1974The Aeronautical JournalRequires access

Self correcting wind tunnels

W. R. Sears

Open publisher page 69 citations

Abstract

One of the early triumphs of the Lanchester-Prandtl wing theory was that it explained the effects of wind tunnel boundaries and provided explicit and simple formulae to correct wind tunnel measurements for these effects. As every aerodynamicist knows, this theory tells us, with the help of “images”, that the boundaries, in the presence of a lifting wing, produce extraneous velocity components in the flow. At least two generations of experimenters have routinely corrected their angles of attack and their measured drag values for the presence of the vertical component.

About this research paper

What this paper is about

One of the early triumphs of the Lanchester-Prandtl wing theory was that it explained the effects of wind tunnel boundaries and provided explicit and simple formulae to correct wind tunnel measurements for these effects. As every aerodynamicist knows, this theory tells us, with the help of “images”, that the boundaries, in the presence of a lifting wing, produce extraneous velocity components in the flow. At least two generations of experimenters have routinely corrected their angles of attack and their measured drag values for the presence of the vertical component.

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OpenAlex reports 69 citations for this work. Citation counts describe recorded attention and do not establish research quality.

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Available abstract

One of the early triumphs of the Lanchester-Prandtl wing theory was that it explained the effects of wind tunnel boundaries and provided explicit and simple formulae to correct wind tunnel measurements for these effects. As every aerodynamicist knows, this theory tells us, with the help of “images”, that the boundaries, in the presence of a lifting wing, produce extraneous velocity components in the flow. At least two generations of experimenters have routinely corrected their angles of attack and their measured drag values for the presence of the vertical component.

Key concepts: Prandtl number, Wind tunnel, Drag, Wing, Simple (philosophy), Flow (mathematics), Geology, Component (thermodynamics)

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