78-1201

v Strake-Wing Analysis and Design

J. E. Lamar, NASA Langley Research
Center, Hampton, Va.

AIAA 11TH FLUID

AND PLASMA DYNAMICS
CONFERENCE
Seattle, Wash./July 10-12,1978

For permission tb copy or republish, contact the American institute of Aeronautics ana Astronautics,
1290 Avenue of the Americas. New York, N.Y. 10019.
 STRAKE-WING ANALYSIS AND DESIGN

John E. Lamar*
NASA Langley Research Center
Hampton, V i r g i n i a 23665
W
Abstract characteristic length i n
augmented vortex l i f t
The technology i s s t i l l e v o l v i n g f o r improving
t h e t r a n s o n i c maneuver c a p a b i l i t y of strake-wing vortex l i f t f a c t o r
c o n f i g u r a t i o n s . Much of t h e work t o date has been
o f an experimental nature; whereas, t h e t h e o r i e s l e n g t h of leading-edge
t h a t a r e a v a i l a b l e t o handle vortex-flow aerody- perimeter
namics have m o s t l y t r e a t e d wings o f constant sweep. Mach number
Hence, two e f f o r t s were undertaken. They are:
number of chordwise l i f t i n g
(1) t o extend t h e s u c t i o n analogy t o more .general
c o n f i g u r a t i o n s and evaluate t h e method by u s i n g pressure modes
s e l e c t e d c r i t i c a l planforms; and ( 2 ) t o develop a c o e f f i c i e n t o f cot(0/2)
procedure f o r s t r a k e planform shaping and t e s t t h e l i f t i n g pressure f u n c t i o n
r e s u l t i n g shape i n c o n j u n c t i o n w i t h a wing-body.
The conclusions from t h i s study are t h a t (1) some c o e f f i c i e n t of s i n ( j 0 )
improvement has been made i n e s t i m a t i n g high-angle- l i f t i n g pressure f u n c t i o n
o f - a t t a c k l o n g i t u d i n a l aerodynamics, and (2) t h e free stream dynamic pressure
g o t h i c s t r a k e designed w i t h t h e developed procedure
does Droduce a s t a b l e vortex svstem i n t h e presence area
o f a wing body and f l a t post-maximum-lift free stream v e l o c i t y
characteristics.
f r a c t i o n a l streamwise d i s t a n c e
Nomenclature
- along a chord
angle of a t t a c k
constant
al a n g l e o f s i d e s l i p , and
2
a constant, al/C, 41 -Mz
angular distance along l o c a l
b span chord, 0 a t l e a d i n g edge TI a t
t r a i l i n g edge
constant
bl
2
constant leading-edge sweep
angle
v
6 constant, bl/C1
leading edge sweep angle
ACD
drag-due-to-lift coefficient, function
drag-due-to-1 ift/q_Sref
constant t r a i l i n g edge
l i f t coefficient, lift/q,Sref sweep angle
CL
* spanwise coordinate i n
CL due t o v o r t e x - l i f t - t h e o r y f r a c t i o n s o f semispan
'L, theory t h a t uses a curve f i t t e d K
value t o a r r i v e a t estimatzs q value where c c vs q
changes from l i s e a r t o
p i t c h i n g moment c o e f f i c i e n t , constant
cm p i t c h i n g momentfq S C:
f o r p l a n a r wings ?bb6@ S/4; Subscrip-t?.
I_

f o r strake-wing-body about
57.19 percent body l e n g t h a f t ED breakdown
o f body nose inb'd I nboard
l i f t i n g pressure c o e f f i c i e n t le l e a d i n g edge
a t 8,n max maximum
constant outb'd out board
ref reference
constant
s strake
l o c a l chord re s i d e edge
-
r o o t chord se augmented s i d e edge
TE t r a i l i n g edge
l o c a l s u c t i o n force/q=
W wing
reference chord
*
Member A I A A

T h i s paper i s considered a work O f t h e U . S . 1

Government and therefore i n t h e p u b l i c domain
 Introduction Strake-Wing Analysis

