Compressible flow about symmetrical Joukowski profiles

Abstract

The method of Poggi is employed for the determination of the effects of compressibility upon the flow past an obstacle. A general expression for the velocity increment due to compressibility is obtained. The general result holds whatever the shape of the obstacle; but, in order to obtain the complete solution, it is necessary to know a certain Fourier expansion of the square of the velocity of flow past the obstacle. An application is made to the case flow of a symmetrical Joukowski profile with a sharp trailing edge, fixed in a stream of an arbitrary angle of attack and with the circulation determined by the Kutta condition. The results are obtained in a closed form and are exact insofar as the second approximation to the compressible flow is concerned, the first approximation being the result for the corresponding incompressible flow. Formulas for lift and moment analogous to the Blasius formulas in incompressible flow are developed and are applied to thin symmetrical Joukowski profiles for small angles of attack.