Approximate method to estimate wing trailing-edge bluntness effects on normal force

A new semiempirical method has been developed to estimate the effect of wing trailing-edge bluntness on configuration normal force and center of pressure. The new method has been integrated into the aeroprediction code (APC) and will be a part of the next release in 2005 (AP05). Comparison of the new method for several cases where experimental data were available showed that the modified version of the AP05 gave improved predictions of aerodynamics compared to the 2002 version of the APC (AP02) and experiment. In addition to improvements in normal force and center of pressure, some improvement in axial force at transonic and subsonic speeds was also made for wings with truncated leading or trailing edges. The axial force improvements were based on improved two-dimensional base pressure coefficients and a simple method to estimate the axial force of a truncated wing leading edge.