Lift On An Airfoil

Airfoil Lift
An Introduction
Chris Cameron
3/17/10
Table of Contents:
1. Audience description Pg. 3
2. Introduction Pg. 3
3. Generating Lift Pg. 4
3.1 Force Due to Pressure Pg. 4
3.2 Creating the Pressure Difference Pg. 4
4. Drag Pg. 5
5. Variations to Improve Lift to Drag Ratio Pg. 5
5.1 Angle of Attack Pg. 5
5.2 Laminar vs. Turbulent Flow Pg. 6
6. Conclusion Pg. 6
7. Works Cited Pg. 7
1. Audience description:
The audience for this process description is first semester students who are considering aerospace
engineering as a major. This audience has a basic understanding of how lift is produced and also of the
math and physics behind it. The process described here is a more detailed explanation designed to help
them further understand the concept and better decide if they want to pursue aerospace engineering as
a major. As such, this process description should be very detailed, but use simple enough terms that
someone with a high school level education can understand the material.
2. Introduction:
An airfoil is a specifically shaped body created to produce a force perpendicular to the flow over the
body. This force is known as “lift” and is created by a pressure difference between the top and bottom
of the airfoil (Figure-1). Airfoils are used in many different roles, from propeller motors to windmills.
However we are going to discuss them as used on airplanes to keep them airborne. Airfoils on airplanes
are more commonly known as the “wings.” Thrust is produced by various means to propel the airplane
forward which creates the flow over the airfoil. Once the velocity of the plane becomes large enough,
the lift being produced by the airfoil overcomes the force of gravity and flight is achieved.
Figure-1: Airfoil Producing Lift

3. Generating lift:
The most important concept of an airfoil is how the lift is produced. This can be explained by how
pressure differences are created and the force they produce.
3.1 Force Due to Pressure:

As stated above, the lift produced by an airfoil is due to the pressure difference between the top
and bottom of the airfoil. The most basic example of pressure creating a force is that in a
balloon. You fill the inside of balloon with air which raises the pressure and causes the air to try
to escape to the lower pressure outside of the balloon. The skin of balloon restricts it from the
air from escaping but is able to deform, stretching and allowing the balloon to become larger. A
similar effect is created on an airfoil. The bottom of the airfoil is analogous to the inside of the
balloon and the top to the outside. Again the pressure difference is created but because the
airfoil more is rigid and cannot be bent easily, as a result, the pressure pushes up on the airfoil
instead.
To be more specific, pressure is the force per area acting on a surface. Normally objects are in
pressure equilibrium, with equal amounts of pressure pushing in all directions. This causes the
effects to cancel out and not be felt. However when a pressure differential is created there are
now two forces of different strength acting on opposite sides of the object. The difference
between these pressures, multiplied by the area over which they are acting, yields the force due
to the pressure difference.
3.2 Creating the Pressure Difference:

Pressure can be broken up into different components, namely the static and dynamic pressures.
In the balloon example above, adding the air into the balloon increased its static pressure.
Airfoils however make use of dynamic pressure to create their pressure difference. The
relationship of static and dynamic pressures is governed by Bernoulli’s equation (shown below).
1 2
In this equation the ρ v is the dynamic pressure while the other two terms relate to the
2
static pressure. The “v” in the dynamic pressure equation is velocity, and is the key to creating
the pressure difference. Airfoils are designed to increase the speed of the air passing over the
top surface, while slowing the air on the bottom surface. This difference in velocities causes a
much higher dynamic pressure on the top surface. Because the sum of dynamic and static
pressure must remain constant, the higher dynamic pressure lowers the static pressure. This
static pressure is the one which is felt and a change in which is responsible for the creation of
lift.
4. Drag:
One side effect of lift is drag. This is the force that works against the motion of the airfoil trying to
“drag” it back with the flow. While drag is associated with friction, it is also produced by the same
method of creating the pressure difference on the airfoil. While higher lift is often good, it is usually
associated with increased drag. It is important when using airfoils to optimize your lift while keeping
drag at a minimum.
5. Variations to Improve Lift to Drag Ratio:

The ultimate goal when using airfoils is to maximize the lift to drag ratio. The two most common
methods are varying the angle of attack, and changing between laminar and turbulent flow.
5.1 Angle of Attack:

An important concept for airfoils is the angle of attack. Increasing the angle of attack will at first
increase the lift. This is because the airfoil will allow the air to flow less smoothly over its
surface creating a higher difference in velocities and therefore pressures as well. However
changing the velocity also introduces a loss to the flow. A separation can begin to occur off the
back of the airfoil where the flow stagnates (Figure-2). In addition the force generated by an
airfoil is always perpendicular to its cord line. As the angle of attack increases the component of
the force that is acting as drag also increases. Most importantly, separated flow reduces the
efficiency of the airfoil and once the critical angle of attack is reached any further increase in
angle of attack will cause lift to be lost. This is known as a “stall.”
Figure-2: Flow Separation

5.2 Laminar vs. Turbulent Flow:
One other important concept concerning airfoils is laminar vs. turbulent flow (Figure-3).
Depending on the design of the airfoil, either one of these flows can occur. Laminar flow travels
in a straight line with little to no mixing, while turbulent flow has a lot of variation, bouncing
around and mixing. A good example of this is a calm stream flowing along for laminar flow, and
raging rapids to demonstrate turbulent flow. In a typical situation (slower than the speed of
sound) laminar flow is usually the best option for lift. This has very little deviation from general
direction of flow, therefore creating the least amount of drag. However there are times when
turbulent flow is more useful for creating lift. Turbulent flow becomes useful either at very high
speeds or at high angles of attack. This is because turbulent flow has more inertia due to its
bouncing nature, which allows the flow to resist separation from the airfoil.
Figure-3: Laminar vs. Turbulent Flow
6. Conclusion:
Airfoils are used to generate lift by creating a pressure difference. This is done by producing different
velocities on the top and bottom of the airfoil. The one downside to creating lift is that drag is also
produced. By varying the angle of attack the lift to drag ratio can be optimized. Also, turbulent flow can
be used when excessive separation would occur in laminar flow.
7. Works Cited:
Figure-1: Courtesy of www.aviation-history.com
Figure-2: Courtesy of wings.avkids.com
Figure-3: Courtesy of www.cvphysiology.com
"Airfoil ." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 17 Mar. 2010. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airfoil>.
McCormick, Barnes Warnock. Aerodynamics, Aeronautics, and Flight Mechanics. New York, N.Y.: J. Wiley
and Sons, 1995. Web.
Wilcox, David C. Basic Fluid Mechanics. La Cañada, Calif.: DCW Industries, 2007. Print.

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Airfoil Lift

Figure-1: Airfoil Producing Lift

3.1 Force Due to Pressure:

3.2 Creating the Pressure Difference:

5. Variations to Improve Lift to Drag Ratio:

5.1 Angle of Attack:

Figure-2: Flow Separation

Figure-3: Laminar vs. Turbulent Flow

Figure-2: Courtesy of wings.avkids.com

Figure-3: Courtesy of www.cvphysiology.com

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