Calculation of Three-Dimensional Supersonic Flow Fields about Aircraft Fuselages and Wings at General Angle of Attack

A new algorithm for the three-dimensional method of characteristics is applied to the calculation of steady inviscid supersonic flow about aircraft fuselages and wings at general angle of attack. After a brief discussion of the new method, computed results of flow over an elliptic cone and a blunt circular cone at angles of attack are presented and compared with available experimental data. Good agreement is observed. Application to fuselage flow field calculation then follows. Calculated examples of flow about typical fuselages under different flight conditions are presented, discussed, and compared with available experimental data with good agreement. Finally, the computed pressure distribution on a thin wing (an elliptic cone of 20:1 axis ratio) is presented and discussed. The present method can be used to obtain flow field information for aircraft design or to provide inviscid solutions for boundary layer analysis. (Author)