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SUPER CRITICAL AIRFOIL

BY, ManepalliHarshaVardhananan

The supercritical airfoil, below, maintains a lower Mach number over its upper surface than the conventional airfoil, above, which induces a wea er shoc !

" supercri ical air!"il is an airfoil desi#ned, primaril$, to dela$ the onset of wave dra# in the transonic speed ran#e! %upercritical airfoils are characteri&ed b$ their flattened upper surface, hi#hl$ cambered 'curved( aft section, and #reater leadin# ed#e radius compared with traditional airfoil shapes! The supercritical airfoils were desi#ned in the 1)*+s, b$ then ,"%" en#ineer -ichard .hitcomb, and were first tested on a modified ,orth

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"merican T-2/ 0uc e$e! "fter this first test, the airfoils were tested at hi#her speeds on the T1-8" /rusader! .hile the desi#n was initiall$ developed as part of the supersonic transport '%%T( pro2ect at ,"%", it has since been mainl$ applied to increase the fuel efficienc$ of man$ hi#h subsonic aircraft! The supercritical airfoil shape is incorporated into the desi#n of a supercritical win#!

#escrip i"n

,"%" T1-8" in 1)33

The win# in which lift is #enerated b$ whole upper surface instead of leadin# ed#e is called %uper /ritical win# '%/.(!/onventional win#s are rounded on top and flat on the bottom! The %/. is flatter on the top, rounded on the bottom, and the upper trailin# ed#e is accented with a downward curve to restore lift lost b$ flattenin# the upper surface!"t speeds in the transonic ran#e -- 2ust below and 2ust above the speed of sound -- the %/. dela$s the formation of the supersonic shoc wave on the upper win# surface and reduces its stren#th, allowin# the aircraft to fl$ faster with less effort!

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#ESI$% A%# #EVELOPME%T

4r! -ichard .hitcomb, a renowned aeronautical en#ineer at 5an#le$, developed the concept of a supercritical win#! 6e was one of man$ en#ineers in the 1)7+s and *+s fascinated b$ the transonic speed re#ime! 8n the 1)7+s, .hitcomb created the area rule 'wasp waist( desi#n that #ave supersonic aircraft the 9pinched loo 9 to reduce aerod$namic dra# and increase transonic speed without added power!Then he focused on developin# suitable "irfoils to increase the transonic performance which he thou#ht would be useful especiall$ passen#er transport!.hitcomb:s en#ineerin# instincts led him to concentrate on the 9upside down9 airfoil, which he refined on models in wind tunnels at 5an#le$! "nd on one of those final series of tests an %/. win# model was swept rearward 37; and tested in a wind tunnel to Mach !)+ has produced 7; less dra# than other conventional "irfoils!The success of .hitcomb:s wind tunnel and desi#n studies led to approval in 1ebruar$ 1)*) of a %/. fli#ht test pro#ram at 4r$den!

APPLICATIO%S&
%upercritical win# technolo#$ is now incorporated into the desi#ns of commercial, business, and militar$ aircraft around the world!

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0oein#:s 373 and 3*3 2etliners, and the new #eneration of 333 aircraft, also have win#s desi#ned with some form of applied supercritical technolo#$! %everal militar$ aircraft in testin# and development sta#es are bein# built with %/. technolo#$! "mon# them are the 5oc heed-Martin 1-22 advanced technolo#$ fi#hter, and the two aircraft that will be considered for the <!%! militar$ =oint %tri e 1i#hter production contract, the 0oein# >-32 and the 5oc heed-Martin >-37!

0$,
ManepalliHarsha'ardhanan, ()*+(A,(-. , AERO%AUTICAL E%$$, CM E%$$ COLLE$E