McLean J.D. Understanding Aerodynamics: Arguing from the Real Physics

John Wiley & Sons Ltd., 2013. — 492 p. — ISBN: 978-1-119-96751-4.Much-needed, fresh approach that brings a greater insight into the physical understanding of aerodynamics
Based on the author’s decades of industrial experience with Boeing, this book helps students and practicing engineers to gain a greater physical understanding of aerodynamics. Relying on clear physical arguments and examples, Mcleanprovides a much-needed, fresh approach to this sometimes contentious subject without shying away from addressing "real" aerodynamic situations as opposed to the oversimplified ones frequently used for mathematical convenience. Motivated by the belief that engineering practice is enhanced in the long run by a robust understanding of the basics as well as real cause-and-effect relationships that lie behind the theory, he provides intuitive physical interpretations and explanations, debunking commonly-held misconceptions and misinterpretations, and building upon the contrasts provided by wrong explanations to strengthen understanding of the right ones.Provides a refreshing view of aerodynamics that is based on the author’s decades of industrial experience yet is always tied to basic fundamentals.
Provides intuitive physical interpretations and explanations, debunking commonly-held misconceptions and misinterpretations
Offers new insights to some familiar topics, for example, what the Biot-Savart law really means and why it causes so much confusion, what Reynolds number and incompressible flow really mean, and a real physical explanation for how an airfoil produces lift.
Addresses "real" aerodynamic situations as opposed to the oversimplified ones frequently used for mathematical convenience, and omits mathematical details whenever the physical understanding can be conveyed without them.Foreword.
Series Preface.List of Symbols.
Introduction to the Conceptual Landscape.
From Elementary Particles to Aerodynamic Flows.
Continuum Fluid Mechanics and the Navier-Stokes Equations.
The Continuum Formulation and Its Range of Validity.
Mathematical Formalism.
Kinematics: Streamlines, Streaklines, Timelines, and Vorticity.
The Equations of Motion and their Physical Me.
Cause and Effect, and the Problem of Prediction.
The Effects of Viscosity.
Turbulence, Reynolds Averaging, and Turbulence Modeling.
Important Dynamical Relationships.
Dynamic Similarity.
“Incompressible” Flow and Potential Flow.
Compressible Flow and Shocks.
Boundary Layers.
Physical Aspects of Boundary-Layer Flows.
Boundary-Layer Theory.
Flat-Plate Boundary Layers and Other Simplified Cases.
Transition and Turbulence.
Control and Prevention of Flow Separation.
Heat Transfer and Compressibility.
Effects of Surface Roughness.
General Features of Flows around Bodies.
The Obstacle Effect.
Basic Topology of Flow Attachment and Separation.
Wakes.
Integrated Forces: Lift and Drag.
Drag and Propulsion.
Basic Physics and Flowfield Manifestations of Drag and Thrust.
Drag Estimation.
Drag Reduction.
Lift and Airfoils in 2D at Subsonic Speeds.
Mathematical Prediction of Lift in 2D.
Lift in Terms of Circulation and Bound Vorticity.
Physical Explanations of Lift in 2D.
Airfoils.
Lift and Wings in 3D at Subsonic Speeds.
The Flowfield around a 3D Wing.
Distribution of Lift on a 3D Wing.
Induced Drag.
Wingtip Devices.
Manifestations of Lift in the Atmosphere at Large.
Effects of Wing Sweep.
Theoretical Idealizations Revisited.
Approximations Grouped According to how the Equations were Modified.
Some Tools of MFD (Mental Fluid Dynamics).
Modeling Aerodynamic Flows in Computational Fluid Dynamics.
Basic Definitions.
The Major Classes of CFD Codes and Their Applications.
Basic Characteristics of Numerical Solution Schemes.
Physical Modeling in CFD.
CFD Validation?
Integrated Forces and the Components of Drag.
Solution Visualization.
Things a User Should Know about a CFD Code before Running it.