Incompressible inviscid flows: Source and vortex panel methods

Abstract

In the present chapter we will consider the numerical analysis of incompressible inviscidflows. In principle, the finite-difference approach discussed later can be usedto solve such flows, but there are other approaches which are usually more appropriatesolutions for inviscid, incompressible flow. This chapter discusses one suchapproach, namely, the use of source and vortex panels. Panel methods, since the late1960s, have become standard aerodynamic tools in the aerospace industry. Panelmethods are numerical methods which require a high-speed digital computer fortheir implementation; therefore we include panel methods as part of the overallstructure of computational fluid dynamics. For this reason, it is appropriate to spendsome time discussing panel methods in our introduction to CFD. Frequently in theliterature panel methods will be classified under the title of computational aerodynamicswhich has a slightly more specialized connotation than the more generalmeaning of CFD. In this author's opinion, computational aerodynamics is simply asub-speciality under the more general heading of computational fluid dynamics. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2009.