Investigation at low speeds of the effect of aspect ratio and sweep on rolling stability derivatives of untapered wings

A low scale wind tunnel investigation was conducted in rolling flow to determine the effects of aspect ratio and sweep (when varied independently) on the rolling stability derivatives for a series of untapered wings. Test results indicate that when the aspect ratio was held constant, an increase in the sweepback angle caused a significant reduction in the damping in roll at low lift coefficients for only the higher aspect ratios that were tested. This result was in agreement with available swept wing theory which indicated no effect of sweep for aspect ratios near zero. The result of the linear theory that the damping in roll is independent of lift coefficient and that the yawing moment and lateral force due to rolling are directly proportional to the lift coefficient was found to be valid for only a very limited lift coefficient range when the wings were highly swept. For such wings, the damping was found to increase in magnitude and the yawing moment due to rolling, to change from negative to positive at moderate lift coefficients. The effect of wing tip suction, not acounted for by present theory, was found to be very important with regard to the yawing moment due to rolling, particularly for low aspect ratio swept wings. An empirical means of correcting present theory for the effect of tip suction is suggested.