Laminar Airfoil Design
Laminar flow may be useful for reducing skin friction drag, increasing maximum lift, or reducing heat transfer. It may be achieved without too much work at low Reynolds numbers by maintaining a smooth surface and using an airfoil with a favorable pressure gradient. The section below shows how the pressures may be tailored to achieve long runs of laminar flow on upper and/or lower surfaces.
Again, the Stratford-like pressure recovery is helpful in achieving the maximum run of favorable gradient on either upper or lower surfaces.