- Strake-wings and blended strake-wings have

received considerable a t t e n t i o n over t h e past
20 years w i t h regard t o c o n t r o l l i n g the aero-
dynamic center s h i f t o f supersonic commercial
transports over t h e f l i g h t envelope ( f o r example,
The few strake-wing examples t h a t have
appeared i n the l i t e r a t u r e have had t h e i r l i f t
(refs. 5 and 6) and p i t c h i n g moment ( r e f . 7 )
reasonably w e l l estimated. An exception was a
supercruise c o n f i g u r a t i o n of reference 8. However,
see reference 1) o r providing a s i n g l e type o f t h a t p a r t i c u l a r configuration d i d not provide a
flow throughout the speed range as f o r the Concorde good basis upon which t o judge t h e adequacy o f t h e
(reference 2). The NASA experimental e f f o r t , estimating t o o l s because the: (1 ) outer-panel
summarized i n reference 3, involved both straked vortex-flow broke down around * 24' angle of
and unstraked wings. The word "strake" i s n o t attack, and (2) t r a i l i n g - e d g e notch-effect r e -
u n i v e r s a l l y used f o r the forward a d d i t i o n a l area, duced t h e a t t a i n a b l e l i f t l e v e l s . Therefore, i t
i t i s a l s o c a l l e d glove, f i l l e t , apex region and was decided t o perform a systematic wind-tunnel
leading-edge extension. The strake-wing combina- and a n a l y t i c a l study on selected configurations
t i o n s a r e a l s o known by d i f f e r e n t names; f o r from f i g u r e 1 t o determine ifthere was an
example, ogee and double-del ta. approach based on t h e geometry v a r i a b l e s which
could lead t o t h e measured r e s u l t s . The technique
As a r e s u l t of t h e successful development o f pursued i s t h a t of p o t e n t i a l f l o w c a l c u l a t i o n s
t h e new l i g h t - w e i g h t f i g h t e r s , strake-wing combina- coupled w i t h t h e s u c t i o n analogy and includes as
t i o n s are once again of i n t e r e s t , b u t t h i s time variables: (1) t h e spanwise e x t e n t o f leading-
not only f o r aerodynamic center c o n t r o l , b u t t o ed e suction, ( 2 ) t r a i l i n g - e d g e n o t c h - r a t i o and
u t i l i z e strake vortex l i f t t o meet t h e transonic (37 t h e augmented v o r t e x - l i f t ( r e f . 4) where
maneuver requirement as w e l l . I t i s a n t i c i p a t e d appropriate.
t h a t f u t u r e f i g h t e r a i r c r a f t may have t o c r u i s e
supersonically and s t i l l have t h e same l e v e l o f The systematic wind-tunnel study employed
transonic maneuverabilitv as t h e c u r r e n t l i a h t - t h e f i v e models (numbers 1-5) shown i n f i g u r e 2,
weight fighters. This means t h a t t h e leading-edge three o f which were obtained by interchanging
sweep o f the main wing panel w i l l be considerably t r a i l i n g - e d g e pieces (numbers 1-3). The basic
higher than f o r t h e main winq on c u r r e n t strake- strake-wing congiguration (number 1 ) has 80' in-
wing f i g h t e r a i r c r a f t . I n f a c t , t h e higher wing board sweep, 65 outboard sweep, pointed t i p and
sweep w i l l approach t h a t o f t h e strake sweep. an unswept t r a i l i n g edge. This planform should
I t i s t o t h e high subsonic-transonic design pro- n o t experience t h e outboard wing leading-edge
blems posed by t h e s u p e r c r u i s i n g - f i g h t e r a i r c r a f t vortex b u r s t i n g problem described f o r t h e confi-
t h a t t h i s paper i s addressed guration o f reference 8 because o f t h e higher
outboard sweep. Reference 9 i n d i c a t e s t h a t vor-
A t t h e transonic maneuver condition, strakes t e x breakdown does n o t occur ahead o f t h e
and/or strake-wing combinations w i l l probably t r e i l i n g edge u n t i l t h e angle of a t t a c k i s about
n o t be able t o maintain attached flow a l l across
t h e span due t o t h e high sweep and angle o f
32 . The other four models i n t h i s s e r i e s each
provide a s l i g h t l y d i f f e r e n t experimental and
a t t a c k present. Hence, t h e f l o w w i l l separate a t a n a l y t i c a l s i t u a t i o n . For example, model 5 has
the leading edge, and because o f the high sweep, the same leading-edge shape and pointed t i p ,
t h e f l o w w i l l most l i k e l y r e a t t a c h on t h e upper b u t a swept t r a i l i n g edge. Two others have
surface. This phenomenon o f separation w i t h r e - s i m i l a r leading edges, b u t model 2 has an unswept
attachment i s w e l l known and i s c a l l e d vortex-flow. t r a i l i n g edge w i t h a cropped t i p , w h i l e model 3
due t o t h e presence o f the separation vortex which- has both a swept t r a i l i n g edge and cropped t i p .
causes t h e reattachment. This flow allows t h e Model 4 has o n l y the inboard sweep w i t h a cropped
c o n f i g u r a t i o n t o reach higher l i f t c o e f f i c i e n t s t i p extending from the o r i g i n a l streamwise post-
than possible w i t h attached f l o w . t i o n of t h e cranked leading edge t o t h e planform
t r a i 1ing-edge.
For manv confiourations. t h e vortex l i f t
can be estimated w e i l w i t h aGailable theory The models were e s s e n t i a l l y planar w i t h
(see reference 4, f o r example), however, success symmetrically beveled edges and had t h e balance
w i t h strake wings i s more l i m i t e d . housing located symmetrically as w e l l . A t r i a n -
g u l a r f i n was welded along t h e e n t i r e lower-sur-
T h i s paper i s d i v i d e d i n t o two sections. face c e n t e r l i n e f o r l a t e r a l s t a b i l i t y . The
The f i r s t addresses systematic experimental models were t e s t e d on a standard s t i n g arrange-
studies and analysis t o assess a present estimat- ment a t two d i f f e r e n t knuckle angles t o provide
i n g c a p a b i l i t y f o r p l a n a r strake-wing l i f t and an angle-of-attack range from c -3O t o = 32'
p i t c h i n g moment. Figure 1 shows t h e general w i t h about a l o o overlap s t a r t i n g near I O o , Only
arrangement of wings t h a t have had and r e q u i r e low subsonic Machnumbers (5.20) were used I n t h e
a n a l y t i c demonstration. The second i s concerned test.
w i t h developing a procedure f o r strake design,
i n t e g r a t i n g t h e r e s u l t w i t h a wing, and t e s t i n g Data and a n a l y t i c a l r e s u l t s f o r a vs CL and
t h e c o n f i g u r a t i o n on a fuselage t o high angles- C, vs CL are presented i n figures 3-7. ACD VS CL
of-attack. This strake design work o n l y addresses
high l i f t l v o r t e x s t a b i l i t y and n o t t h e impact of r e s u l t s are n o t presented, because f o r these wings
strake shape i n post-breakdown a i r c r a f t l o n g i t u - ift h e a vs CL a r e w e l l estimated so w i l l be t h e
d i n a l s t a b i l i t y o r l a t e r a l s t a b i l i t y a t any ACo vs CL. Before t h e r e s u l t s are discussed, t h e
attitude.
ii

