From ordinary cars to sophisticated race cars, Formula one designs and even the grand designs of aviation, aerodynamics plays a central role in harnessing their overall performance. To comprehend the history of aerodynamics, its definition is of utmost importance. This term refers to a particular branch of dynamics that pertains to a dedicated study of the resultant motion of objects through the air and the forces that accompany this motion. Through the study of how air moves around objects, certain measures become possible. These measures include lift, drag, weight and thrust. Lift refers to the push that results from letting something move in an upwards direction. The force of lift is opposite to weight, which comes from gravity and drags objects to the ground. Now, the wing of a plane provides lift through overcoming its weight and in doing so, generates enough upward force to lift it off the ground and into the air. To do this, the plane uses the principles of aerodynamics to its advantage. As stated earlier, in addition to lift and weight is drag and thrust. Drag refers to any force that tries to slow down a moving object. Numerous results account for the occurrence of drag, and subsequently, this force is what aerodynamics seeks to overcome. On the other hand, thrust is the opposite of drag and propels an object in motion forward. All these forces and others like vortexes are the sole purposes of aerodynamics, as this discipline works to manage, harness and eventually deploy for the advantage of the airplane and in making it safer and faster hence more efficient.
One notable pioneer of aerodynamic aviation is the man called Leonardo Da Vinci, who lived between the 13 th and 14 th century (1452-1519). Among aviators and aviation enthusiasts alike, Da Vinci was a genius who devised extensive plans and procedures that saw the evolution in aerodynamic thinking. Leonardo Da Vinci alone devised plans and specialized drawings of future wings and flight machines. At such an early stage, he had already envisioned the future of aviation and was already working towards achieving it. Since that time, there have been significant advances in the field of aerodynamics leading to the point of “Eureka” with the Wright brothers when they came up with their plane. Certainly, the 20 th century was one full of marvels. From initial plane designs to conquering the moon, the aviation field has immensely increased, bringing about the advancement of aerodynamic principles. However, over the years, the understanding of aerodynamics has often had the characteristic of being an applied science, and this appellation has somewhat interfered with its significance; consequently, bringing about simplicity to it. Before the twentieth century, the overall history of aerodynamics had the representation of being inclined to fluid dynamics. After comprehending this principle, by the 1800s, the aerodynamics took on an upward scale and from then on commenced developing drastically.
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Latest aerodynamic developments have deep roots that extend as far as the 18 th and 19 th centuries. To have the most recent aerodynamic advancement, engineers and designers had to overcome various challenges effectively. One such challenge was the creation of a vessel that would exhibit low drag and high lift wings aerodynamically tuned to sustain various forces. Soon, there was the discovery of the power needed for sustained flight by Charles Renard. When Charles teamed with the German Physicist, Hermann Von Helmholtz, there was the exploration of wing load, which implies the weight to the wing-size ratio (Triet, Thang, & Viet, 2015). This represented a critical understanding of the overall bearing capacity and the kind of aerodynamics needed to sustain a flight that is heavier than air. From then on, the progress in this industry increased immensely. As the industry progressed to modern aerodynamics, new challenges not foreseen emerged. Among those challenges was that of compressibility. Compressibility occurred because of increasing speeds in planes. At low speed the effects of compressibility were low. However, as the airflow neared and exceeded the speed of sound, a cluster of aerodynamic effects became visible and subsequently, significant to the overall design of the aircraft. During World War II and the later years, these effects were notable, especially in the P-38 Lightning aircraft and caused a host of problems. To mitigate these effects, which would often result in the uncontrollable dive of a plane, “dive flaps” were added that altered the distribution center of pressure, wich ensured that the plane would not lose its lift power.
