supersonic wing design
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The report done by Joe Herrmann on Supersonic Wing design was actually quite interesting. I learned a lot about the history of the supersonic wing design from the first supersonic wing design used on the Bell X-1 all the way to the first missile to reach intercontinental flight range. Although I have completed a project in the past on the principles of lift and the flight of planes, I did not go as far into depth as this report. I found this report even more interesting because I was able to learn about the basic fluid mechanics principles that applied to a supersonic wing and incorporate that into what I have learned in the past about wing design. This report also taught me a lot about how the concept of lift due to pressure change differs when the fluid flow, in this case being air flow, is greater than the speed of sound. I was also very interested in the multiple shapes used in the design of supersonic wings and how they reduce the shockwave caused by the increased amount of drag.
As described above, the author did go in to adequate detail about the basic concepts concerning the design of supersonic wings. The main concept discussed in this report is the concept of pressure difference between the top and bottom of the wing. The author also went onto to explain how this concept of pressure difference causes lift. The concept of surface tension was discussed when the author went on to describe the behavior of the air flow at supersonic flight...