2
d i f f e r e n t a n a l y t i c a l methods w i l l be described. improvements are noted o n l y f o r models 2 and 5.
For the o i t c h i n o moment. n o t much effect i s noted
There are,at most, f o u r a n a l y t i c a l curves a t low Ci; howeier, a t the high CL, improvements i n
f o r each set o f data. The curves are: (1) poten-
t i a l theory,at zero suction, (2) o r i g i n a l vortex-
C, estimation are noted f o r models 1 and 5. Addi- v
l i f t theory, ( 3 ) low a v o r t e x - l i f t theory and t i o n a l improvements may p o s s i b l y be obtained a t t h e
(4) high a v o r t e x - l i f t theory. When o n l y t h r e e higher a's i f the leading- and side-edge vortex-
curves appear, i t may be because t h e o r i g i n a l and l i f t flow aerodynamics from t h e outboard panel are
high a v o r t e x - l i f t t h e o r i e s are coincident a s n o t included. This could be J u s t i f i e d by the pre-
f o r model 1 o r t h e high and low a v o r t e x - l i f t mise t h a t the two vortex systems may n o t merge,
t h e o r i e s are coincident as f o r model 4. The b u t t h e outer panel v o r t i c e s are displaced v e r t i -
p o t e n t i a l theory and t h e o r i g i n a l vortex-1 i f t c a l l v 50 as t o reduce t h e i r influence. This was
theory have been described i n several references, n o t a n t i c i p a t e d f o r these wings because, u n l i k e
i n c l u d i n g reference 5. B r i e f l y though, t h e the strake-wing-body configurations which follow,
p o t e n t i a l theory, a t zero suction, i s j u s t the t h e d i f f e r e n c e ~ i nt h e two sweep p g l e s was n o t
p o t e n t i a l f l o w normal f o r c e computational s o l u t i o n thought t o be too large, o n l y 15 .
I t should be
w i t h appropriate t r i g o n o m e t r i c terms. The mentioned t h a t t h e reason the p o t e n t i a l theory
terminology f o r the o r i g i n a l v o r t e x - l i f t theory curves are n o t discussed herein, i s because they
includes, herein, both t h e leading- and side-edge o n l y serve as references.
suction terms and t h e i r c o n t r i b u t i o n s , through t h e
suction analogy, t o v o r t e x - f l o w aerodynamics. The conclusion from t h i s section i s t h a t ,
The o t h e r two theories are t h e b e t t e r o f those although some improvements have been made i n t h e
devised and are described w i t h t h e a i d o f f i g u r e 8. a vs CL and Cm vs CL estimating c a p a b i l i t y , these
improvements are a and c o n f i g u r a t i o n dependent.
This f i g u r e shows f o r a representative
cropped double-delta type wing how the vortex-flow
Having made some progress i n t h e realm of
aerodynamics are modeled a t both low and high
improved estimation o f a vs CL and Cm vs CL f o r
angles-of-attack. The necessity f o r t h i s a de-
pendent f l o w modeling comes from a study o f sur- strake-wings, t h e problem o f strake design w i l l be
face o i l f l o w patterns, which are also shown f o r addressed.
two representative a's. The o i l flows consis-
t e n t l y show here, and f o r a l l double-delta tested, Strake Design
evidence o f two primary vortex systems a t low
a ' s , whereas, o n l y one i s o f consequence a t high The problem i n strake design i s t o f i n d a
a's. s t a r t i n g place. Does one p i c k conventional shapes
t h a t are known t o have reasonably good vortex-flow
A t low a ' s , t h e leading-edge vortex from t h e
inboard wing panel passes over the r o o t chord o f
c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s and reach l a r g e angles o f a t t a c k
and l i f t c o e f f i c i e n t s before b u r s t i n g occurs
u
t h e outboard wing panel. Augmented v o r t e x - l i f t ahead o f t h e t r a i l i n g edge*, as w i t h t h e h i g h l y -
estimates are made based on Kv,le(inb,d) and swept d e l t a and low-aspect-ratio-rectangular wing;
o r does one t r y t o f i n d " b e t t e r shapes," and, i f
? ( i n b a d ) , o r Kv , -
s e ( i n b ' d ) ' A d d i t i o n a l augmented so, by what means other than experimental?
v o r t e x - l i f t i s a v a i l a b l e a t t h e t i p due t o t h e
a c t i o n of t h e outboard leading-edge vortex, i . e . , This section d e t a i l s a design approach based
Kv, 1 e (nu t b ' d ) and E ( o u t b ' d ) , o r Kv,Se(OUtb,d). on t r y i n g t o e s t a b l i s h a " b e t t e r shape" by using
as a basis t h e c o r r e l a t i n g idea t h a t " b e t t e r
Therefore, the low a v o r t e x - l i f t theory combines
shapes'' are those which have high values of t h e
the o r i g i n a l v o r t e x - l i f t theory w i t h the other
p o t e n t i a l - f l o w - s u c t i o n d i s t r i b u t i o n near t h e t i p .
two c o n t r i b u t o r s t o vortex-flow aerodynamics.
Reference 4 f i r s t noted t h i s f o r s i m p l e d e l t a
A t hiah a's t h e assumotion i s t h a t the one wings and f i g u r e 9 shows the effect o f increasing
sweep on both t h e peak and %B-TE. To see i f
primary v o k e x system a c t s ' o v e r the outer panel
i n a manner s i m i l a r t o t h a t described i n t h i s c o r r e l a t i n g idea would work on other given
reference 4 f o r t h e o r i g i n a l augmented v o r t e x - l i f t shapes, three wings, tested by Earnshaw ( r e f e r -
a p p l i c a t i o n (see a l s o r e f . l o ) . Thus. w i t h the ence 11). were examined and the r e s u l t s m e -
increasing s i z e o f t h e [Link] the-more i n - sented i n f i g u r e 10. These wing3 had the same
board l o c a t i o n o f t h e reattachment l i n e , coupled i n i t i a l leading-edge sweep o f 70 , b u t differed
w i t h the l o s s i n l i f t due t o t h e l o s s of f l o w over t h e i r a f t p a r t s so as t o y i e l d , i n a d d i t i o n
reattachment area through t r a i l i n g edge notching, t o t h e d e l t a , representation of an ogee and
t h e o r i g i n a l 2 d e f i n i t i o n i s used as shown. g o t h i c planform. Though the slenderness r a t i o i s
This ? i n conjunction w i t h t h e e n t i r e leading-
edge c o n t r i b u t i o n t o K>, ,~
,,,-
provides K,, ;
I
;;.
,>.
Therefore, combining t h e o r i g i n a l v o r t e x - l i f t
theory w i t h c o n t r i b u t i o n s t o vortex f l o w aero- *The s i g n i f i c a n c e o f vortex b u r s t i n g occur-
dynamics from K
v,se
- produces the high a vortex- r i n g ahead of t h e t r a i l i n g edge i s shown i n
f i g u r e 9 f o r a 70° d e l t a wing and i t i s d i r e c t l y
l i f t theory. associated w i t h t h e angle o f a t t a c k a t which
[Link] i s developed. This i s f u r t h e r documented
, .
Returning now t o figures 3-7, i t i s c l e a r ~

