Lifting Airfoils in Incompressible Irrotational Flow

AA210b
Lecture 3
January 13, 2008

AA210b - Fundamentals of Compressible Flow II 1

AA210b - Fundamentals of Compressible Flow II Lecture 3

Governing Equations
For an incompressible fluid, the continuity equation takes the form

∂u ∂v
+ = 0. (1)
∂x ∂y

If the flow is irrotational (∇ × u ≡ 0), the velocity field can be written

as the gradient of a scalar function called the potential function (typically
represented by the symbol φ). This is expressed in the following vector
identity
u=∇·φ (2)
When substituting the definition of the potential, φ, into Eq. 1, we obtain
the governing equation for φ, Laplace’s equation:

2 ∂ 2φ ∂ 2φ
∇ φ= 2
+ 2 =0 (3)
∂x ∂y

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AA210b - Fundamentals of Compressible Flow II Lecture 3

which the potential function must satisfy everywhere, including the

appropriate boundary conditions. In this way we have reduced the problem
of finding the velocity field (2 components, (u, v)) to a single equation. In
addition, one can show that the momentum equations can be combined
with the statement of irrotationality to obtain a relation between velocity
magnitude and pressure called the Bernoulli equation

1
p + (u2 + v 2) = p0. (4)
2

One way to obtain solutions to Laplace’s equation (subject to the appropriate

boundary conditions) is to exploit its linear nature and the principle of
superposition. Because Laplace’s equation is linear, if we have two solutions
φ1 and φ2, the linear combination αφ1 + βφ2 is also a solution, with α and
β arbitrary scalars. Obviously, the principle of superposition can be used to
add up an arbitrary number of elementary solutions to Laplace’s equation.

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AA210b - Fundamentals of Compressible Flow II Lecture 3

This method is rather powerful and will be used in the remainder of

this lecture to construct the solution of the flow about an arbitrarily shaped
lifting airfoil.

In this lecture we will use three types of elementary solutions: free

stream, source/sink, vortex. With a large number of each of these three
kinds of solutions we will be able to construct the flow about rather general
airfoils at arbitrary angles of attack.

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AA210b - Fundamentals of Compressible Flow II Lecture 3

Free Stream Potential

The potential function for a free stream of magnitude V∞, aligned with
the x−axis is given by
φ∞ = V∞x. (5)
Taking the gradient of this potential we see that the resulting velocity field
is given by

u(x, y) = V∞ (6)
v(x, y) = 0.

That is, the velocity is uniform everywhere in the domain. The potential
function can be rotated at an arbitrary angle α so that φ∞ = V∞(cos αx +
sin αy), which for small angles of attack can be approximated as φ∞ ≈
V∞(x + αy).

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AA210b - Fundamentals of Compressible Flow II Lecture 3

Source/Sink Potential
A source/sink that expels/absorbs an amount of fluid volume/unit time
= ±Q can be constructed from the following potential

±Q
φS = ln r. (7)
2π
The resulting velocity components are

±Q x
u(x, y) = (8)
2π x2 + y 2
±Q y
v(x, y) = 2 2
.
2π x + y

The streamlines in these flows can be shown to be straight lines emanating

radially outwards from the location of the source/sink.

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AA210b - Fundamentals of Compressible Flow II Lecture 3

Point Vortex Potential

The potential of a point vortex with circulation Γ can be shown to be

Γ
φV = − θ, (9)
2π

where Γ is defined positive if the induced circular flow is clockwise. θ is

the angle measured in polar coordinates from some arbitrary origin radial
line. Taking the gradient of this function, we see that the velocity field of a
vortex is given by

±Γ y
u(x, y) = (10)
2π x2 + y 2
±Γ −x
v(x, y) = 2 2
,
2π x + y

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AA210b - Fundamentals of Compressible Flow II Lecture 3

and has streamlines that are concentric circles centered about the location
of the point vortex.

Notice that the circulation around any countour that encloses the point
vortex is constant and equal to Γ. Furthermore, the flow outside of the
point vortex is fully irrotational. All of the vorticity in this flow is contained
at the singular location of the point vortex. More on this later.

Notice also that the form of the potential for a point vortex is rather
similar to that of a source/sink, with the substitutions x → y, and y → −x
in the appropriate formulae for the velocity field: the velocity fields are
perpendicular to each other (and so are the equipotential lines).

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AA210b - Fundamentals of Compressible Flow II Lecture 3

Thickness and Camber Problems

Consider uniform flow past an airfoil at an angle of attack α.

