PERSPECTIVE - UNSTEADY WING THEORY - THE KARMAN SEARS LEGACY

The aerodynamic analysis of wings and their vortex wakes is discussed from a perspective of its relation to the 1938 work of Karman and Sear s. The key concepts from this early paper on the analysis of airfoils in small amplitude unsteady motion are reviewed. These concepts are th en used as a point of departure for developing techniques for calculat ing and interpreting the aerodynamic characteristics of both airfoils in large amplitude motion with deforming vortex wakes, and maneuvering low-aspect-ratio wings with leading-edge separation. Calculated examp les are presented for this extended set of applications, and are compa red to related analyses and experiments.