PANDA -- Program for Analysis and Design of Airfoils

(Available for Macintosh and Windows)

This program computes and graphically displays the pressure distribution on airfoil sections in subsonic flow. For a particular airfoil with coordinates stored in a standard text file, the program calculates the inviscid pressure distribution over the airfoil at a specified angle of attack and Mach number; lift and pitching moment about the 1/4-chord point are also computed. The analysis is done with remarkable speed (less than a second) so that the effects of changes in angle of attack or airfoil geometry can be studied easily. The program also computes the boundary layer properties based on this inviscid pressure distribution. The location of transition, laminar or turbulent separation, and total drag are computed based on integral boundary layer methods. It is possible to specify a position for "transition grit" on the upper and lower surfaces to force transition or model surface roughness.

A major feature of this program is its provision for rapidly changing the airfoil geometry. This is done by positioning the cursor over the part of the airfoil to be changed and clicking the mouse button. A smoothly-faired bump (with specified but editable height and width) is added to the section at this point and the new Cp distribution is quickly redrawn. In this way the airfoil can be rapidly reshaped to produce a desirable Cp distribution.

The manual includes several example sections, results, and comparison with experimental data.