Figure 1: Airfoil Geometry Nomenclature

The airfoil surface is defined by its upper and lower surfaces located at
y = Yu(x) and y = Yl(x).
The line that joins the leading and trailing edges is aligned with the
x-axis and spans the interval [0, c].

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AA210b - Fundamentals of Compressible Flow II Lecture 3

The thickness and camber distributions are given, by definition, by

T (x) = Yu(x) − Yl(x) (11)

1
Ȳ (x) = [Yu(x) + Yl(x)],
2

which simply yields

1
Yu(x) = Ȳ + T (12)
2
1
Yl(x) = Ȳ − T.
2

If the airfoil is considered to be “thin”, we can safely assume that u ≈ V∞,

and furthermore, we can apply the airfoil surface boundary conditions along
the x-axis instead of at the exact surface location.

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AA210b - Fundamentals of Compressible Flow II Lecture 3

A fundamental necessity to create lifting flows is that our solution must

admit discontinuities across the x-axis. For that purpose, we consider the
values of all the relevant variables at 0±, depending on whether we are
looking at the upper or lower surface of the airfoil.

With these assumptions, the flow tangency boundary conditions at a

solid wall reduce to:
 
d Ȳ 1 dT
v(x, 0+) ≈ V∞ + (13)
dx 2 dx
 
dȲ 1 dT
v(x, 0−) ≈ V∞ − ,
dx 2 dx

which can be satisfied in a variety of ways. A physically meaningful approach

is to construct a potential function for the flow around the complete airfoil

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AA210b - Fundamentals of Compressible Flow II Lecture 3

with 3 main components:

φ = φ∞ + φT + φ C , (14)

where φ∞ is the potential of a free stream inclined at an angle of attack α

to the x-axis, and φT and φC are the potentials created by line distributions
of sources/sinks and vortices placed along the x-axis. They will be later
related to the thickness and camber portions of the problem.

Note that φ∞ alone satisfies the boundary conditions at the far field.
Therefore, φT and φC must vanish at the far field so as not to violate
the boundary condition there. φT is chosen to satisfy the portion of the
flow tangency boundary condition associated with the thickness distribution,
while φC will be chosen so that, together with φ∞ the camber portion of
the boundary condition is satisfied.

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AA210b - Fundamentals of Compressible Flow II Lecture 3

In other words, for small α,

φ∞ ≈ V∞(x + αy), (15)

∂φT 1 dT
vT = = ± V∞ at y = 0± for 0 < x < c (16)
∂y 2 dx
 
∂φC dȲ
vC = = V∞ − α at y = 0± for 0 < x < c. (17)
∂y dx
It is possible to show that, the thickness problem can be solved with a line
distribution of sources along the x-axis, while the camber problem can be
solved with a distribution of vortices along the same axis. Both distributions
will be assumed to be continuously varying with strength q(x) and γ(x)
respectively.

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AA210b - Fundamentals of Compressible Flow II Lecture 3

Thickness problem

The velocity field created by a distribution of sources is given by

Z c
q(t) y
vs = 2 2
dt (18)
0 2π (x − t) + y
c
x−t
Z
q(t)
us = 2 2
dt.
0 2π (x − t) + y

Taking the limit of these expressions as y → 0 allows us to extend the limits

of integration from −∞ to ∞, since the integrand effectively behaves as a
delta function as y → 0. With this approximation, we find that

1
vs(x, 0±) = ± q(x), (19)
2
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AA210b - Fundamentals of Compressible Flow II Lecture 3

that is, half of the volume flux per unit depth out of a differential element of
source is sent directly upwards, while the other half is directed downwards.
This relationship between source strength and flow speed directly produces
the strength of a source disctribution that is necessary to generate the shape
of a body of interest (i.e. satisfy the flow tangency boundary condition). In
particular, for the thickness problem, Equation 16 together with Equation 19
yield

q(x) = V∞T 0(x). (20)

The contribution to the x-component of the velocity vector from this

distribution of sources is given by

Z c
V∞ dt
uT (x, 0±) = P T 0(t) for 0 < x < c (21)
2π 0 x−t

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AA210b - Fundamentals of Compressible Flow II Lecture 3

Note that uT is continuous across the x-axis, while vT is discontinuous

uT (x, 0+) = uT (x, 0−) (22)

vT (x, 0+) = −vT (x, 0−)

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AA210b - Fundamentals of Compressible Flow II Lecture 3

Camber Problem

Notice from Equation 17 that the vertical velocity component due to

the vortex distribution vC is continuous across the surface of the airfoil.
Therefore, we can infer that the horizontal velocity component due to
this vortex distribution must be allowed to be discontinuous across the
surface of the airfoil, since, otherwise, the total horizontal velocity would be
continuous across the surface of the airfoil, which we know not to be true
from a physical standpoint, and which would lead to problems when trying
to obtain non-zero lift from this mathematical setup.

