Theoretical Study of Non-Linear Unsteady Aerodynamics of a Non-Rigid Lifting Body

A recently developed general theory of aerodynamics is used in an investigation of non-linear unsteady flow problems involving a non-rigid lifting body. It is shown that this theory, developed on the basis of viscous flow equations, permits the important interactive fluid dynamic elements dominating the aerodynamics of non-linear unsteady flows to be identified and their contributions evaluated individually. Closed form expressions for the lift, the drag, and the power expenditure of the Weis-Fogh problem, considered as a special case of flexible lifting bodies, are presented and discussed.
This article is from the Proceedings of the Workshop on Unsteady Separated Flow Held at the United States Air Force Academy on August 10-11, 1983, AD-A148 249, p137-147.