Analytical Subsonic Aerodynamics

An aircraft engine with blue sky and white clouds in the background

Engine of the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress (Courtesy of Emmanuel Marion on Flickr. License CC BY-NC-SA).

Instructor(s)

MIT Course Number

16.121

As Taught In

Fall 2017

Level

Graduate

Cite This Course

Course Description

Course Features

Course Description

This subject is designed to inform students on the analytical foundations of inviscid subsonic aerodynamics. A primary goal of this subject is to equip students with the scientific rigor, applied mathematical complexity, and physical understanding that form the foundation of classical subsonic aerodynamics. Perturbation methods that both simplify mathematical complexity and expand physical understanding of critical phenomenon in fluid flow provides a framework for the subject. The subject offers lectures in classical subsonic aerodynamics at the graduate level on inviscid, subsonic, steady flow over slender aerodynamic bodies. Topics will be selected from: fundamentals of fluid mechanics [review]; singular-perturbation methods [introduction, JIT]; similitude; subsonic flows with axial symmetry; linearized subsonic flow; slender body theory; similarity rules for subsonic flows; two-dimensional flow past a wave-shaped wall; thin wing theory; Kaplan’s higher approximations.

Related Content

Wesley Harris. 16.121 Analytical Subsonic Aerodynamics. Fall 2017. Massachusetts Institute of Technology: MIT OpenCourseWare, https://ocw.mit.edu. License: Creative Commons BY-NC-SA.


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