t h a t , i n general, t h e low a v o r t e x - l i f t theory by Wentz i n reference 9 f o r slender d e l t a wings

does o f f e r imorovements i n CI estimation UD t o w i t h A > 70'.
go over the o k i g i n a l theory.& A t higher a ' ; ,
d

3
 only the same for the delta and ogee, the plan- If an additional assumption i s made that across

-
forms produced vortex breakdowns near the t r a i l - the span
ing-edge consistent w i t h the order of the suction
peaks, i ' e ' , (aBD-TE)Ogee<(aBD-TE1Delta AC (0,n) = constant = Co
P
< (agD-TE)Gothic. Hence, there i s additional
evidence that suction distributions which peak a t constant 0 or x/c*, which means that the
near the t i p will promote a strong vortex system, sectional l i f t contribution from the cot 012 term
one which will not breakdown t o o early. i s constant, then

To develop a strake planform from the suction

distribution i s j u s t the reverse of what has been
presented so f a r ; that is, an existing Vortex
Lattice Method ( V L M ) analysis code (ref. 1 2 )
being applied t o a given geometry. This reversed The preceding discussion implies t h a t i f the flow
problem must f i r s t of a l l be formulated; secondly, separates anywhere, i t separates everywhere
the assumptions that are needed t o effect a solu- simultaneously. P u t t i n g a l l of the assumptions
tion must be made; and l a s t l y , a level of confi- together yields
dence in the answers must be established by
example. To work this problem, attached-flow
concepts will be used.
For an attached-flow-pressure distribution
aiven bv

the local-suction distribution can be found from

reference 13 t o be
where

cscI,, = 2n cos A, (n) a- = -a l and 6 = -bl

C1 c1
This equation relates the local leading-edge sweep
angle, A,(n), and chord, c ( Q ) , through the suc- A t n = 0 , the i n i t i a l sweep of the strake can be
v determined by
tion distribution, c s c J n , and coefficient of the
cot(012) term in A C p ( O , n ) . We have another M2
a. (n = 0) = t 1
relationship between A,(n) and c(n) and i t is

c(q) = cr - (bl2)
5: ( t a n A,(:) - tan A t ) dl?

