3

Why do thicker airfoils have better stall characteristics? They make more lift, but I don’t see any reason for them to have better stall characteristics. Also, I heard a rounded airfoil nose will help with this, why is that?

Edit : better stall characteristics meaning that it has a progressive loss of lift and doesn’t loose lift all of the sudden. Also the pitching moment changes smoother.

Wyatt
  • 1,943
  • 1
  • 9
  • 24
  • Please define what you mean with "better stall characteristics" – sophit Mar 06 '24 at 07:09
  • @sophit oh I actually forgot to add that part, thanks for reminding me! Fixed. – Wyatt Mar 06 '24 at 14:32
  • 1
    @sophit Also do you know why this question is getting downvoted? I don’t see a problem with it. – Wyatt Mar 06 '24 at 14:44
  • 3
    No idea why the downvote, it would be nice to get first a suggestion and then possibly a downvote ‍♂️ In my opinion is a legitimate and interesting aerodynamics question – sophit Mar 06 '24 at 15:08
  • 2
    @sophit exactly, I wish people would comment when they downvote. I feel like not commenting almost defeats the purpose of downvoting, as you don’t know what to improve. – Wyatt Mar 06 '24 at 16:18
  • 2
    "I don't see any reason for them to have better stall characteristics" Time to do some reading about (subsonic) airflow around a sharp and rounded leading edge surface. Start with a flat plate and see what one would do with the shape of the leading edge to keep airflow attached as AoA increases. – Robert DiGiovanni Mar 07 '24 at 00:00
  • 1
    @RobertDiGiovanni That makes sense, thanks. That almost seems like it could be its own answer! – Wyatt Mar 07 '24 at 04:44

1 Answers1

1

For airfoils used in GA, "thicker" and "rounder nose" are identical. The thicker it is, the larger the radius of curvature at the nose must be.

A rounder LE will

increase the range of angles of attack at which the boundary layer stays attached, and allow for a more gradual transition between normal flow and stall

by reducing the pressure gradient that tries to detach the boundary layer from the airfoil.

-- https://aviation.stackexchange.com/a/58452/31425

Camille Goudeseune
  • 11,726
  • 1
  • 42
  • 78