Laminar Airfoil Design
As discussed in the section on boundary layers,
laminar flow may be useful for reducing skin friction drag, increasing maximum
lift, or reducing heat transfer. It may be achieved without too much work
at low Reynolds numbers by maintaining a smooth surface and using an airfoil
with a favorable pressure gradient. The section below shows how the pressures
may be tailored to achieve long runs of laminar flow on upper and/or lower
surfaces.
Again, the Stratford-like pressure recovery is helpful in achieving the
maximum run of favorable gradient on either upper or lower surfaces.
