New Improved 2D Panel Method

Abstract

Hess and Smith method s a conventional 2D panel method that can be used to approximate an airfoil lift coefficient but its accuracy in high angle of attack region is much more different from the result obtained from the experiments. Thereafter, a new method is developed which is applied only the linear distributions of vortex strengths. This method is considered to be a 1^st order panel method and gives better results than the conventional one. But this method did not take the effects of the distributions of source strengths into an account. Hence, a quite new 1^st order 2D panel method is developed which is used both the linear distributions of vortex strengths and the constant distributions of source strengths, to solve the problem of the flow around an airfoil. Comparisons of these three methods will employ 4-, 5-, and 6-digits NACA airfoil which are symmetrical airfoils, e.g. NACA 0009 and NACA 0012, and are asymmetrical airfoils, e.g. NACA 2410, NACA 23015 and NACA 65210. The results obtained obviously show that this 1^st 2D panel method applying both the linear distributions of vortex strengths and the constant distributions of source strengths  gives the more accurate values of aerodynamic parameter than the other methods when compare to the experiments.

Keywords: 2D panel method, Constant source strength, Linear vortex strength, 1^st order panel method and NACA airfoil