THE EFFECT OF WING GEOMETRY ON LIFT AT SUPERSONIC SPEEDS

The effect of various wing geometry parameters on lift generation at supersonic speeds has been studied and analysed. These parameters include the aspect ratio, taper ratio, leading edge sweep angle, relative thickness and the airfoil shape. The parametric study considered only four wing plan forms which were the straight rectangular, sweptback, delta and trapezoidal wings. Both analytical and semi-empirical approaches are used for determining the lift curve slope. The obtained results were validated using published experimental results. Based on the study, it was concluded that the amount of lift generated by the wing is a strong function of the wing planform rather than any single wing parameter. At supersonic speeds, it was also noted that the relative thickness and airfoil shape have negligible effect on the lift. The overall effect of the investigated parameters has been summarised in a design table. This table can be used as an efficient tool during the preliminary design stage for a quick estimation of lift based on certain wing design criteria outlined by a pre-defined set of tacticaltechnical requirements.