However, t o obtain a solution, some assumptions

will be needed with regard t o cscln and AC,(o,n).
For n > o A (n] m u s t be solved by iteration
For example, the correlation between suction dis- from the foflowing i n i t i a l value problem
tributions which peak towards the t i p and the
resulting large values of aBD-TEcould be used.
This can be done by assuming that
*Other assumptions concerning AC ( 0 , ~ and)
P
0 could be made. For example, ( 1 ) AC ( 0 , n ) could
P
be kept constant a t a fixed distance behind the
The second assumption would be that since leading edge or ( 2 ) AC ( 0 , ~ could
) take on a three-
the planar strakes are designed t o produce P
separated flow with reattachment; i . e . , vortex dimensional variation a t constant 0, any one of
flow, t h e associated leading-edge pressures must which would limit the degree of the resulting
conceptually, as well as i n r e a l i t y , exceed an polynomial used t o describe the leading edge.
unspecified limiting value beginning a t some
small angle of attack. This means that for the
attached-flow-pressure distribution, the region
of interest i s near the leading edge; i.e., 0
and xlc being small values. Hence, f o r t h i s
problem we could take

4
 curve, a d e s c r i p t i o n o f the strake-wing-body
c o n f i g u r a t i o n w i l l be given.

I n order t o o b t a i n a near optimum g o t h i c

strake semispan f o r t h i s configuration, the v
f o l l o w i n q studv was done. Various scaled a o t h i c
strakes Ganging i n semispan from 0.1 t o 0.5 o f
t h e wing semispan had t h e i r suction d i s t r i b u t i o n s
c a l c u l a t e d i n t h e presence of t h e wing, using t h e
This s o l u t i o n has been coded f o r t h e COC 6000 VLM code. The one which was best o v e r a l l had a
s e r i e s d i g i t a l computer. semispan r a t i o o f 0.3. To maintain the strake-
wing span r e l a t i o n on the strake-wing-body combina-
I t can be seen t h a t t h e s o l u t i o n f o r AQ(n) t i o n , i t was decided t o use t h e exposed wing semi-
span t o s e t t h e strake semispan. This e f f e c t i v e l y
and l a t e r c ( n ) are dependent on a, 6, b, At, cr made t h e strake-to-wing semispan r a t i o l a r g e r
and 8' o r (1-M'). The e f f e c t of M has bee? c a l - than 0.3, b u t d i d avoid having a p a r t o f the strake
c u l a t e d t o be s l i g h t f o r a c h a r a c t e r i s t i c a and 6; geometry covered up w i t h t h e body added i n both
hence, o n l y M = 0 w i l l be used herein. t h e computations, planar body representation, and
experimental study.
The 76' d e l t a suction d i s t r i b u t i o n of f i g u r e
9 w i l l be used as a model since i t produced a The r e s u l t i n g suction d i s t r i b u t i o n i s graphed
l a r g e aRo-TE value. Values of al and bl on t h e l e f t of f i g u r e 11 and shows t h e l a r g e up-
wash i n f l u e n c e t h a t the wing has on t h e g o t h i c
associated w i t h t h i s d i s t r i b u t i o n are 1 and 12, strake. The i n f l u e n c e i s most apparent over the
r e s p e c t i v e l y , f o r C12 = 1. However, e a r l y usage outermost 50 percent of strake semispan. This
w i t h these numbers lead t o too small values of same curve i s reproduced on the r i g h t o f f i g u r e 11
ALn ( n ) , e s p e c i a l l y near ri = 0, making i t seem f o r comparison w i t h suction d i s t r i b u t i o n s r e s u l t -
i r j from a d e l t a s t r a k e o f the same chord and span
u n l i k e l y t h a t a strong vortex system wo I d be pro- and t h e l a r g e ogee strake described i n reference
duced. Therefore, smaller values of C,y were 14. I t i s i n t e r e s t i n g t o note t h a t , from t h i s
t r i e d u n t i l t h e r e s u l t i n g A,(q) d i s t r i b u t i o n f i g u r e , t h e suction d i s t r i b u t i o n peaks are s t i l l
i n t h e same order as f o r t h e winas of Earnshaw
appeared reasonable. C12 = 0.25 was determined t o
given i n f i g u r e 10, leading t o t6e conclusion
be small enough f o r t h i s a and bl., I t should be t h a t t h e designed g o t h i c strake may be a promising
mentioned here t h a t since !he s t a r t i n g suction shape. A l l t h r e e strake-wing-body c o n f i g u r a t i o n s
d i s t r i b u t i o n was t h e r e s u l t o f a three-dimen- were wind-tunnel tested. However. before these
sional s o l u t i o n - f o r t h e 760 d e l t a wing and the r e s u l t s a r e discussed, some waterItunne1
AC"(0,n) d i s t r i b u t i o n assumed h e r e i n i s n o t photographs* o f a s l i g h t l y smaller-scaled version LJ
v of the designed gothic strake attached t o a 50°
three-dimensional, one should n o t expect the 76' cropped d e l t a wing a r e presented a t f o u r d i f f e r e n t
d e l t a wing t o emerge as the solution. Another
angles of a t t a c k and two d i f f e r e n t s i d e s l i p angles
representation o f t h e suction d i s t r i b u t i o n which ( f i g s . 12 t o 19). Additional water-tunnel
has l a r g e values near t h e t i p i s obtained by photographs, which are o f a d e l t a strake having
t r u n c a t i n g a l i n e a r form of higher slope part-way
o u t t h e span, a t q* . b/2, and by l e t t i n g the suc-
the same span and slenderness r a t i o as the g o t h i c
strake and mounted on t h e same wing, are shown
t i o n be constant from there t o the t i p . This was
f o r comparison.
t r i e d and t h e AQ(n) r e s u l t s were compared w i t h
those of n o t t r u n c a t i n g and t h e d i f f e r e n c e s were I n the photographs, dark-colored water was
determined t o be s l i g h t . introduced near the strake apex by means of a
dye-probe t o h i g h l i g h t t h e path o f t h e vortex
Therefore, a f i r s t t e s t of t h i s procedure core. The comparative photographs a t Oo and
t o design a strake planfonn used t h e f o l l o w i n g -5O s i d e s l i p throughout the angle-of-attack range
variables show t h a t the g o t h i c strake promoted a vortex
core which could p e r s i s t f a r t h e r i n t o the wing
al = 1, bl = 12, C12 = 0.25, M = 0, n* = .65 pressure f i e l d before breaking down than could the
d e l t a strake o f the same slenderness. These e a r l y
and At = 44'. water-tunnel r e s u l t s of the designed g o t h i c strake
were encouraging and preceded the wind-tunnel t e s t s .
At was set t o 44' because the strake was t o
A t t h i s p o i n t , i t i s i n t e r e s t i n g t o compare
abut a 44' trapezoidal wing. The r e s u l t i n g
shape i s g o t h i c and can be seen a t t h e l e f t o f the g o t h i c and d e l t a wings o f Earnshaw ( r e f . 11)
f i g u r e 11, along w i t h i t s r e s u l t i n g three-
with those of t h i s study. For instance,
dimensional suction d i s t r i b u t i o n , labeled 3-0
ALONE. A comparison of t h i s d i s t r i b u t i o n w i t h
t h e designed one shows t h a t even w i t h the assumed
pressure d i s t r i b u t i o n being constant across t h e *The photographs were taken by the Northrop
span near t h e l e a d i n g edge-a gross assumption- Corporation i n t h e i r water-tunnel and provided t o
t h e r e s u l t i n g strake shape produces a suction NASA-Langley Research Center because o f a mutual
peak outboard. Before comparing w i t h the o t h e r i n t e r e s t i n improving the s t a b i l i t y o f t h e strake
vortex on strake-wing configurations.