By the 1990s the Northrop-Grumman Corporation developed the B-2 bomber and this in itself brought about a revolution in aerodynamics and aviation technology. The bomber aircraft saw the development of new technologies that brought about a leap in the aviation industries. Lockheed Martins were also pioneers in the aircraft development industry and developed the F-117, which was primarily a marvel among aviators and enthusiasts in general. Both these masterly crafted aircraft were epitomes when it came to their aerodynamics at that time and still stand to be marvels of acute science and engineering ingenuity. In the B-2 bomber, the implementation of aero-servo-elastic characteristics was exemplary, and this led to a revolution in large future aircraft (p010486). This plane saw a revamp of the overall design of aerodynamics. It quite comfortably represents the shift of traditional aerodynamics as it incorporated all technologies that led to advancement in the field of aerodynamics. The plane had an impeccable Flight Control Systems. Among foremost design goals of this system was to control the aerodynamic system intelligently. The design of the B-2 bomber focused on the enhancement of the gust load alleviation, stable platform, and ride quality. Through this use of onboard computers to manipulate the overall aerodynamics, the plane gained stability and had good ride quality. In recent years, this has been the goal of most avionics. Avionics refers to the application of electrical equipment to the flying of an aircraft. Since the introduction of computers, avionics has evolved to become a science in itself. With it, a new age has dawned in the advancement of aerodynamics. These computer controls have come to control virtually all of the structural and actuator modelling modification in all planes. Therefore, avionics are an integral aspect when it comes to the advancement of aerodynamics.
Aside from avionics are the structural improvements in the modelling of plane wings. These modifications play a crucial role in combating all the external forces that attack the aircraft while flying. As stated above, such forces as drag and thrust play a critical role in ensuring proper flight of a plane. Consequently, the implementation of sound structural models results in remarkable aerodynamic improvements. An excellent and revolutionary example was in the B-2 design. Its rudimentary aerodynamic and structural design took place in a modelling system that represented a finite element characteristic. The use of a Doublet lattice method (DLM) ensured stability in unsteady forces. DLM represented the reduction in the frequency of both the dynamic and flutter gust responses and this ensured the stability of the plane even in air speeds that were not proportional (Britt, Applewhite, Dreim, & Volk, 1999). Such an advancement was possible with the B-2 bomber and subsequent designs emulated this approach with great success over the years especially in designing the F-22 and later F-series fighter jets, and finally, the DLM which became the prime aerodynamic advancement
Another advancement in aerodynamics is in the area of education. At the turn of the 21 st century, scientists and researchers alike started to understand better the forces that pertain to aerodynamics. In the Laboratory for Turbulence Research in Aerospace and Combustion at Monash University, there are new discoveries every day that lead to revolutions in thinking concerning aerodynamics and its overall future. According to one professor, currently, physicists and computer scientists are working together to develop a technology that would accurately visualize these forces subsequently leading to their understanding and eventual proper application. Such advancements in research and education are pivotal to aerodynamics as they result in new thinking and application frontiers. The expansion of thinking not only applies to aerodynamics but also pertinent in the finding of solutions to the research and development strategies that will lead to proper aerodynamic applications.
In conclusion, as we head into the future, the needs of the society for increased reliability, safety, reduced emission, noise and overall time travel are critical especially when it comes to civil aviation. Therefore, the need for innovations in the field of aerodynamic technology is highly encouraged. Already, to significantly increase the overall carrying capacity of commercial planes, the civil aviation authority is encouraging aircraft designers to expand the carrying capacity to an upwards of 600 to 1000 passengers (Hefner, & Kumar, 2000). This will, in turn, need massive and strategic innovations in the aerodynamics of planes. In addition, revolutions in the overall aviation industry are necessary to ensure their systems are up-to-date and can handle dynamic and complex navigational situations. Techniques such as vortex generators, blow, and suction among others are required to ensure the plane maintains the aerodynamic integrity and overall efficiency. Therefore, advancement in aerodynamic technology is highly pivotal in ensuring a viable aviation industry.
References
Britt, R., Applewhite, K., Dreim, D., & Volk, J. (1999). Aeroservoelastic Characteristics of the B-2 Bomber and Implications for Future Large Aircraft . Presentation, Ottawa, Canada.
Hefner, J., & Kumar, A. (2000). Future Challenges and Opportunities in Aerodynamics . Presentation, Harrogate, United Kingdom.
Triet, N., Thang, P., & Viet, N. (2017). Aerodynamic Analysis of Aircraft Wing. NU Journal Of Science: Mathematics – Physics , 31 (2), 68-75.
