Collected Works of H. S. Tsien (1938-1956)

Airfoils in Slightly Supersonic Flow

Hsue-shen Tsien* and Judson R. Baron^**

(Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

Summary

An investigation is made to determine the performance of simple thin airfoils in the slightly supersonic flow region with the aid of the nonlinear transonic theory first developed by von Kármán^[1]. Expressions for the pressure coefficient across an oblique shock and a Prandtl-Meyer expansion are developed in terms of a transonic similarity parameter. Aerodynamic coefficients are calculated in similarity form for the flat plate and asymmetric wedge airfoils, and curves are plotted. Sample curves for a flat plate and a specific asymmetric wedge are plotted on the usual coordinate grid of C_l, C_d,andversus angle of attack ...