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Source Panel Method

Panel methods are numerical techniques for solving potential flow problems over airfoils and other geometries. The surface is divided into panels, and vortex or source sheets are placed on the panels. For the source panel method, the surface is covered with a source sheet with a source strength that varies along the sheet. The source strengths on each panel are solved for numerically such that the combined flow from the source sheet and freestream results in the surface being a streamline, satisfying the boundary condition.

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275 views14 pages

Source Panel Method

Panel methods are numerical techniques for solving potential flow problems over airfoils and other geometries. The surface is divided into panels, and vortex or source sheets are placed on the panels. For the source panel method, the surface is covered with a source sheet with a source strength that varies along the sheet. The source strengths on each panel are solved for numerically such that the combined flow from the source sheet and freestream results in the surface being a streamline, satisfying the boundary condition.

Uploaded by

Shiva U
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Source Panel Method

What are panel methods?


• Panel methods are techniques for solving
incompressible potential flow over thick 2-D and 3-D
geometries.
• In 2-D, the airfoil surface is divided into piecewise
straight line segments or panels or “boundary
elements” and vortex sheets of strength g are placed
on each panel.
– We use vortex sheets (miniature vortices of strength gds,
where ds is the length of a panel) since vortices give rise to
circulation, and hence lift.
– Vortex sheets mimic the boundary layer around airfoils.
Source Panel Method
• The source panel technique is a numerical method to use
elementary flows. Let’s put a lot of sources along a curve with
source strength per unit length λ = λ(s). Such a source
distribution is called a source sheet.
• Note that can be positive at some points and negative in
other points.
• Imagine that we have an infinite number of line sources side
by side, where the strength of each line source is
infinitesimally small. These side-by-side line sources form a
source sheet, as shown in Fig. 1.
• If we look along the series of line sources (looking along the z
axis in Fig. 1.), the source sheet will appear as sketched at the
lower right of Fig. 1. Here, we are looking at an edge view of
the sheet; the line sources are all perpendicular to the page.

Fig. Source sheet.


• Define λ = λ (s) to be the source strength per unit length along
s. Therefore, the strength of an infinitesimal portion ds of the
sheet, as shown in Fig. 1., is λds.
• This small section of the source sheet can be treated as a
distinct source of strength λds. Now consider point P in the
flow, located a distance r from ds; the cartesian coordinates of
P are (x, y).
• The small section of the source sheet of strength λ ds induces
an infinitesimally small potential, dϕ, at point P.
• d ϕ is given by
• The complete velocity potential at point P, induced by the
entire source sheet from a to b, is obtained by integrating Eq.

• Note that, in general, λ(s) can change from positive to


negative along the sheet; i.e., the "source" sheet is really a
combination of line sources and line sinks.
Problem Statement

• Consider a given body of arbitrary shape in a flow with


freestream velocity Vα , as shown in Fig. 2. Cover the surface
of the prescribed body with a source sheet, where the
strength λ(s) varies in such a fashion that the combined action
of the uniform flow and the source sheet makes the airfoil
surface a streamline of the flow and find the appropriate λ(s)
solution of this problem numerically.
• Solution

Superposition of a uniform flow and a source


sheet on a body of given shape, to produce the
flow over the body.
Fig. 4 Source panel distribution over the surface of a body of
arbitrary shape.
• Let us approximate the source sheet by a series of straight panels,
as shown in Fig. 4. Moreover, let the source strength λ per unit
length be constant over a given panel, but allow it to vary from one
panel to the next. That is, if there are a total of n panels, the
source panel strengths per unit length are λ1 , λ2 , ……., λJ ,….., λn.
• These panel strengths are unknown; the main thrust of the panel
technique is to solve for λj , j = 1 to n, such that the body surface
becomes a streamline of the flow. This boundary condition is
imposed numerically by defining the midpoint of each panel to be
a control point and by determining the λjs such that the normal
component of the flow velocity is zero at each control point.
• Let us now quantify this strategy.
• Let P be a point located at (x, y) in the flow, and let rpj be the
distance from any point on the jth panel to P, as shown in Fig.
4. The velocity potential induced at P due to the jth panel ∆ϕj
is, from above Eq, ,
• Recall that the boundary condition is applied at the control
points; i.e., the normal component of the flow velocity is zero
at the control points.
• To evaluate this component, first consider the component of
freestream velocity perpendicular to the panel.
• Let ni be the unit vector normal to the ith panel, directed out
of the body, as shown in Fig. 4. Also, note that the slope of the
ith panel is (dy/dX)i. In general, the freestream velocity will be
at some incidence angle α to the x axis, as shown in Fig. 4.
Therefore, inspection of the geometry of Fig. 4.

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