Lifting-line theory

The Lanchester–Prandtl lifting-line theory is a mathematical model in aerodynamics that predicts lift distribution over a three-dimensional wing from the wing's geometry. The theory was expressed independently by Frederick W. Lanchester in 1907, and by Ludwig Prandtl in 1918–1919 after working with Albert Betz and Max Munk. In this model, the vortex bound to the wing develops along the whole wingspan because it is shed as a vortex-sheet from the trailing edge, rather than just as a single vortex from the wing-tips.

Introduction

It is difficult to predict analytically the overall amount of lift that a wing of given geometry will generate. When analyzing a three-dimensional finite wing, a traditional approach slices the wing into cross-sections and analyzes each cross-section independently as a wing in a two-dimensional world. Each of these slices is called an airfoil, and it is easier to understand an airfoil than a complete three-dimensional wing.

One might expect that understanding the full wing simply involves adding up the independently calculated forces from each airfoil segment. However, this approximation is grossly incorrect: on a real wing, the lift from each infinitesimal wing section is strongly affected by the airflow over neighboring wing sections. Lifting-line theory corrects some of the errors in the naive two-dimensional approach by including some interactions between the wing slices.

Principle and derivation

Lifting line theory supposes wings that are long and thin with negligible fuselage, akin to a thin bar (the eponymous "lifting line") of span 2s driven through the fluid.