5
 Earnshaw's g o t h i c wing has a constant sweep over o r i g i n a l l y i n reference 4 and advanced i n collabora-
t h e f i r s t 50 percent r o o t chord, a f t e r which t h e t i o n w i t h Luckring (ref. 14) f o r t h e ogee strake
sweep increases toward 900 a t the t i p . To main- configuration i s also employed here, a d e s c r i p t i v e
t a i n t h e same slenderness r a t i o as t h e correspond- f i g u r e o f which i s presented here f o r completeness

- i n g d e l t a , t h i s g o t h i c wing has an i n i t i a l sweep

angle o f 5O l e s s than t h e corresponding 700 d e l t a
and has aBD-TEoccur about 2 O e a r l i e r . Note the
( f i g . 22). Figure 23 shows both t h e low and h i g h
a v o r t e x - l i f t t h e o r i e s t o overpredict t h e s t r a k e
CL, whereas, t h e h i g h a v o r t e x - l i f t theory
a o t h i c strake desianed herein has a continuous estimates reasonably w e l l the wing CL. I n order
increasing sweep aid, f o r t h e same slenderness
r a t i o as t h e 81.90 d e l t a strake, has a delayed t o o b t a i n an understanding of t h e a a t which the
s t r a k e vortex was breaking down, t h e data were
aBDi n conjunction w i t h t h e 500 cropped d e l t a as
c u r v e - f i t t e d and then determined t o be estimated
seen i n t h e water-tunnel photographs. by a combination o f t h e p o t e n t i a l theory term
and an effective vortex f l o w term o f = 2.
Figures 20 and 21 present the o v e r - a l l strake-
This procedure was a l s o employed f o r the d e l t a
wing-body CL and Cm f o r t h e designed g o t h i c
strake c o n f i g u r a t i o n .
strake, a d e l t a strake of the same slenderness
r a t i o , 0.163, and a group of ogee strakes a l l The r a t i o o f t h e strake CL data t o the
tested a t subsonic speeds on a two-balance arrange- e f f e c t i v e v o r t e x - f l o w C:,theory i s presented
ment of a high-a s t i n g system. The ogee strakes
range i n slenderness r a t i o from 0 t o 0.237 w i t h i n f i g u r e 24 f o r the p r e v i o u s l y mentioned strakes
t h e l a r g e r one being compared w i t h the other two along w i t h t h e l a r g e s t ogee strake configuration,
shaoes because i t oerformed best o f a l l the oaees whose data were w e l l estimated by the high a
tested. Examining'the C v a r i a t i o n s f i r s t , i t vortex-flow theory. This f i g u r e shows t h e g o t h i c
can be seen from t h e l e f t s i d e o f f i g u r e 20 t h a t strake t o r e t a i n more o f i t s vortex l i f t a t
over the i n i t i a l a range, the e f f e c t o f t h e higher a ' s than e i t h e r o f t h e other strakes
strake shape i s n o t very important, b u t becomes so and, moreover, t o l o s e t h a t l i f t l e s s suddenly
near CL For instance, t h e ogee strake than t h e others. That explains why, i n f i g u r e 20,
,max'
w i t h t h e wing l i f t f a l l i n g o f f f a i r l y r a p i d l y
configuration reaches i t s CL a t the lowest
,ilMX for a 390, the t o t a l CL f o r t h e g o t h i c s t r a k e
a and a f t e r a drop-off r e t a i n s a constant l e v e l ;
whereas, once the d e l t a strake c o n f i g u r a t i o n configuration i s f a i r l y constant.
reaches i t s CL,max, the CL continues t o f a l l and
Concluding Remarks
reaches the l e v e l o f t h e ogee strake c o n f i g u r a t i o n .
The g o t h i c strake c o n f i g u r a t i o n reaches comparable I n t h e general area of strake-wing a n a l y s i s
values of CL w i t h t h a t of t h e d e l t a strake, and design, some progress has been made i n extend-
,MX
i n g t h e suction analogy t o estimate o v e r - a l l l i f t
a f t e r which the high value of CL reached i s
b e t t e r maintained. and p i t c h i n g moment f o r configurations o t h e r than
double d e l t a , i n p a r t i c u l a r , double arrow. With
For n e a r l y the same slenderness r a t i o , t h e regard t o strake design, t h e procedure described
middle sized ogee strake configuration on t h e herein produced a g o t h i c strake which, i n con-
r i g h t has s i m i l a r p o s t CL,man j u n c t i o n w i t h a wing-body, developed a w e l l be-
c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s as
haved vortex system r e s u l t i n g i n a f l a t post-
t h a t of t h e g o t h i c strake c o n f i g u r a t i o n , b u t a t an maximum-lift-variation w i t h increasing angle of
o v e r - a l l reduced C l e v e l . This d i f f e r e n c e i s a t t a c k . I n a d d i t i o n , a v a i l a b l e water-tunnel
L
associated w i t h t h a t o f strake area and shape. photographs i n d i c a t e t h a t t h e g o t h i c strake pro-
However, f o r t h e ogee strake c o n f i g u r a t i o n s on duces a vortex system t h a t i s b e t t e r a b l e t o
the r i g h t , i t i s c l e a r t h a t the l a r g e r the s t r a k e penetrate the wing pressure f i e l d than a d e l t a
the higher t h e [Link] and increasing the slender- strake of the same span and slenderness.

