The green airliner that never was: aerodynamic theory, fuel-efficiency and the role of the British state in aviation technology in the mid-twentieth century.
The green airliner that never was: aerodynamic theory, fuel-efficiency and the role of the British state in aviation technology in the mid-twentieth century.
复制标题
从未有过的绿色客机：空气动力学理论、燃油效率以及二十世纪中叶英国政府在航空技术中的作用。
DOI：
10.1017/s0007087420000035
复制
发表时间：
2020
影响因子：
0.8
通讯作者：
Spinardi G
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Spinardi G
20世纪初提出的两个空气动力学概念--层流控制和飞翼--为更高效的飞机提供了可能性。然而，尽管这些技术在纸面上具有令人信服的优势和乐观的预测，但这些技术的节油好处尚未完全实现。本文记录了英国在这些概念上的工作，特别关注层流控制。面对日益困难的资金环境和缺乏明确的军事理由，这些在飞机效率方面潜在的重大进步受到了一个两难境地的阻碍：只有在作战表现已经得到证明的情况下，政府才准备为作战原型的开发提供资金支持。该案还突显了在商业上采用激进的航空技术所面临的挑战，即使这些技术似乎提供了更高的效率和环境效益。
Two aerodynamic concepts theorized in the early twentieth century – laminar-flow control and flying wings – offer the potential for more efficient aircraft. However, despite compelling advantages on paper and optimistic predictions, the fuel-saving benefits of these technologies have not yet been fully realized. This paper documents British work on these concepts, with a particular focus on laminar-flow control. Faced with an increasingly difficult funding context and a lack of a clear military rationale, these potentially significant advances in aircraft efficiency were stymied by a catch-22: the government was only prepared to provide financial support for the development of an operational prototype if operational performance had already been demonstrated. This case also highlights the challenges faced in the commercial uptake of radical aviation technologies, even when they appear to offer greater efficiency and environmental benefits.