Some Effects of Camber on Swept-Back Wings

The effects of camber of airfoil sections and wings on the pitching moment coefficient (C_M) and on life coefficient (C_Lo) are examined. Except for changes in C_M caused by the wing planform, not-so-slender wings behave similarly to the airfoil sections. The effects of wing planform geometry, however, often overpower the section characteristics. This is particularly true of slender wings with their highly cambered sections which may have multiple sets of coronet vortices.

Wind tunnel tests are compared with the tests of Nangia and Hancock to investigate the mechanism of vortex lift on a cambered wing.