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Flow over Airfoils over Finite Wing topics include: Downwash and induced drag, vortex filament, biot savart law, helmholtz theorem, prandtl’s classical lifting line and lifting surface theory.
Flow over a finite wing is three-dimensional, while flow over an airfoil is two-dimensional. The flow tends to leak around the wing tips, creating a trailing vortex at each tip.
The flow over the wing creates a circulatory motion that trails downstream. This motion creates wing-tip vortices that induce a small downward component of air velocity. This downward component is called downwash. The presence of downwash creates drag, which is defined as induced drag.
Finite wings experience 3-dimensional effects of airflow not experienced by infinite airfoils: downwash and induced drag.
Related Test: Aerodynamics Practice Test: Inviscid & Incompressible Flow
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