Effect of Taper Configuration on the Aerodynamic Load Distribution and Efficiency of Wings in Steady Flow

In this study, three different taper configurations are analyzed to determine the optimum taper ratio. Vortex Lattice Method is utilized to obtain the aerodynamic loads including lift, drag, induced drag. The taper ratio is varied between 0.1 to 1.0 and the analyses are performed at a fixed angle of attack of 5 degrees. Lift-to-drag ratios, induced drag factors and span efficiency factors are calculated and comparisons are made between different tapered wing configurations. Although peak efficiencies have similar magnitudes, the maximum efficiency is obtained at different taper ratios. The optimum taper ratio is determined as 0.45 for the straight leading edge tapered wing, 0.40 for the symmetric tapered wing, and 0.35 for the straight trailing edge tapered wing. The spanwise location of the center of lift is also employed to quantify the approximation of spanwise lift distribution to the elliptic lift distribution. The maximum efficiency and corresponding optimum taper ratios are determined by three methods (lift-to-drag ratio, span efficiency factor and spanwise center of lift) and these methods are shown to yield the similar results.