Let’s represent the solution to the camber problem via a distribution of

vortices along the x-axis, with strength per unit length γ(x):
Z c  
γ(t) y
φC = − tan−1 dt. (23)
0 2π x−t

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AA210b - Fundamentals of Compressible Flow II Lecture 3

Following a derivation similar to the one used for the source distribution,
we find the velocity components due to φC to be:
1
uC (x, 0±) = ± γ(x) for 0 < x < c (24)
2
Z c
± γ(t) dt
vC (x, 0 ) = − P for 0 < x < c
0 2π x − t

In order to satisfy the flow tangency boundary condition in Equation 17,

γ(x) must satisfy the following integral equation:
Z c  
1 dt dȲ
P γ(t) = V∞ α − for 0 < x < c (25)
2π 0 x−t dx

This integral equation is difficult to solve, although there are well-known

solutions such as that for a flat plate airfoil at an angle of attack, α (which
is shown in the following slides).

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AA210b - Fundamentals of Compressible Flow II Lecture 3

Assuming the solution γ(x) which satisfies the portion of the boundary
conditions for the camber problem can be found, the velocity field can be
derived from appropriate substitution into Equations 19 and 25, and using
the Bernoulli equation, one can found the pressure distribution on the upper
and lower surafces of the airfoil, from which forces and moments can be
computed.
Note that Bernoulli’s equation

1 1 2
p + ρ(u2 + v 2) = p∞ + ρV∞ (26)
2 2
can be written in a simpler form under the thin airfoil approximation,
uT + uC  V∞ (by neglecting terms that are higher order) as:

p ≈ p∞ − ρV∞(uT + uC ). (27)

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AA210b - Fundamentals of Compressible Flow II Lecture 3

Kutta Joukowski Theorem

We can compute the total force that the fluid exerts on the airfoil by
simply integrating the pressure around the airfoil surface. The total force
can be decomposed into components along the x and y directions as follows:
Z c 
dYu dYl
Fx0 = pu − pl dx (28)
0 dx dx
Z c
Fy0 = (pl − pu) dx.
0

From our expressions for uT and uC on the upper and lower surfaces of the
airfoil we see that
pu − pl ≈ −ρV∞γ,
and therefore, the total force per unit depth in the vertical direction is given

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AA210b - Fundamentals of Compressible Flow II Lecture 3

by Z c
Fy0 ≈ ρV∞ γ(x)dx = ρV∞Γ, (29)
0
where Z c
Γ= γ(x)dx
0
is the total circulation around the airfoil. With a certain amount of algebra,
the x component of the force can be shown to be
Z c
Fx0 ≈ −ρV∞α γ(x)dx = −ρV∞αΓ. (30)
0

The vector addition of these two components of the total force can be
shown to be perpendicular to the free stream (remember that for small
angles of attack, α, tan α ≈ α). This result is often known as D’Alembert’s
paradox.

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AA210b - Fundamentals of Compressible Flow II Lecture 3

Figure 2:

Theorem 1. [Kutta-Joukowski Theorem] An isolated two-dimensional

airfoil in an incompressible inviscid flow feels a force per unit depth of

F0 = ρ∞V∞ × Γ.

Since the lift and drag forces are defined as the forces in the directions

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AA210b - Fundamentals of Compressible Flow II Lecture 3

normal and parallel to the free stream, a direct consequence is that

L0 = ρV∞Γ
D0 = 0,

and thus, the airfoil produces lift while creating no drag. This result is
clearly unphysical since it would amount to a perpetual motion machine,
which would violate the second law of thermodynamics. The result for the
lift force is very close to experiment (for high Reynolds numbers), while the
result for the drag force is clearly off and will be taken care of during our
lectures on viscous flow and boundary layer theory.

