airfoil

air·foil

A0159700 (âr′foil′)n. A part or surface, such as a wing, propeller blade, or rudder, that interacts with a flow of air to provide stability, rotation, lift, or thrust.

airfoil

(ˈɛəˌfɔɪl) n (Aeronautics) US and Canadian a cross section of an aileron, wing, tailplane, or rotor blade. Also called: aerofoil

air•foil

(ˈɛərˌfɔɪl)

n. any surface, as a wing or stabilizer, designed to aid in lifting or controlling an aircraft by making use of the air currents through which it moves. [1920–25]

air·foil

(âr′foil′) A part, such as an aircraft wing, designed to provide lift as air flows around its surface. Air passes over the airfoil faster than it passes beneath it, resulting in greater pressure below than above. Propellers are airfoils that are spun rapidly to provide propulsion.

Thesaurus

Noun

airfoil - a device that provides reactive force when in motion relative to the surrounding air; can lift or control a plane in flightaerofoil, control surface, surfaceaileron - an airfoil that controls lateral motiondevice - an instrumentality invented for a particular purpose; "the device is small enough to wear on your wrist"; "a device intended to conserve water"elevator - the airfoil on the tailplane of an aircraft that makes it ascend or descendflaps, flap - a movable airfoil that is part of an aircraft wing; used to increase lift or draghorizontal stabiliser, horizontal stabilizer, tailplane - the horizontal airfoil of an aircraft's tail assembly that is fixed and to which the elevator is hingedleading edge - forward edge of an airfoilrotary wing, rotor blade - the long airfoil that rotates to provide the lift that supports a helicopter in the airrudder - a hinged vertical airfoil mounted at the tail of an aircraft and used to make horizontal course changesspoiler - a hinged airfoil on the upper surface of an aircraft wing that is raised to reduce lift and increase dragspoiler - an airfoil mounted on the rear of a car to reduce lift at high speedsstabilizer - airfoil consisting of a device for stabilizing an aircrafttrailing edge - the rear edge of an airfoilvertical tail - the vertical airfoil in the tail assembly of an aircraftwing - one of the horizontal airfoils on either side of the fuselage of an airplane

Translations

draagvlak

airfoil

airfoil,

surface designed to develop a desired force by reaction with a fluid, especially air, that is flowing across the surface. For example, the fixed wing surfaces of an airplane produce lift, which opposes gravity. Airfoils that are manipulated to produce variable forces are called control surfaces. Ailerons, control surfaces hinged to the trailing edges of wings, can produce rolling, which is rotational motion of the aircraft about a line running through its fuselage, or yawing, which is rotational motion about a line running from the top to the bottom of an aircraft. Modern aircraft have fairly complex arrays of control surfaces, including elevators, a rudder, and flaps. Elevators, which are hinged to the rear of the horizontal airfoil of the tail assembly, are used to produce pitching, which occurs when an airplane in level flight points its nose upward or downward. The rudder, which is hinged to the rear of the vertical airfoil of the tail assembly, is used to produce yawing. Flaps are located near the ailerons to increase lift for takeoff and landing. Spoilers, which can be made to protrude from lifting surfaces to give controlled reduction of lift, often replace ailerons and elevators. In aircraft of the swing-wing type, in which the sweep of the wings is variable, the entire wing can be considered a control surface. Other airfoils include propeller blades and the blades utilized in turbojet engines.

Airfoil

The cross section of a body that is placed in an airstream in order to produce a useful aerodynamic force in the most efficient manner possible. The cross sections of wings, propeller blades, windmill blades, compressor and turbine blades in a jet engine, and hydrofoils on a high-speed ship are examples of airfoils.

The mean camber line of an airfoil (see illustration) is the locus of points halfway between the upper and lower surfaces as measured perpendicular to the mean camber line itself. The most forward and rearward points of the mean camber line are the leading and trailing edges, respectively. The straight line connecting the leading and trailing edges is the chord line of the airfoil, and the distance from the leading to the trailing edge measured along the chord line is simply designated the chord of the airfoil, represented by c. The thickness of the airfoil is the distance from the upper to the lower surface, measured perpendicular to the chord line, and varies with distance along the chord. The maximum thickness, and where it occurs along the chord, is an important design feature of the airfoil. The camber is the maximum distance between the mean camber line and the chord line, measured perpendicular to the chord line. Both the maximum thickness and the camber are usually expressed in terms of a percentage of the chord length; for example, a 12% thick airfoil has a maximum thickness equal to 0.12c.

Relative air flow passing over an airfoil produces lift and drag.A body of such shape that the force exerted on it by its motion through a fluid has a larger component normal, or perpendicular, to the direction of the motion than along the direction of the motion. This force is in the form of lift or thrust. A wing is a typical airfoil. The shape of an airfoil varies depending upon its use. Wings, control surfaces, and turbine blades are all examples of airfoils. An airfoil section is parallel to an aircraft's longitudinal axis and, in the case of aeroengines and rotors or propellers, perpendicular to a blade's major axis.

aerofoil

(US and Canadian), airfoil a cross section of an aileron, wing, tailplane, or rotor blade

airfoil

noun

Synonyms for airfoil

noun a device that provides reactive force when in motion relative to the surrounding air

Synonyms

aerofoil
control surface
surface

Related Words

aileron
device
elevator
flaps
flap
horizontal stabiliser
horizontal stabilizer
tailplane
leading edge
rotary wing
rotor blade
rudder
spoiler
stabilizer
trailing edge
vertical tail
wing