Low-speed aerodynamics is important in the design and operation of aircraft flying at low Mach number, and ground and marine vehicles. This 2001 book offers a modern treatment of the subject, both the theory of inviscid, incompressible, and irrotational aerodynamics and the computational techniques now available to solve complex problems. A unique feature of the text is that the computational approach (from a single vortex element to a three-dimensional panel formulation) is interwoven throughout. Thus, the reader can learn about classical methods of the past, while also learning how to use numerical methods to solve real-world aerodynamic problems. This second edition has a new chapter on the laminar boundary layer (emphasis on the viscous-inviscid coupling), the latest versions of computational techniques, and additional coverage of interaction problems. It includes a systematic treatment of two-dimensional panel methods and a detailed presentation of computational techniques for three-dimensional and unsteady flows. With extensive illustrations and examples, this book will be useful for senior and beginning graduate-level courses, as well as a helpful reference tool for practising engineers.

This book presents experimental techniques in the field of aerodynamics, a discipline that is essential in numerous areas, such as the design of aerial and ground vehicles and engines, the production of energy, and understanding the wind resistance of buildings. Aerodynamics is not only concerned with improving the performance and comfort of vehicles, but also with reducing their environmental impact. The book provides updated information on the experimental and technical methods used by aerodynamicists, engineers and researchers. It describes the various types of wind tunnels – from subsonic to hypersonic – as well as the problems posed by their design and operation. The book also focuses on metrology, which has allowed us to gain a detailed understanding of the local properties of flows, and examines current developments toward creating a methodology combining experiments and numerical simulations: the computer-assisted wind tunnel. Lastly, it offers an overview of experimental aerodynamics based on a prospective vision of the discipline, and discusses potential futures challenges. The book can be used as a textbook for graduate courses in aerodynamics, typically offered to students of aerospace and mechanical engineering programs, and as a learning tool for professionals and engineers in the fields of aerodynamics, aeronautics and astronautics automobile.