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Which airfoil produces zero lift at zero angle of attack?

Which airfoil produces zero lift at zero angle of attack?

cambered aerofoil
A cambered aerofoil generates no lift when it is moving parallel to an axis called the zero-lift axis (or the zero-lift line.) When the angle of attack on an aerofoil is measured relative to the zero-lift axis it is true to say the lift coefficient is zero when the angle of attack is zero.

What is the angle of zero lift?


One must move to a negative angle of attack to obtain zero lift coefficient (hence zero lift). It will be remembered that this angle is called the angle of zero lift. A symmetric airfoil was shown to have an angle of zero lift equal to 0° as might be expected.

What is the zero lift angle of attack for a symmetric airfoil?

For a symmetric airfoil, of course, the zero lift line coincides with the chord and as such, the airfoil produces no lift when the geometric (or absolute) angle of attack is zero.

What happens at zero lift angle of attack?

The angle of attack at which an airfoil does not produce any lift. Its value is generally less than zero unless the airfoil is symmetrical.

What is the lift curve slope of an airfoil?

The lift curve slope is a measure of how rapidly the wing generates lift with change in AOA. As stated in Section 8.1. 4, the theoretical maximum is 2π, although real airfoils deviate from it. The lift curve slope of a three-dimensional wing is always less than that of the airfoils it features (see Section 9.5.

What is absolute angle of attack?

The absolute angle of attack is the angle between the aircraft zero lift line (ZLL) and the freestream direction, as also shown in Fig. 1 and labelled just α (alpha). The ZLL is negative because the camber (curvature) of the airfoil results in lift even when the geometric angle of attack is zero.

What is the lift of an airfoil?

An airfoil generates lift by exerting a downward force on the air as it flows past. According to Newton’s third law, the air must exert an equal and opposite (upward) force on the airfoil, which is lift. The airflow changes direction as it passes the airfoil and follows a path that is curved downward.

Where is the zero lift angle of attack?

A symmetrical wing has zero lift at 0 degrees angle of attack. The lift curve is also influenced by the wing shape, including its airfoil section and wing planform. A swept wing has a lower, flatter curve with a higher critical angle.

How is lift created with an airfoil?

When the air moves over the wings, it is forced to split to go above and below the wing. The curved surface and upward angle of the wing increases the amount of air that flows under the wing, which is displaced downwards and pushes the plane up, creating lift.

Why is zero lift angle of attack from thin airfoil theory more accurate?

Because it is derived from the Joukowsky transform of the inviscid potential flow around a cylinder it’s more accurate at high Reynolds numbers. The solution and the approximate solution to zero-lift angle of attack from thin airfoil theory can be found in ESDU 98011.

How does the thin wing theory affect lift?

consistent with flap increasing the lift at a constant true angle of attack. Abbott and Doenhoff give experimental data for the NACA 2412. The experimental coefficient of lift at zero angle of attack is approximately 0.25 which is close to 0.228 as given by the thin wing theory. The increase of the coefficient of lift versus angle of attack

How to calculate the lift coefficient of a thin airfoil?

Thin airfoil theory gives C = C o + 2 π α, where C o is the lift coefficient at α = 0. However, I couldn’t find any equation to calculate what C o is which must be some function of the airfoil shape.

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