Prediction of drag at subsonic and transonic speeds using Euler methods

A technique for the evaluation of aerodynamic drag from flowfield solutions based on the Euler equations is discussed. The technique is limited to steady attached flows around three-dimensional configurations in the absence of active systems such as surface blowing/suction and propulsion. It allows the decomposition of the total drag into induced drag and wave drag and, consequently, it provides more information on the drag sources than the conventional surface-pressure integration technique. The induced drag is obtained from the integration of the kinetic energy (per unit distance) of the trailing vortex system on a wake plane and the wave drag is obtained from the integration of the entropy production on a plane just downstream of the shocks. The drag-evaluation technique is applied to three-dimensional flowfield solutions for the ONERA M6 wing as well as an aspect-ratio-7 wing with an elliptic spanwise chord distribution and an NACA-0012 section shape. Comparisons between the drag obtained with the present technique and the drag based on the integration of surface pressures are presented for two Euler codes.