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I've been wondering which shape is lower drag, a rounded one or a
sharp one. I can understand why the leading edge of a wing would be rounded, this allows a larger range of AOA before flow speration and stall, but what about the vertical stabilizer? Wouldn't this be better with a sharp leading edge? When the air hits a blunt leading edge it has to accelerate quickly to get out of the way. At the very front, the molecules are actually moving in a direction normal to the direction of travel of the wing. This has got to cause drag. If the edge were sharp and the air didn't have to react as quickly to displace, this would seem to cause less drag. I know that the tear drop shape is the lowest energy state, but it may not be the lowest drag shape. I'm thinking that an eye shape may be better for many profiles. So I see tear drop shape profiles all over on struts, whell pants, vertical stabilizer, etc. Looking for explanations other than "Thats what everybody does, so they couldn't be wrong." Regards |
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Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
source for aluminum tubing with rounded corners? | Kyler Laird | Home Built | 3 | June 1st 04 03:07 PM |