WING DESIGN
By Kudzai Mutasa, Victor Oluyede, Patrick
Palmer and Andre Nicholson
How do wings work?
Wing shape
enables air to
travel at different
speeds
Different speeds
create a pressure
differential
Differential
pushes wing up
and we have
flight!
WING DESIGN
Aspects of Wing Design
Plan form
Number of wings
Wing Vertical Position
Aspect Ratio
Airfoils and flattening
Flaps and Other High Lift Devices
WING DESIGN
Planform
This is the wing shape as seen from
above
Primary purpose is to increase maximum
speed of aircraft
Greater sweep leads to air reaching
wings at a slower time
Hence aircraft can reach greater top
speeds
WING DESIGN
Planform
WING DESIGN
Aspect Ratio
Its is the ratio of
the wing span(S) to
the wing mean
aerodynamic
chord(C)
A high aspect ratio
indicates long,
narrow wings,
whereas a low
aspect ratio
indicates short,
stubby wings.[1]
WING DESIGN
Aspect Ratio
Air escapes at wing tips creating
vortices.
Lower pressure at wing tips reduces
overall lift
Greater aspect ratio= greater high
pressure to low pressure ratio
WING DESIGN
Number of wings
3 types : Monoplane (One
wing),Biplane (Two wings)
and Tri-plane (Three
wings)
Disadvantages of having
more than one wing
-higher weight, lower lift
and limited pilot visibility
A single wing usually has a
longer wing span than two
wings with the same total
area.
WING DESIGN
Wing vertical position
4 types:
High wing
Low wing
Mid wing and
Parasol wing
Wing vertical location enables the
design of other aircraft components
including aircraft tail and landing gear
designs and the centre of gravity.
WING DESIGN
Wing vertical position
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10
Airfoils
Airfoil-the shape of a wing as seen in
cross-section.
Aerofoil designs differ depending on their
purpose
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11
Airfoils(continued)
An airfoil-shaped body moved through a
fluid produces two aerodynamic forces
when thrust is applied
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12
Airfoils(continued)
Lift is produced primarily through
deflection
Cambered aerofoils can produce lift at a
zero angle of attack based on Bernoullis
principle
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Flattening
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Flattening
Also known as arc
The more you arc you apply the worse
performance you get.
The advantages are indirect: more arc
stiffens and smoothens the wing by
causing the tips to fly apart, stretching
the fabric.
With a more stable wing designers can
increase the aspect ratio
Positives outweigh negatives
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15
Flattening- examples
Example of high arc next to normal arc
glider
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High Lift Devices
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The Equation Of Lift
L = Lift, which must equal the airplane's weight in
Newton's
d = density of the air. This will change due to altitude.
v = velocity in metres per second
s = the wing area in square metres
CL = Coefficient of lift , determined by the type of
airfoil and angle of attack.
Increasing the area (S) and lift coefficient (CL) allows a
similar amount of lift to be generated at a lower
airspeed (V).
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18
Flaps
Most common high-lift devices used on
aircraft.
Attached to the trailing edge of the
wing and increase both lift and induced
drag for any given AOA.
Allow for a compromise between high
cruising speed and low landing speed
May be extended when needed, and
retracted into the wing s structure
when not needed.
The Fowler flap is the type of
airplane flap found on most jet aircraft.
Fowler flaps are embedded in the wing,
allowing for a minimal amount of drag
while the aircraft is in cruise flight, a
critical feature for a high-speed jet.
Leading edge slats
Slats are aerodynamic surfaces on
the leading edge of the wings of fixedwing aircraft
When deployed, they allow the wing to
operate at a higher AOA. A higher
coefficient of lift is produced as a result
of the AOA and speed,
By deploying slats an aircraft can fly
at slower speeds, or take off and land
in shorter distances.
They are usually used while landing
or performing manoeuvres which take
the aircraft close to the stall, but are
usually retracted in normal flight to
minimize drag.
Conclusion
The primary function of a wing is to
generate lift
Wing design focuses on generating
maximum lift with minimum drag
Engineers have come up with various
ways of modifying wing capabilities
Aircraft wings can be fine-tuned for
different purposes
WING DESIGN
21
References
http://www.stockcarscience.com/blog/inde
x.php/talladega_f09
http://rewston-stock.deviantart.com/art/
Wing-stock-14-55600948
http://publicola.com/2009/09/22/it-was-the
-strangest-thing-id-ever-heard/
http://weblab.open.ac.uk/firstflight/forces/
http://www.wainfan.com/wingdes.pdf
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/co
mmons/thumb/c/c9/Wing_profile_nomenclatu
re.svg/500px-Wing_profile_nomenclature.s
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