Kuchemann D. The Aerodynamic Design of Aircraft

AlAA Education Series, Virginia, 2012. — XVII, 583 p. — ISBN: 978-1-60086-922-8.Dietrich Kuchemann's The Aerodynamic Design of Aircraft is as relevant and as forward looking today as it was when it was first published in 1978. It comprises the philosophy and life's work of a unique and visionary intellect. Based upon material taught in a course at Imperial College London, the insight and intuition conveyed by this text are timeless. With its republication, Kuchemann's influence will extend to the next generation of aerospace industry students and practitioners and the vehicles they will produce. Kuchemann establishes three classes of aircraft based on the character of flow involved. Each class is suitable for a distinct cruise speed regime: classical and swept aircraft for subsonic and transonic cruise, slender-wing aircraft for supersonic cruise, and wave-rider aircraft for hypersonic cruise. Unlike most engineering texts, which focus on a set of tools, Kuchemann's approach is to focus on the problem and its solution - what kind of flow is best for a given class of aircraft and how to achieve it. With this approach, Kuchemann fully embraces the true inverse nature of design; rather than answer "what flow given the shape," he strives to answer "what flow given the purpose" and then "what shape given the flow.".Foreword.Prolegomena.
Some introductory observations.
An overall technical assessment.
The motivation of aviation.
The design problem.
The Treatment of Airflows.
Models to describe the air and some of its properties.
Some methods to describe inviscid flows.
Some models to describe the compressibility of the air.
Viscous interactions-flow separations.
Flows suitable for aircraft applications.
Means for Generating Lift and Propulsive Forces.
Overall lift and associated drag forces.
Wings with near-planar vortex wakes.
Slender wings with non-planar vortex wakes.
Lifting bodies with shockwaves.
Overall thrust forces.
Propulsion flow cycles.
Elements of propulsion engines.
Properties of Classical and Swept Aircraft.
A family of aircraft according to Cayley’s concept.
An extension to swept-winged aircraft.
Classical wing theory and some extensions.
Threedimensional sweep effects.
Viscosity effects.
Separation effects.
High-lift effects.
Swept wings in transonic flow.
Swept wings in supersonic flow.
The Design of Classical and Swept Aircraft.
Some design aims for swept wings.
Aerofoil section design.
Threedimensional wings.
Some special designs.
The fuselage.
Wing-fuselage interference.
Interfering wings and ground effects.
Some effects of non-uniform flows.
Some propulsion problems.
Some problems of complete aircraft.
Some design aims for swept wings.
Properties and Design of Slender Aircraft for Supersonic Flight.
The evolution of the design concept.
Families of slender aircraft.
Properties of vortex flows over slender wings.
Theories for separated flows.
General properties of wings at low speeds.
The design of warped wings with attached flow.
Non-lifting wings at supersonic speeds.
Lifting wings at supersonic speeds.
Some problems of complete aircraft.
Slender Aircraft for Flight at Subsonic Speeds Over Short Ranges.
Gates’ concept of an aerobus.
Performance considerations.
Design considerations.
Waverider Aircraft.
The waverider concept and its possible applications.
Design of lifting bodies from known flowfields.
Off-design characteristics.
Effects of viscosity.
Heat addition to airstreams.
Propulsive lifting bodies.
Conclusions and Outlook.Supporting Materials.