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AA210b - Fundamentals of Compressible Flow II Lecture 3

Symmetric Airfoil at an Angle of Attack

In order to show an example of the solution to the integral equation 25

lets assume we have a symmetric airfoil (Yu(x) = −Yl(x)), such that the
camberline is a flat plate aligned with the x-axis (Ȳ (x) = 0). The integral
equation for γ(x) then reduces to
Z c
γ(t)dt
P = 2πV∞α, for 0 < x < c. (31)
0 (x − t)

While the integrand of this expression depends on x, the right hand side is
a constant. Because of this fact, the integral equation can be solved using
the following coordinate transformation

c
x = (1 − cos θ0)
2
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AA210b - Fundamentals of Compressible Flow II Lecture 3
c
t = (1 − cos θ)
2
γ(t) = g(θ).

The integral equation is transformed into

Z π
g(θ) sin θdθ
= 2πV∞α.
0 cos θ − cos θ0

A useful result in applied aerodynamics (which will come back when we

discuss lifting line theory) is that (look in your CRC)
Z π
cos nθ sin nθ0
dθ = π . (32)
0 cos θ − cos θ0 sin θ0

Since the right hand side of this integral reduces to π when n = 1, a

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AA210b - Fundamentals of Compressible Flow II Lecture 3

solution to the integral equation is certainly

g(θ) sin θ = 2V∞α cos θ.

However, for n = 0, the integral vanishes, so that we may add an arbitrary

constant to the term sin θ g(θ) while still retaining a valid solution to the
integral equation 31!!! Hmmmm . . . the implications of this constant are
quite relevant. In general,

k cos θ
g(θ) = + 2V∞α ,
sin θ sin θ
where k is the arbitrary constant. It can be shown that the total circulation
around the airfoil is given by
Z π
c kcπ
Γ= g(θ0) sin θ0dθ0 = .
0 2 2

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AA210b - Fundamentals of Compressible Flow II Lecture 3

Since the constant k can change the value of the total circulation, Γ, it
will change the total value of the force exerted by the fluid on the airfoil
. . . you may have already guessed that something is wrong here.

Notice that the reverse transformation is given by

2t
cos θ = 1 −
c
s  
t t
sin θ = 2 1− ,
c c

and therefore, the vortex strength distribution is given by

k 1 − 2t
c
γ(t) = q + 2V∞α q .
2 ct 1 − ct t t



c 1− c

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AA210b - Fundamentals of Compressible Flow II Lecture 3

If k is set to 2V∞α, one can show by applying L’Hopital’s rule that the
circulation vanishes at the trailing edge point x = c, leaving the following
expression for the vortex strength distribution

p
1 − (x/c)
γ(x) = 2V∞α p .
x/c

This choice of k is the one that satisfies the Kutta condition which we will
discuss next.

The figure below shows the resulting circulation distribution on a

symmetric airfoil at a 3◦ angle of attack. Note that there is still a
singularity at the leading edge of the airfoil, but all ambiguity has been
removed by fixing the value of the constant k.

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AA210b - Fundamentals of Compressible Flow II Lecture 3
Circulation Distribution on a Symmetric Airfoil
0.35

0.3

0.25

0.2

Gamma
0.15

0.1

0.05

0
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
X/C

Finally, the section lift and moment can be found to be

L0 = πρV∞2
αc (33)
0 π 2 2
Ml.e. = − ρV∞ αc , (34)
4
so that the center of pressure (point on the airfoil at which the lift vector

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AA210b - Fundamentals of Compressible Flow II Lecture 3

appears to be acting) is located at the quarter chord point

0
Ml.e. c
xc.p. =− 0 = .
L 4

Furthermore, one can see that since the lift vector appears to be acting
at the quarter chord location (independently of angle of attack for this
symmetric airfoil...is that true for non-symmetric airfoils?) we can compute
the moment about any point (other than the leading edge) for this airfoil.
If we do this, we would find that for xc = 14 the moment is independent of
the angle of attack of the airfoil. This point is rather useful and is called
the aerodynamic center. As we will see later, thin airfoil theory predicts
this location of the aerodynamic center for airfoils with arbitrary camber as
well.

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AA210b - Fundamentals of Compressible Flow II Lecture 3

Kutta Condition

As we saw in the previous example, the circulation distribution on

an arbitrary airfoil is fixed by both the far field and solid wall boundary
conditions up to a constant. In order to obtain a unique solution to this
problem, we must find some additional information that helps us determine
the proper value of the constant, k.

Observation of the flow near the trailing edge shows that we must have
one of the following alternatives:

1. The velocity at the trailing edge is infinite.

2. The flow leaves the trailing edge smoothly along the direction of the
bisector of the trailing edge angle.

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AA210b - Fundamentals of Compressible Flow II Lecture 3

In a real flow, the velocity cannot be infinite, since it would lead to very low
pressure (high adverse pressure gradient) and the flow would separate. The
second option is the one that occurs in reality.

