Semi-empirical prediction of airfoil hysteresis

Abstract

A semi-empirical method is presented to estimate the angular excursion and the lift loss associated with static hysteresis on an airfoil. Wind tunnel data of various airfoils is used to define and validate the methodology. The resulting equation provides a relationship between the size of the hysteresis loop and characteristics of the airfoil. Comparisons of the equation with experiment show encouraging agreement both in terms of the magnitude of the lift loss and the extent of the loop.