Aerospace Engineering Commons^™

Impact Of Parasitic Drag On A Family Of Optimal Lift Distributions, Austin J. Stewart

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Minimizing drag is a variational problem, and several minimum induced drag solutions have been found using different design constraints. The elliptic lift distribution is commonly used to minimize induced drag, but is only the optimal solution under one set of design constraints. Non-elliptic lift distributions are able to reduce induced drag, when compared to the elliptic lift distribution, by increasing the wingspan while maintaining a consistent wing–structure weight. However, these non-elliptic lift distributions are only optimal if the effects of viscous drag are neglected. In this study, numerical tools are used to estimate the total drag on rectangular wings that …