Aviation and Aerospace University, Bangladesh

Aerodynamics
Kelvin Circulation Theorem and Thin Airfoil Theory

Department of Aerospace Engineering

Lalmonirhat Campus
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Kelvin’s Circulation Theorem

Effect of circulation on the potential flow over an airfoil.

Kutta condition states that for a lifting airfoil with a

sharp trailing edge, the circulation (and hence lift)
should be such that the flow leaves the trailing edge
smoothly. 2
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How does nature generate this circulation?

Does it come from nowhere, or is circulation somehow

conserved over the whole flow field?

Kelvin’s Circulation Theorem states that:

The time rate of change of circulation around a closed

curve consisting of the same fluid elements is zero.

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Therefore, circulation around a closed curve formed by a

set of contiguous fluid elements remains constant as the
fluid elements move throughout the flow.

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Consider an airfoil in a fluid at rest. Because V = 0

everywhere, the circulation around curve C1 is zero.

Now start the flow in motion over the airfoil. Initially, the
flow will tend to curl around the trailing edge.

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Consequently, a thin region of very large velocity

gradients (high vorticity) is formed at the trailing edge.
This high vorticity region is fixed to the same fluid
elements, and consequently it is flushed downstream as
the fluid elements begin to move downstream from the
trailing edge. downstream, this thin sheet of intense
As it moves
vorticity tends to roll up. This vortex is called the
starting vortex.

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The flow field, sometime after steady flow has been

achieved over the airfoil, with the starting vortex
somewhere downstream.

From Kelvin’s theorem, the circulation around curve C2

(encloses both the airfoil and the starting vortex) is the
same as that around curve C1 .

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Therefore:

is divided to two loops, Curve encloses the starting

vortex, and curve encloses the airfoil.
Circulation around curve is due to the starting vortex;
which is in the counterclockwise direction (i.e., a negative
value).
Circulation around enclosing the airfoil is . Sum of the
circulations around and is equal to the circulation around
:

However, we have already established that . Hence,

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Therefore, that is, the circulation around the airfoil is

equal and opposite to the circulation around the starting
vortex.
Summary:
1. Flow starting over an airfoil creates strong vorticity at
the trailing edge, forming a starting vortex with
counterclockwise circulation.
2. Equal and opposite clockwise circulation develops around
the airfoil.
3. As vorticity continues to shed, both circulations
strengthen until the Kutta condition (smooth flow at
the trailing edge) is met.
4. Once satisfied, vorticity shedding stops, and a steady
circulation remains around the airfoil.

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Centre of Pressure
If the aerodynamic force on a body is specified in terms of
a resultant single force R, where on the body should this
resultant
The beofplaced?
center pressure is the location where the resultant
of a distributed load effectively acts on the body.

Distributed load on the airfoil produces a moment about

the leading edge. Resultant force must be located at a
point to generate the same moment about the leading
edge.
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Therefore:

Additionally, if moments were taken about the center of

pressure, the integrated effect of the distributed loads
would be
Hence, anzero.
alternate definition of the center of pressure is
that point on the body about which the aerodynamic
moment is zero

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Aerodynamic Centre
Moments on an airfoil are a function of α. However, there
is one point on the airfoil at which the moment is
independent of the angle of attack; this point is called the
aerodynamic center.

For most conventional airfoils, the aerodynamic center is

close to, but not necessarily exactly at, the quarter-chord
point.
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Consider the lift and moment system taken about the

quarter-chord point:

Location of aerodynamic center c is measured from the

leading edge. is the location of the aerodynamic center as
a fraction
Taking of the chord
moments about length
the c.
aerodynamic center:

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Differentiating with respect to the angle of attack α:

However, is zero by the definition of the aerodynamic

center:

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Airfoils below the stalling angle of attack, the slopes of the

lift coefficient and moment coefficient curves are constant:

Therefore, for a body with linear lift and

moment curves:

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Airfoil Nomenclature
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Thin Airfoil Properties

An airfoil is considered thin if:
• Maximum thickness-to-chord ratio is small (typically <
12%).
• The camber line can approximate the airfoil shape (i.e.,
the thickness effects are negligible).
• The flow remains attached (no large
separation).
Any airfoil with small thickness and small camber can be
approximated as a thin airfoil.
Their properties can be estimated using thin-airfoil
theory, where the aerodynamic characteristics depend
only on the camber line.
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Thin Airfoil Theory

For a thin airfoil, a vortex sheet over its surface, when
viewed from a distance, appears almost the same as
placed on the camber line.
The distance measured along the camber line is denoted by
s. The shape of the camber line is given by z = z(x).
w′ is the velocity component normal to the camber line
induced by the vortex sheet; w′ = w′(s).

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Here, vortex strength γ = γ(s) is calculated to satisfy the

Kutta condition γ(c) = 0 and the camber line to be a
streamline of the flow.
For the camber line to be a streamline, the component of
velocity normal to the camber line must be zero at all
points along the camber line.
The velocity at any point in the flow is the sum of the
uniform freestream velocity and the velocity induced by
the vortex sheet.
Let be the component of the freestream velocity normal
to the camber line. Thus, for the camber line to be a
streamline.

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At any point P on the camber line, where the camber line slope is
dz/dx.

Component of velocity normal to the camber line:

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At small angle of attack, both and are small values.

Using the approximation that for small

If the airfoil is thin, the camber line is close to the chord

line, and it is consistent with thin airfoil theory to make
the approximation that:

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Therefore

Consider an elemental vortex of strength γ dξ located at a

distance ξ from the origin along the chord line.
The strength of the vortex sheet γ varies with the distance
along the chord; that is, γ = γ(ξ).
The velocity dw at point x induced by the elemental vortex
at point ξ:

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Therefore

w(x) induced at point x by all the elemental vortices along

the chord line:

Fundamental Equation of thin airfoil theory:

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The limits of integration become θ = 0 at the leading

edge (where ξ = 0) and θ = π at the trailing edge (where
ξ = c):

For Symmetrical Airfoil:

Analytical Solution:

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Fundamental equation of thin airfoil theory states that

the camber line is a streamline of the flow, and the
Kutta condition γ(c) = 0 is satisfied.
Using the solution of γ(ξ) the total circulation around the
airfoil is found by integrating γ(ξ) from the leading edge to
the trailing edge.
In turn, the lift is calculated using the Kutta-Joukowski
theorem.
The total circulation around the airfoil:

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Using the Solution:

Total Circulation:

Using Kutta-Joukowski Theorem:

Lift Coefficient:

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Lift Coefficient:

Lift Slope:

Therefore, lift coefficient is linearly proportional to the angle of

attack.
The center of pressure and aerodynamic center are at the
quarter-chord point.
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For cambered airfoil:

The limits of integration become θ = 0 at the leading edge

(where ξ = 0) and θ = π at the trailing edge (where ξ = c):

Lift Coefficient:

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Lift Coefficient:

Lift Slope:

Therefore, from thin airfoil theory the lift slope = 2π for any
shape airfoil.
For a cambered airfoil, the aerodynamic center is at the
quarter-chord point, and the center of pressure varies with
the lift coefficient.

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