Extracting Induced and Wave Drag from CFD Solutions using Partial-Pressure Fields: A Case Study on the ONERA M6 Wing

open_access
Open Access
Author:
Vogel, Anja
Area of Honors:
Aerospace Engineering
Degree:
Bachelor of Science
Document Type:
Thesis
Thesis Supervisors:
Sven Schmitz, Thesis Supervisor
Robert G. Melton, Thesis Honors Advisor
Keywords:
drag decomposition
aerodynamics
Partial-Pressure Field Theory
near-field analysis
induced drag
wave drag
Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD)
lifting-line theory
Biot-Savart
Abstract:
Accurately predicting profile, induced, and wave drag are essential in modern aerospace design as the demand for high-performance, fuel-efficient aircraft grows. In transonic flow, wave drag is traditionally calculated using far-field integration methods. However, this approach is less effective than classical methods, as it is limited by grid accuracy, computational resources, and struggles to capture complex flow interactions. In contrast, Partial-Pressure Field theory offers a novel approach to decomposing drag by analyzing partial-pressure distributions over lifting bodies in the near-field. This work validates existing applications of Partial-Pressure Fields and further extends the theory, integrating modern computational fluid dynamics with Prandtl’s Lifting-Line Theory to predict induced and wave drag sources directly from near-field data. A comparison is made between near-field results for two transonic flow cases and traditional far-field drag decomposition methods, thus enabling more accurate wave drag extraction from computational solutions and providing a deeper understanding of drag buildup for aerodynamic design.