Free MIT Aerodynamics Courses (Start 9 Sept 2013)

https://www.edx.org/course/mit/16-101x/introduction-aerodynamics/890 you mean, hmm.. depends, me beeing a old math dropout not aiming for a certificate or further study in math with greek symbols
for displacement think i'll check Mark Drela's intent to instill an intuitive feel for aerodynamic flowfield behavior, and to provide the basis of aerodynamic force analysis,
drag decomposition, flow interference estimation, and many other important applications. both lectures start 9 Sept 2013 i can see what i like best

 

Prerequisites for the Flight Vehicle Aerodynamics course are listed as:

Basic mechanics, vector calculus, basic differential equations; good familiarity with basic fluid mechanics concepts (pressure, density, velocity, stress, etc.) similar to the content in 16.101x (however 16.101x is not a requirement).​

It will be interesting to see what Drela considers to be an "intuitive feel for aerodynamic flowfield behavior".

 

almost all of the concepts and equations are directly related, but you need to understand the limitations of each concept to apply them properly.

My aerodynamics professor in collage had a phd in aerodynamics and is a published author in the field, he taught part time night classes at the university. His day job was working for a government contractor developing submarine hull shapes that would reduced surface wakes to lower the detection threshold. his comment was it is still fluid mechanics work. So they are indeed directly related.

The idea is that there were under development ocean surface modeling to try and find and identify where the submarines are, and how fast and which direction they were going by the affect they have on the surface. If the surface affects could be reduced than it would be that much more difficult to detect the submarine's location and heading. I did not know they could detect submarines this way in 1980, I wonder what the technology is for doing this now.

 

There are several methods that I know of, and many more that are secret.
Some of the more interesting ones are...

Bioluminescence: when subs travel through some regions they cause
plankton and some beasts to glow.

Internal waves: waves can be created at a density interface, e.g. between
layers of water at different temperatures or different salinity.

Electromagnetic fields: the wake of a ship and ambient sea waves induce
detectable disturbances in the Earth’s geomagnetic field.

Noise: Vibrations and propeller noise can be detected. Some methods to
cancel the noise made by the ship can be too successful, so you can search
for places that seem too quiet.

Honey traps: Probably the easiest method of all. Offer some sad ******* to
be laid by an attractive woman in return for information.

 

There are also some other differences between behaviour in air and liquids,
cavitation in liquids being a major one.

 

Yes, and cavitation occurs when the pressure in the flow past a propeller, foil, etc becomes too low. The phenomena which govern the pressure in in water are the same as in air. So understanding aerodynamics leads to an understanding of the causes of cavitation. Another reason why studying aerodynamics can be beneficial to anyone interested in boat design.

 

The "Intro to Aerodynamics" course has been delayed for a couple of weeks.
Form the email sent to all registered students recently...

Our goal with each and every MITx course is to provide you with the very
best experience possible, and Chad Lieberman, Alejandra Uranga, and I have
been hard at work for months building a course that explains fundamental
concepts in aerodynamics in a clear and illustrative way. Based on where we
are in course preparation right now, we've decided we need a few more
weeks to get ready.

For this reason, the start date for 16.101x: Introduction to Aerodynamics
has been moved to Thursday, September 26th. This 14 week course will now
end on January 15th and includes a one week break from Dec. 25th - January
1st.

 

Mark Drela's course will now start next year.
From the email sent to registered students...

For every MITx course, we strive to create the most vibrant and robust learning
community possible. Those interested in 16.110x Flight Vehicle Aerodynamics but who
need to first learn (or review) the basics of aerodynamics would benefit from taking our
other MITx offering, 16.101x Introduction to Aerodynamics, which is being given for the
first time this Fall. To accommodate this interest and ensure the largest number of
well-prepared students participating, we've decided to delay the start of 16.110x until
January.

The start date for the 16.110x Flight Vehicle Aerodynamics is now Monday, January 27,
2014.

This will allow those who have little or no background in aerodynamics to first take
16.101x Introduction to Aerodynamics, which starts this September, and then continue
on to the advanced course 16.110x.

We look forward to engaging with you in a new and exciting learning experience in
aerodynamics!

 

That's a sound decision. In fact, the way it was set-up in the beginning, the two courses were mutually excluding each other for most of beginners in aerodynamics.

For those who are looking for a supporting textbook for home learning, I would wholeheartedly recommend the "Introduction to Flight" by John D. Anderson Jr. - http://www.amazon.com/Introduction-Flight-John-Anderson/dp/0073380245/ref=pd_sim_b_4. That was the first textbook about aerodynamics and flight dynamics I had bought as a student, and it is written in a wonderfully easy-to-understand way.

Once you have chewed all the concepts from that one, the next step could be the "Fundamentals of Aerodynamics", by the same author: http://www.amazon.com/Fundamentals-Aerodynamics-Aeronautical-Aerospace-Engineering/dp/0073398101. More physics, more math, but also much more knowledge gained on the subject after reading it.

Cheers

 

A great choice, Slavi.

An online resource that might be useful is Prof. Ilan Kroo's:
"Applied Aerodynamics: A Digital Textbook"
http://www.desktop.aero/appliedaero/preface/welcome.html

(Note: The link to my old bibliography in the "Wing Design" section
http://www.desktop.aero/appliedaero/wingdesign/references12.html
is no longer valid.)

 

Leo, the references have been embedded in the web page so they are still available.
http://www.desktop.aero/appliedaero/wingdesign/liftsurfbib.html
The url to your old web page is dead.

 

Thanks, Jenny.
I'm sure there are far more up-to-date and comprehensive biblios available now.