INVESTIGATION ON THIN AIRFOIL THEORY AND SYMMETRICAL NACA COMPATIBILITY AT HIGH REYNOLDS NUMBERS

The investigation of the compatibility of thin airfoil theory for symmetrical NACA airfoils under certain conditions is done by comparing the numerically calculated against the theoretical based aerodynamic data. In particular, it takes lift coefficients corresponding to airflows over symmetrical airfoils at various Reynolds numbers into account. The data comparison is used to identify the range of validity of the theory with respect to airfoils of interest, for the purpose of airfoils classification. The numerical method involves the solution of Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes governing equations by means of ANSYS Fluent software. The resulting airfoils classification can be utilized for quick access to approximate lift coefficient profiles in relevant research areas..