AN INVERSE METHOD FOR THE DESIGN OF AIRFOILS

Abstract

An inverse method for designing airfoils, in which final profiles are determined from prescribed pressure distributions, is researched. First, an inverse method using the panel method is briefly introduced. Then, a method using a non-linear equation as the governing equation is proposed. Due to the treatment of the boundary condition on the airfoil surface, modification of the airfoil geometry is complicated, so an iterative direct-inverse approach is applied. Residual of the calculated pressure distribution by the direct method solving compressible Navier-Stokes equation and the prescribed pressure distribution will be minimized by a numerical optimization method. The procedure is repeated until good convergence is attained in the final profile. A brief result of a non-lifting case is shown.