ness r a t i o oeyono t h a t o f the niidale strake docs References

n o t imvrove the post CL,max characteristics.

The C, vs CL curves on f i g u r e 21 a r e
organized t h e same way as the CL vs a curves
on the [Link] j u s t oiscusscd. A l l srrake-wing
cbrves snow p i t c h - u p occJrring, b 4 t i t i s most 'Morgan, S i r Morien, "A New Shape i n the Sky,"
severe on the gothic strake c o n f i q d r a t i o n because Aeronautical Journal, January 1972, pp. 1-18.
of t h e slow Droaression of vortex-breakdown on
the strake a; &own by t h e water-tunnel photographs. 3Ray, E. J . , "NASA Supersonic Commercial A i r
This slow progression l e d t o t h e r e l a t i v e l y Transport (SCAT) Configuration: A S u n a r y and
f l a t p o s t CL,max behavior of i t s CL vs a curve. Index t o Experimental Characteristics," TM X-1329,
January 1967, NASA.
To get an idea o f how w e l l t h e CL character
i s t i c s could be estimated f o r the g o t h i c strake
configuration, t h e strake, o r nose CL, and
wing CL have been separated o u t from the t e s t
'Polhamus, E. C., " P r e d i c t i o n of V o r t e x - L i f t
data and are compared w i t h various v o r t e x - l i f t C h a r a c t e r i s t i c s by a Lpadinq-Edge Suction Analogy,"
v theories. The augmented l i f t concept described

6
Journal of A i r c r a f t , Vol. 8, No. 4, A p r i l 1971,
pp. 193-199.
'Bradley, R. G., Smith, C. W . , and
Bhateley, I . C., ' V o r t e x - L i f t P r e d i c t i o n f o r
Complex Wing Planforms," Journal o f A i r c r a f t ,
Vol. -10, No. 6, June 1973, pp. 379-381.
I .
Smith, C.W., Bradley, R. G. and Bhateley,
I . C., "Vortex L i f t , Drag, and P i t c h i n g Moment
P r e d i c t i o n s f o r Sharp-Edged Wings w i t h Camber,"
General Dynamics - Convair Aerospace D i v i s i o n
ERR-FW-1470, December 1973.
'Campbell, J . F . , Gloss, B. B., and Lamar,
J . E., "Vortex Maneuver L i f t f o r Super-cruise
Configurations," TM X-72836, February 1976,
NASA.
'Went7. i d . H.. Jr.. and Kohlman. David L..
~

