INVESTIGATION AT HIGH SUBSONIC SPEEDS OF A BODY-CONTOURING METHOD FOR ALLEVIATING THE ADVERSE INTERFERENCE AT THE ROOT OF A SWEPTBACK WING

摘要

A body-contouring method for alleviating at subsonic speeds the adverse interference at the root of a high-aspect-ratio sweptback wing was investigated. Several bodies used in combination with a 35 swept¬back wing were modified, as proposed by Kuchemann, by shaping the body so as to counteract the distorting velocities at the wing-body junction.nAlthough modifying the body shape did not significantly affect the aerodynamic characteristics at subcritical speeds, beneficial results were obtained at free-stream Mach numbers above the critical. Improved aerodynamic characteristics were evidenced by large reductions of drag, an increase in lift-curve slope, and a reduced change of pitching-moment-curve slope with increasing Mach number.nAdditional tests, which involved changes in wing position relative to the body, indicated that wing position had little effect on the aero¬dynamic characteristics of the unmodified wing-body combinations.