Potential Flow over an Airfoil Specified by Numerical Data File

airfoil

Eppler E374

angle of attack α in degrees

7.5

plot

aerodynamic properties

flow visualization

For flow visualization, the surface pressure coefficient is plotted for potential flow over a selected airfoil in a data file. The airfoils in this collection represent a small sample of the over 1500 airfoil data files posted on the UIUC (University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign) Airfoil Data Site. You can vary the angle of attack (

α

) of the uniform onset flow with the airfoil. A panel method using straightline vortex panels of linearly varying strength and external Neumann boundary conditions provide the potential-flow solution.

The default graphic is a plot of the surface pressure coefficient. The plot includes values for the lift coefficient (

C

ℓ

), pitching moment coefficient about the leading edge (

C

m

), and location of the center of pressure (

x

cp

). The yellow dot on the graph shows the location of the center of pressure.

Alternatively, you can chose to display a flow visualization graphic showing a stream plot of the velocity field. This is an important check on the plausibility of the potential-flow solution.

This Demonstration is a companion to the Demonstration "Potential Flow over a NACA Four Digit Airfoil", where the airfoil geometry is specified by algebraic equations.