Leading- and trailing-edge flaps on supersonic delta wings

An experimental investigation has been conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of leading- and trailing-edge flaps on a flat wing and a cambered wing at supersonic speeds. Experimental testing was conducted at Mach numbers of 1.6,1.8, 2.0, and 2.16. The study geometry consisted of a clipped delta planform with leading edge swept back 50 deg and trailing edge swept forward 25 deg. Both wings were attached to a generic fuselage and both were configured with identical leading- and trailing-edge flaps. Analysis of the data showed that flap effects are similar for both flat and cambered wings for all aerodynamic parameters. The drag penalty with trailing-edge deflections is lower for the cambered wing compared to the flat wing. The drag penalty on the cambered wing, however, is higher with leading-edge deflections compared to the flat wing. Lift values for the trailing-edge deflections were slightly lower for the cambered wing. Both wings experienced a decrement in lift loss as the Mach number increased. The values for the pitching-moment increments are slightly larger on the flat wing with trailing-edge deflections and smaller on the same wing with leading-edge deflections when compared to the cambered wing.