Why do aircraft fly? How do their wings support them? In the early years of aviation, there was an intense dispute between British and German experts over the question of why and how an aircraft wing provides lift. The British, under the leadership of the great Cambridge mathematical physicist Lord Rayleigh, produced highly elaborate investigations of the nature of discontinuous flow, while the Germans, following Ludwig Prandtl in Gottingen, relied on the tradition called "technical mechanics" to explain the flow of air around a wing. Much of the basis of modern aerodynamics emerged from this remarkable episode, yet it has never been subject to a detailed historical and sociological analysis. In "The Enigma of the Aerofoil", David Bloor probes a neglected aspect of this important period in the history of aviation. Bloor draws upon papers by the participants - their restricted technical reports, meeting minutes, and personal correspondence, much of which has never before been published - and reveals the impact that the divergent mathematical traditions of Cambridge and Gottingen had on this great debate. Bloor also addresses why the British, even after discovering the failings of their own theory, remained resistant to the German circulation theory for more than a decade. The result is essential reading for anyone studying the history, philosophy, or sociology of science or technology - and for all those intrigued by flight.

This book provides a thorough description of actual, working aerodynamic design and analysis systems, for both axial-flow and radial-flow turbines. It describes the basic fluid dynamic and thermodynamic principles, empirical models and numerical methods used for the full range of procedures and analytical tools that an engineer needs for virtually any type of aerodynamic design or analysis activity for both types of turbine. The book includes sufficient detail for readers to implement all or part of the systems. The author provides practical and effective design strategies for applying both turbine types, which are illustrated by design examples. Comparisons with experimental results are included to demonstrate the prediction accuracy to be expected. This book is intended for practicing engineers concerned with the design and development of turbines and related machinery.

This book covers classical and modern aerodynamics, theories and related numerical methods, for senior and first-year graduate engineering students, including: -The classical potential (incompressible) flow theories for low speed aerodynamics of thin airfoils and high and low aspect ratio wings. - The linearized theories for compressible subsonic and supersonic aerodynamics. - The nonlinear transonic small disturbance potential flow theory, including supercritical wing sections, the extended transonic area rule with lift effect, transonic lifting line and swept or oblique wings to minimize wave drag. Unsteady flow is also briefly discussed. Numerical simulations based on relaxation mixed-finite difference methods are presented and explained. - Boundary layer theory for all Mach number regimes and viscous/inviscid interaction procedures used in practical aerodynamics calculations. There are also four chapters covering special topics, including wind turbines and propellers, airplane design, flow analogies and hypersonic (rotational) flows. A unique feature of the book is its ten self-tests and their solutions as well as an appendix on special techniques of functions of complex variables, method of characteristics and conservation laws and shock waves. The book is the culmination of two courses taught every year by the two authors for the last two decades to seniors and first-year graduate students of aerospace engineering at UC Davis.