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3.4.2: Types of high-lift devices

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    78113
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    The passive high-lift devices, commonly referred to as flaps, are based on the following three principles:

    • Increase of camber.
    • Increase of wet surface (typically by increasing the chord).
    • Control of the boundary layer.

    There are many different types of flaps depending on the size, speed, and complexity of the aircraft they are to be used on, as well as the era in which the aircraft was designed. Plain flaps, slotted flaps, and Fowler flaps are the most common trailing edge flaps. Flaps used on the leading edge of the wings of many jet airliners are Krueger flaps, slats, and slots (Notice that slots are not explicitly flaps, but more precisely boundary layer control devices).

    The plain flap is the simplest flap and it is used in light . The basic idea is to design the airfoil so that the trailing edge can rotate around an axis. The angle of that deflexion is the flap deflexion \(\delta_f\). The effect is an increase in the camber of the airfoil, resulting in an increase in the coefficient of lift.

    Another kind of trailing edge high-lift device is the slotted flap. The only difference with the plain flap is that it includes a slot which allows the extrados and intrados to be communicated. By this mean, the flap deflexion is higher without the boundary layer dropping off.

    The last basic trailing edge high-lift device is the flap Fowler. This kind of flap combines the increase of camber with the increase in the chord of the airfoil (and therefore the wet surface). This fact increases also the slope of the lift curve. Combining the different types, there exist double and triple slotted Fowler flaps, combining also the control of the boundary layer. The Fairey-Youngman, Gouge, and Junkers flaps combine some of the exposed properties.

    The last trailing edge high-lift device is the split flap (also refereed to as intrados flap). This flap provides, for the same increase of lift coefficient, more drag but with less torque.

    The most important leading edge high devices are: slot, the leading edge drop flap, and the flap Krueger.

    The slot is a slot in the leading edge. It avoid the dropping off of the boundary layer by communicating extrados and intrados. The leading edge drop has the same philosophy as the plain flap, but applied in the leading edge instead of the trailing edge. The Kruger flaps works modifying the camber of the airfoil but also acting in the control of the boundary layer.

    See Figure 3.26 and Figure 3.27.

    截屏2022-01-15 下午3.46.15.png
    Figure 3.26: Types of high-lift devices. © NiD.29 / Wikimedia Commons / CC-BY-SA-3.0.

    截屏2022-01-15 下午3.46.55.png
    Figure 3.27: Effects of high lift devices in airfoil flow, showing configurations for normal, take-off, landing, and braking. © Andrew Fry / Wikimedia Commons / CC-BY-SA-3.0.


    This page titled 3.4.2: Types of high-lift devices is shared under a CC BY-SA 3.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Manuel Soler Arnedo via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform; a detailed edit history is available upon request.

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