On the Accuracy of the Representation of a Lifting Line by a Finite Set of Horseshoe Vortices

Abstract

Summary The paper examines the error involved when the continuous distribution of lift on an unswept lifting surface is represented by a finite number of horseshoe vortices, the strengths of which are determined by a prescribed downwash. Attention is directed mainly to the case of elliptic loading, but an anti-symmetrical case is also studied to ensure that the conclusions are not peculiar to the elliptic case.