Computational model for the calculation of the flow about wings with leading-edge vortices

A Computational method is presented for the calculation of the incompressible flow about wings with leading-edge vortices. The mathematical model replaces the spiralling free shear layer springing from the leading edge by a free vortex sheet which is terminated by a combination of a feeding sheet plus a discrete line vortex/sink. The strength of the sink is related to the entrainment of the rotational core and derived here from semi-empirical arguments. The resulting potential flow problem is solved employing a higher-order panel method which involves some recently developed ideas for obtaining a numerically efficient method with second-order accuracy. The method is applied to the calculation of the flow about a delta wing at incidence