2011Chalmers Publication Library (Chalmers University of Technology)Open access

Aircraft Drag Reduction: An Overview

Mohsen Jahanmiri

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Abstract

Drag reduction for aerial vehicles has a range of positive ramifications: reduced fuel consumption, larger operational range, greater endurance and higher achievable speeds. The aerodynamic drag breakdown of a transport aircraft at cruise shows that the skin friction drag and the lift-induced drag constitute the two main sources of drag, approximately one half and one third of the total drag. The paper summarizes the state of the art in aeronautical drag reduction for the `conventional’ drag components of viscous drag, drag due to lift and wave drag, and also will give an overview of the results obtained for the different mentioned topics and will try to evaluate the potential gains offered by the different technologies.

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Drag reduction for aerial vehicles has a range of positive ramifications: reduced fuel consumption, larger operational range, greater endurance and higher achievable speeds. The aerodynamic drag breakdown of a transport aircraft at cruise shows that the skin friction drag and the lift-induced drag constitute the two main sources of drag, approximately one half and one third of the total drag. The paper summarizes the state of the art in aeronautical drag reduction for the `conventional’ drag components of viscous drag, drag due to lift and wave drag, and also will give an overview of the results obtained for the different mentioned topics and will try to evaluate the potential gains offered by the different technologies.

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Available abstract

Drag reduction for aerial vehicles has a range of positive ramifications: reduced fuel consumption, larger operational range, greater endurance and higher achievable speeds. The aerodynamic drag breakdown of a transport aircraft at cruise shows that the skin friction drag and the lift-induced drag constitute the two main sources of drag, approximately one half and one third of the total drag. The paper summarizes the state of the art in aeronautical drag reduction for the `conventional’ drag components of viscous drag, drag due to lift and wave drag, and also will give an overview of the results obtained for the different mentioned topics and will try to evaluate the potential gains offered by the different technologies.

Key concepts: Drag, Zero-lift drag coefficient, Lift-induced drag, Parasitic drag, Drag divergence Mach number, Lift-to-drag ratio, Aerodynamic drag, Wave drag

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