Theorem 2. [Kutta Condition] The flow leaves the trailing edge of a

sharp-tailed airfoil smoothly; that is, the velocity is finite there.

The following corollaries for the Kutta-condition can also be derived:

• The streamline that leaves a sharp trailing edge is an extension of the

bisector of the trailing edge angle.

• Near the trailing edge, the flow speeds on the upper and lower surfaces
of the airfoil are equal at equal distances from the trailing edge.

• Unless the trailing edge is cusped, the flow has a stagnation point at the
trailing edge.

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AA210b - Fundamentals of Compressible Flow II Lecture 3

The most useful of these corollaries is the second one. This leads to the
conclusion that there cannot be a jump in uC velocity at the trailing edge.
Since, according to Equation 25 the jump in uC is equal to γ(x), we must
have γ(c) = 0. This is the condition that we imposed in the previous
example leading to the elimnation of the constant k.

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AA210b - Fundamentals of Compressible Flow II Lecture 3

Cambered Thin Airfoil

Let’s now assume that the camberline of the airfoil is no longer flat,
Ȳ 6= 0. As in the previous example, we need to find the circulation
distribution γ(x) that satisfies Equation 25, and that satisfies the Kutta
condition γ(c) = 0.
Using the same coordinate transformation as before we have
Z π
1 g(θ) sin θdθ
P = α − s(θ0), for 0 < θ0 < π, (35)
2πV∞ 0 cos θ − cos θ0

where
Ȳ 0(x) = s(θ0),
and the Kutta condition is given by

g(π) = 0.

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AA210b - Fundamentals of Compressible Flow II Lecture 3

One option to solve this equation is to expand g(θ) sin θ into a Fourier
cosine series, but we would run into trouble evaluating the Kutta condition.
Alternatively, we can start directly with a form of the solution that always
satisfies the Kutta condition. One such form is given by

" #
X
g(θ) sin θ = 2V∞ A0(1 + cos θ) + An sin nθ sin θ . (36)
n=1

Using Equation 32, some trigonometric identities, and the fact that it can
be shown that one can expand

X
α − s(θ0) = A0 − An cos nθ0
n=1

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AA210b - Fundamentals of Compressible Flow II Lecture 3

it can be shown that the solution to the thin cambered airfoil is given by

Z π
1
A0 = α − s(θ0)dθ0
π 0

and Z π
2
Am = s(θ0)cosmθ0dθ0 for m = 1, 2, . . .
π 0

Note that in the Fourier series above we are expanding the camber slope
distribution Ȳ 0(x) into a series that converges even if the function being
expanded contains jump discontinuities (i.e. the camberline slope is not
continuous, which would occur for airfoils with flaps and slats).

Formulae for the lift and moment coefficient, as well as the location of
the center of pressure can be worked out in a manner similar to the one

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AA210b - Fundamentals of Compressible Flow II Lecture 3

followed for the symmetric airfoil at an angle of attack. In summary

1
L0 = πρV∞ 2
c(A0 + A1)
2
0 −π 2 2 1
Ml.e. = ρV∞c (A0 + A1 − A2)
4 2
c A0 + A1 − 12 A2
xc.p. =
4 A0 + 12 A1

One can see that for this airfoil, the location of the center of pressure
changes with angle of attack (since the A0 coefficient will change with α).
However, one can show there is a point on the airfoil about which the
aerodynamic moment does not change with angle of attack. This point
is called the aerodynamic center, and, according to thin airfoil theory it is

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AA210b - Fundamentals of Compressible Flow II Lecture 3

located at the quarter chord, that is

c
xa.c =
4

Finally, the coefficients of lift and moment can be shown to be

1 π
 Z 
1
cl = 2π(A0 + A1) = 2π α − s(θ0)(1 − cos θ0)dθ0 (37)
2 π 0
1 π
Z
π
cmac = − (A1 − A2) = − s(θ0)(cos θ0 − cos 2θ0)dθ0
4 2 0

This airfoil theory then predicts that

cl = m0(α − αL0)

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AA210b - Fundamentals of Compressible Flow II Lecture 3

where m0 is the lift-curve slope

m0 = 2π

and αL0 is the zero-lift angle of attack

Z π
1
αL0 = s(θ0)(1 − cos θ0)dθ0
π 0

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