily is the elliptic loading: (z) = 0 1 2z b
2

(15.1)

Note that this lift loading goes to zero at the wing tips z = b/2, which makes sense since the pressure dierence has to vanish there. It will also turn out to have other important special properties. The arbitrary scale constant 0 can be interpreted in terms of the total lift force, since
b/2

L=
b/2

(z) dz .

(15.2)

This integration is more easily carried out after changing to the eccentric angle, illustrated in gure 15.1 2z , (15.3) = arccos b in terms of which = 0 sin L= b0 2 b0 = 4

(15.4) sin2 d (15.5) (15.6)

so that 0 = and the elliptic lift loading is =

4L , b

(15.7)

4L 4L sin = b b 159

2z b

(15.8)

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ECCENTRIC ANGLE,

0 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1 0 -0.1 SPANWISE POSITION, z/b -0.2 -0.3 -0.4 -0.5

Figure 15.1: The eccentric angle (15.3) used to described spanwise lift loadings. In terms of the total wing lift coecient CL it is (z) = or in dimensionless terms,
CL cC = sin . 4b A

, 1 2 c 2 q b 2z b
2

(15.9)

2 2 2 2 q cCL sin = q cCL

(15.10)

(15.11)

15.2

The lifting line equation for elliptic loading

1 8
b/2 b/2 d dz {c(z )C (z )} dz . z z

Recall that the (nonlinear) lifting line equation is i = (15.12)

A slight but convenient rearrangement of this is b i = 2 or in terms of the eccentric angle (15.3), 1 i =
0 d d
cC 4b

b/2 b/2

d dz

c(z )C (z ) 4b

z z

dz ,

(15.13)

cos cos

d .

(15.14)

Elliptic lift loading For the elliptic lift loading (15.10), the derivative appearing in the integrand is d d
cC 4b

161

d CL cos d A CL = sin ; A

(15.15) (15.16)

the lifting line equation is therefore i = CL 2 A

0

cos d . cos cos

(15.17)

The integral is a special case of Glauerts integral (6.46), which arose earlier in thin aerofoil theory ( 6.2.4); its value is cos d = , (15.18) 0 cos cos so that the lifting line equation is i = CL . A (15.19)

This result is also given by Prandtl (1921, p. 191), Abbott and von Doenho (1959, p. 8), MilneThomson (1973, p. 202), Kuethe and Chow (1998, p. 179), Anderson (2001, p. 369), and Bertin (2002, p. 243).

15.3

Properties of the elliptic lift loading

Cd = C i ,

By (14.29), the aerofoil induced drag coecient is given by (15.20)

or equivalently (since the denominators of the aerodynamic force coecients are identical) d = i . For the elliptic loading, d = CL , A (15.22) (15.21)

so that on integrating both sides of this equation across the span, D=L or in dimensionless terms CD = CL , A
2 CL , A

(15.23)

(15.24)

as given by Prandtl (1921, p. 192), Abbott and von Doenho (1959, p. 8), Milne-Thomson (1973, p. 203), Kuethe and Chow (1998, p. 179), Anderson (2001, p. 369), Bertin (2002, p. 241), and Moran (2003, p. 142). Drag polars of relation (15.24) are plotted in gure 15.2.

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AERODYNAMICS I COURSE NOTES, 2005

1.2

1.0

A=7

LIFT COEFFICIENT, CL

0.8

0.6

0.4

A=1

0.2

0.0

-0.2

-0.4 0.0

0.1 INDUCED DRAG COEFFICIENT, CD

0.2

Figure 15.2: Theoretical draglift polars for elliptic lift loading and A = 1, 2, 3, . . . , 7 . N.B.: drag includes only induced drag, not prole drag (skin friction and form drag); cf. Prandtl (1921, gure 46, p. 193).

