Info request: ARC R&M 2498 Aerodynamics of cooling

[RocketJavelin]

Hi All,

I’m on the scrounge and wonder if anyone has an electronic copy of the ARC report R&M 2498 (The Aerodynamics of cooling reciprocating Piston engines).

My interest is in trying to understand the British reaction to the technology of the P-51 Mustang and how it influenced subsequent designs. It seems that the RAE thought that laminar flow could not be a significant player and that the performance delta to the Spitfire was much more likely related to the radiator installation and incidental high Mach number Aerodynamics. Having this in front of them, the Spiteful was designed with a high-M inboard (prop-washed) wing, but failed to learn from the use of fuselage volume to package the (relatively enormous) radiators. I’m keen to understand more!

TIA

 

[Foo Fighter]

Me too.

 

[iverson]

I can't help with the report. But everything I've read on the subject suggests the RAE was probably right. Laminar flow can't be maintained in practice due to manufacturing variances and surface contamination (dust, rain, bugs).

Moreover, the laminar flow airfoils used on the P-51 and Spiteful also performed badly in the near-transonic speed range because of their high thickness-to-chord ratios. The high-speed handling and controllability of the Spiteful were expected to be better than the Spitfire's but proved significantly worse in practice.

 

[Wka23]

Hi All,

I’m on the scrounge and wonder if anyone has an electronic copy of the ARC report R&M 2498 (The Aerodynamics of cooling reciprocating Piston engines).

My interest is in trying to understand the British reaction to the technology of the P-51 Mustang and how it influenced subsequent designs. It seems that the RAE thought that laminar flow could not be a significant player and that the performance delta to the Spitfire was much more likely related to the radiator installation and incidental high Mach number Aerodynamics. Having this in front of them, the Spiteful was designed with a high-M inboard (prop-washed) wing, but failed to learn from the use of fuselage volume to package the (relatively enormous) radiators. I’m keen to understand more!

TIA

 

[Wka23]

Hi

You might National aerospace libraries, FAST in Farnborough or Callum Douglas might know

 

[RocketJavelin]

Thanks all, FAST are on the case for me.

 

[1635yankee]

Hi All,

I’m on the scrounge and wonder if anyone has an electronic copy of the ARC report R&M 2498 (The Aerodynamics of cooling reciprocating Piston engines).

My interest is in trying to understand the British reaction to the technology of the P-51 Mustang and how it influenced subsequent designs. It seems that the RAE thought that laminar flow could not be a significant player and that the performance delta to the Spitfire was much more likely related to the radiator installation and incidental high Mach number Aerodynamics. Having this in front of them, the Spiteful was designed with a high-M inboard (prop-washed) wing, but failed to learn from the use of fuselage volume to package the (relatively enormous) radiators. I’m keen to understand more!

TIA

Try Aerade (http://aerade.cranfield.ac.uk/) and NASA's NTRS (ntrs.nasa.gov, although the recent update to the website makes searching significantly worse). If you have digital access to a university library or a very good public library, you may be able to find it on one of the services the library subscribes to.

 

[RocketJavelin]

Thanks all, FAST are on the case for me.

To answer my own question, after an entirely understandable pause, FAST came up good!