Power Balance in Aerodynamic Flows

A control volume analysis of the compressible viscous flow about an aircraft is performed,including integrated propulsors and flow control systems. In contrast to most past analyses which have focused on forces and momentum flow, in particular thrust and drag, the present analysis focuses on mechani...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Drela, Mark (Contributor)
Other Authors: Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics (Contributor)
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 2017-04-20T20:29:26Z.
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Description
Summary:A control volume analysis of the compressible viscous flow about an aircraft is performed,including integrated propulsors and flow control systems. In contrast to most past analyses which have focused on forces and momentum flow, in particular thrust and drag, the present analysis focuses on mechanical power and kinetic energy flow. The result is a clear identification and quantification of all the power sources, power sinks, and their interactions which are present in any aerodynamic flow. The formulation does not require any separate definitions of thrust and drag, and hence it is especially useful for analysis and optimization of aerodynamic configurations which have tightly integrated propulsion and boundary layer control systems.