15.3.1

Same lift coecient, dierent aspect ratio

If we take two elliptically loaded wings with dierent aspect ratios (A1 and A2 ) and vary their geometric incidences (1 and 2 ) so that they have the same lift coecients CL , the induced incidences i,1 and i,2 must be related by i,1 i,2 = CL 1 1 A1 A2 . (15.25)

This follows by forming (15.19) for each wing and subtracting the two equations. Similarly, on forming (15.24) and subtracting, the induced drag coecients must be related by CD,1 CD,2 =
2 CL

1 1 A1 A2

(15.26)

These two equations, given by Prandtl (1921, p. 194), Abbott and von Doenho (1959, p. 8), Milne-Thomson (1973, p. 204), Kuethe and Chow (1998, pp. 182183), and Bertin (2002, pp. 244, 242), are extremely useful: they allow the prediction of the properties of a wing with one aspect ratio from measurements or computations of the properties at another aspect ratio.

15.4

Liftincidence relation
CL, = f ( ) . (15.27)

Say we know the liftincidence relation for innite aspect ratio:

Then for a nite aspect ratio, A, with elliptic loading the induced incidence is i = CL , A (15.28)

Elliptic lift loading

163

and at geometric incidence the lift coecient is that for the innite aspect ratio at geometric incidence = i . (15.29) Since, for elliptic loading, the downwash and induced incidence are uniform along the span, if the wing is untwisted, the sectional lift coecient C will be too and the total lift coecient CL will change proportionately. Thus, for nite aspect ratio, CL = f ( i ) . (15.30)

15.4.1

Linear liftincidence relation

If the innite aspect ratio (two-dimensional) liftincidence relation is linear f () = m( 0 ) , this means CL = m( i 0 ) , but if the induced incidence is given by (15.19) CL = m m ( 0 ) . 1 + A (15.33) (15.32) (15.31)

Thus if the two-dimensional liftincidence slope is m , the nite aspect ratio slope is dCL m = m . d 1 + A (15.34)

For 0 A , this is less than m. Note also in (15.33) that the zero-lift incidence 0 is independent of aspect ratio. The result (15.33) for a thin aerofoil (m = 2) is illustrated in gure 15.3.
1.4

1.2 A=7 1.0

LIFT COEFFICIENT, CL

0.8

0.6

0.4 A=1 0.2

0.0 -10 -0.2 0 10 20

-0.4 GEOMETRIC ANGLE OF INCIDENCE,

Figure 15.3: Theoretical liftincidence relations for thin aerofoils with 0 = 5 radians and A = 1, 2, 3, . . . , 7 ; cf. Prandtl (1921, gure 47, p. 193).

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15.5

Realizing the elliptic lift loading

If the eective aerofoil lift coecient is the same function of the eective incidence across the span (i.e. no twist), C is uniform too: C = CL . (15.35) For this to be compatible with the elliptical lift loading, since c(z) the chord must vary like = i.e. elliptically c(z) = 4 c 1 2z b
2

(z) , 1 2 2 q C 2z b
2

(15.36)

2 2 q cCL

(15.37)

(15.38)

cf. Kuethe and Chow (1998, p. 178), Anderson (2001, p. 370), or Moran (2003, p. 143).

15.5.1

Corrections to the elliptic loading approximation

Practical wings are rarely constructed with an elliptic variation of chord length, since this is more expensive to manufacture than rectangular or trapezoidal planforms (Anderson 2001, p. 374). Nevertheless, the simple results for elliptic loading are appealing and useful at least as a rst approximation. They are frequently used in a generalized form, with correction factors. For example, in place of the elliptic loading induced drag coecient relation (15.24), Abbott and von Doenho (1959, p. 16) recommend a corrected formula developed by Anderson (1936). For untwisted unswept tapered wings it reduces to CD =
2 CL Au

(15.39)

where u is an induced-drag factor which depends on the taper ratio and aspect ratio. The values of u may be read o the charts of Anderson (1936, gure 4) which is reproduced by Abbott and von Doenho (1959, gure 10, p. 17). An alternative induced-drag correction factor is given by (Anderson 2001, p. 376). It should be noted that these correction factors dont change the induced drag coecient by more than about ten per cent over the practical range of taper ratio and aspect ratio (Anderson 2001, p. 376), so that the even uncorrected formulae are sometimes useful for obtaining rough initial estimates. Further induced drag correction factors have been computed for twisted wings (Anderson 1936; Abbott and von Doenho 1959). Anderson (1936) and Abbott and von Doenho (1959, pp. 919) also discuss correction factors for the eective incidence and the lift coecient; see the references for details.