Alleviation of leading-edge heating by conduction and radiation

Abstract

A theoretical analysis is made of the equilibrium temperature distribution in the vicinity of the leading edge of a wing of a very high speed aircraft. Results are presented for thermally non-conducting leading edges and for leading edges composed of conducting material or containing inserts of high conductivity material to conduct heat downstream where it is lost by radiation. It is found that for aircraft cruising at Mach 5 the conductivity of typical structural material is sufficiently high to keep the leading-edge temperature down to a level not greatly exceeding that of the rest of the wing; for Mach numbers from 7 to 10 an insert of material of higher conductivity may have to be added. In any case the dependence of leading-edge temperature on leading-edge radius, which is important in the absence of conduction, becomes negligible when conductivity is taken into account.