"Wind Tunnel I n v e s t i g a t i o n s o f Vortex Breakdown on

Slender
.- Sharp-Edged Wings," CR-98737, 1968, NASA.
'"Lamar, J . E . , "Recent Studies of Subsonic
Vortex L i f t I n c l u d i n g Parameters A f f e c t i n g
Stable Leading-Edge Vortex Flow," Journal o f
A i r c r a f t , Vol. 14, No. 12, December 1977,
pp. 1205-1211.
'lEarnshaw, P. B., "Measurements o f Vortex-
Breakdown P o s i t i o n a t Low Speed#,on a Series of
Sharp-Edged Symmetrical Model s , Aeronautical
Research Council - C. P. No. 828, 1965.
12Lamar, J . E., and Gloss, B. B., "Subsonic
Aerodynamic C h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of I n t e r a c t i n g L i f t -
i n g Surfaces w i t h Separated Flow Around Sharp
Edges Predicted by a Vortex-Lattice Method,"
TN 0-7921, September 1975, NASA.
13Wagner, S . , "On t h e S i n g u l a r i t y Method o f
Subsonic L i f t i n g - S u r f a c e Theory," AIAA Paper
No. 69-37, 1969, AIAA 7 t h Aerospace Sciences
Meeting, New York.
14Luckring, J. M., "Theoretical and Experi-
mental Aerodynamics o f StrakR-Wing I n t e r a c t i o n s
Up t o High Angles-of-Attack, AIM Paper
No. 78-1202, J u l y 1978, A I A A 11th F l u i d and
Plasma Dynamics Conference, Seattle, Washington.

7
 REQlJl RE DEMONSTRATIOK .2, ,

.1 L,, 1
-i~- -~..~L >
8-.2 0 .2 .4 .o .s 1.0 1.2 1.4
CI

Figure 4.- Daubie-deIta theareticai and

cxpfrimentai Iongi tudinaI aero-
dynamic chsracteristics, mode: 2 ,
M ss 0.

Figure I , - General planform types requiring

vortex flow aerodynmic estimates.

.1 0 .2 .4 .6 .8 i.u 1.2 1.4

cI
Figure S . - Double-del ta theoretical and
experimental longitudinal aero-
Figure 2.- Flve planforifis In dowble-delta dynamic characteristics, iocldel 3 ,
farcily. n = 0.

crr 0
0
-.2
-.2

..4

Q. deg

.SI--
-.2 0
1
.2
-
.d
ct
.6 .S
L J
1.0

Figure 3 . - Double-delta theoretical and Figure 6.- Double-delta theoretlcal iind

experlmental langftudlnal qerq- experimental longitudinal aero-
dynamic characteristics, model 1, dynamic characteristics, medei 4,
Ma0. M e5 0.

8
 7 -
' - I

2y;b

[Link] 1C.- E f f e c t of 9lanform on l x d i n g .

edge s m t i o r , d i s t r i h u t i o o and
v o r t e x >reflid wn a n g l e ,
i: 8
n 70 , ?la 0,
Inboard

:I .z .4 .o .P .,.2E .z .A .h .J 1.c
7y!bi:r,hr ' 9 b:,.dke

Figure 11 ~- Strake 8n6 strake-wing l e a d i n g

edge s u c t i a n d i s t r i b u t i o n s ,
A= 440, !,I= u.2, 0,s.

~ o j i n ~ fur
FiGbre 8.- Y a r ' ; e x - f l ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ n n :.vethods
double d e l t 3 5 , s u c t i o n - a n a l e g y and
dugrentcd-rortex-1 iff; a p p l i c a t i o n .
. P C I W I X ! 7:.i!?RY

c del; Z,'b
F i g a r e 1 2 , - E f f e c t o f s t r a k e shape on
Figure 9.- Delta wing vortex bredkdown a n g l e vortex breakdown Mosthro
water tmiiel results a= l a-B
~

c o r r e l a t i o n w i t h leading-edge
s u c t i o n d i i t r i b t i t i o n , M y, 0. u=P.
F i g u r e 13.- E f f e c t of s t r a k e shauc on v o r t e x Figure 16.- Effect uf strake shape on v o r t e x
breakccwn - Northrop' t a t w breau,dow - Nortllrog water
tunnel r e s u l t s , (LE 20 , 6" 0". tunnel r e s u l t s , a= 150, 6s -5'.

F i g u r e 14.- E f f e c t a? strake shape on v o r t e x Ficurc 17.- Effect of rtrake shapc on Ycrtcx

breakdown - Piurthrvp wtcr breakcvwn - Northrop p t e r
tunnei r e s u l t s , a= 250, 3- ~'o tutiiisl r e s u l t s : a- 20 , 9s -s5~

Fig;rrc 15.- Effect a? stpake shape on v w t e x i i s u r e 18.- Effect of s t r a k e snalje oti ~ o l ' t f x
breakdown - I b r t l i r o p y t e r breakdown - I t w t h r o p water
tiinnel r e s u i t c , w 30 ~ K- 0'- r.unnc1 : . c s ~ l t s , a= 2 5 0 , a= -so.
 F l y r e 22.- Theoretical vwtcr-llft parameters
for strake-!ulng.
F i g w e ; 9 ~ - Effect of strake shape on v o r t e x
breakdawn - Nwehrap water
tunno1 results, 116 303, p -5",

F i g u r e 20.- E f f e c t of strake shape and size

on cL chsracteristics, A= 4a0, Figure 23.- EStjPldteS uf strake an6 wing l i f t ,
F!- 0,2, 0.3.
w 0.2.

:.11

""-
chars t e r i s t i c s a t high u ,
=:i 448, N= 0.2, 0.3.
Fi-Jure 21.- Effec'. of strake sh?p? and size
on ,C chararterlstics, =.! 44 ,
Y= 0.2, 0 . 3 .

11