| Abstract: | The variational problem of the shape of a low-aspect-ratio wing with maximum lift-to-drag ratio in a viscous hypersonic stream is formulated with allowance for the flow structure in the thin compressed layer and the state of the boundary layer, and a numerical-analytic solution of the problem is given. The characteristic shapes of optimum wings are obtained together with the corresponding pressure distributions. The bifurcation of the optimum regime with variation of the wing span is found to exist. It is shown that viscosity, when included in the optimization procedure, can result in a change in the optimized wing shape and reduce the maximum lift-to-drag ratio; however, the gain in lift-to-drag ratio, as compared with the limiting Newtonian value, is still quite appreciable.Moscow. Translated from Izvestiya Rossiiskoi Akademii Nauk, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 6, pp. 154–164, November–December, 1995. |
