A hybrid algorithm for transonic airfoil and wing design

The present method for the design of transonic airfoils and wings employs a predictor/corrector approach in which an analysis code calculates the flowfield for an initial geometry, then modifies it on the basis of the difference between calculated and target pressures. This allows the design method to be straightforwardly coupled with any existing analysis code, as presently undertaken with several two- and three-dimensional potential flow codes. The results obtained indicate that the method is robust and accurate, even in the cases of airfoils with strongly supercritical flow and shocks. The design codes are noted to require computational resources typical of current pure-inverse methods.