Extracting Induced and Wave Drag from CFD Solutions using Partial-Pressure Fields: A Case Study on the ONERA M6 WingVogel, Anja drag decompositionaerodynamicsPartial-Pressure Field Theorynear-field analysisinduced dragwave dragComputational Fluid Dynamics (CFD)lifting-line theoryBiot-SavartAerospace EngineeringB SAccurately 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.Sven Schmitz, Thesis SupervisorRobert G. Melton, Thesis Honors Advisoropen_access2025-04-03T10:05:18Zhttps://honors.libraries.psu.edu/catalog/9818ajv5525