Steady, subsonic, lifting surface theory for wings with swept, partial span, trailing edge control surfaces

A method for computing the lifting pressure distribution on a wing with partial span, swept control surfaces is presented. This method is valid within the framework of linearized, steady, potential flow theory and consists of using conventional lifting surface theory in conjuction with a flap pressure mode. The cause of a numerical instability that can occur during the quadrature of the flap pressure mode is discussed, and an efficient technique to eliminate the instability is derived. This technique is valid for both the flap pressure mode and regular pressure modes and could be used to improve existing lifting surface methods. Examples of the use of the flap pressure mode and comparisons among this method, other theoretical methods, and experiments are given. Discrepancies with experiment are indicated and candidate causes are presented. It is concluded that the method can lead to an efficient and accurate solution of the mathematical problem when a partial span, trailing edge flap is involved.