Unsteady transonic small-disturbance theory including entropy and vorticity effects

Modifications to unsteady transonic small disturbance theory to include entropy and vorticity effects are presented. The modifications were implemented in the CAP-TSD (Computational Aeroelasticity Program - Transonic Small Disturbance) code. The code permits the aeroelastic analysis of complete aircraft configurations in the flutter critical transonic speed range. Entropy and vorticity effects were incorporated within the solution procedure to more accurately analyze flows with strong shock waves. The modified code includes these effects while retaining the relative simplicity and cost efficiency of the TSD formulation. Detailed descriptions are presented of the entropy and vorticity modifications along with calculated results and comparisons which assess the modified theory. These results are in good agreement with parallel Euler calculations and with experimental data. Therefore, the present method now provides the aeroelastician with an affordable capability to analyze relatively difficult transonic flows without having to solve the computationally more expensive Euler equations.