A method of designing a winglet and a winglet designed thereby

摘要

A method of designing a winglet 3 for an aircraft 7 comprises the steps of: defining the location of the winglet root; defining a maximum height for the winglet tip; defining a maximum span for the winglet; creating the winglet shape by locating the winglet root 13', locating the winglet tip 15' at the location of maximum height and maximum span, and connecting the winglet root 13' to the winglet tip 15' using a winglet shape. The winglet shape comprises a curved transition region 17' extending away from the root, and a wing-like region extending from the distal end of the transition region 17' to the winglet tip 15'. The step of creating the winglet shape comprises iteratively changing the curvature and/or the location of the centre of the curvature of the transition region, whilst maintaining the locations of the winglet root and winglet tip. The total length of the winglet 3 from root 13 to tip 17 is increased whilst keeping the winglet 3 within the maximum height H and span S constraints.