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The purpose of this paper is to present outcomes of efforts made over the last 20 years to extend the applicability of the Richardson extrapolation procedure to numerical predictions of multidimensional, steady and unsteady, fluid flow and heat transfer phenomena in regular and irregular calculation domains.

Pattern-preserving grid-refinement strategies are proposed for mathematically rigorous generalizations of the Richardson extrapolation procedure for numerical predictions of steady fluid flow and heat transfer, using finite volume methods and structured multidimensional Cartesian grids; and control-volume finite element methods and unstructured two-dimensional planar grids, consisting of three-node triangular elements. Mathematically sound extrapolation procedures are also proposed for numerical solutions of unsteady and boundary-layer-type problems. The applicability of such procedures to numerical solutions of problems with curved boundaries and internal interfaces, and also those based on unstructured grids of general quadrilateral, tetrahedral, or hexahedral elements, is discussed.

Applications to three demonstration problems, with discretizations in the asymptotic regime, showed the following: the apparent orders of accuracy were the same as those of the numerical methods used; and the extrapolated results, measures of error, and a grid convergence index, could be obtained in a smooth and non-oscillatory manner.

Strict or approximate pattern-preserving grid-refinement strategies are used to propose generalized Richardson extrapolation procedures for estimating grid-independent numerical solutions. Such extrapolation procedures play an indispensable role in the verification and validation techniques that are employed to assess the accuracy of numerical predictions which are used for designing, optimizing, virtual prototyping, and certification of thermofluid systems.

Conjugate laminar forced convection heat transfer in the entry region of eccentric annuli is numerically investigated. Heat transfer parameters are presented for a fluid of Pr = 0.7 flowing in an annulus of radius ratio 0.5 for four values of dimensionless eccentricity ranging from 0.1 to 0.7. Solid‐fluid conductivity ratio (KR) is varied to cover the range for practical cases with commonly encountered inner and outer tube thickness. Boundary conditions applied are isothermal heating of the inner surface of the core tube, while the outer surface of the external tube is maintained at the inlet fluid temperature. Limits for KR above which the conjugation can be neglected are obtained.

AIRCRAFT ENGINEERING was born in March 1929 of the belief that the emerging technology from which it took its title would become a fundamental element of engineering progress. The keystone of its policy was that it would attempt to meet the needs of engineers and students working in this field and that its contents should be ‘written by engineers — for engineers’. That this venture was fully justified has been amply vindicated by the achievements of the industry during the ensuing 41 years — as recorded in the first 500 issues of this Journal, the major milestone celebrated this month. This is a propitious occasion on which to review the record to date because, although aviation has always been about looking forward, history is instructive and it is the impressive performance of the aerospace industry to date that inspires and motivates confidence in its future.

DURING the past 40‐odd years or so, a number of experimental aeroplane types have been invented, visualized, designed, constructed and even flown which, in a quite unorthodox manner, had neither behind the wing nor in front of it any sort of stabilizing and/or controlling surfaces.

ON landing on an aerodrome by day, a pilot must be flying into the wind in order to reduce velocity when he actually first touches ground, and therefore he requires to know in which direction the wind is blowing.

IS there anything magic about the shape of a wing section? Asked to sketch the profile of a wing on the back of an envelope, one would have no difficulty in representing a shape which would probably, for most purposes, be adequate. Assuming this generalization to be true—perhaps it is a rather rash one—one might equally well question the need for an article on aerofoil design, or indeed the need for the long and painstaking research which, over the years, has been conducted on this particular subject. But it is this same research which, in the long run, has resulted in the recognition of certain general rules relating to aerofoil geometry, which are now taken so much for granted that they would probably be embodied in one's preconceived notion of what a wing section should look like. Recently, also, rather complicated theoretical techniques have made possible the design of profiles which, if manufactured faithfully and carefully in each detail, can provide a performance which is considerably better than any more arbitrary shaping to general rules would produce. Finally, of course, one must recognize that there are exceptional conditions where the application of conventional ideas is inadvisable, and where theoretical and experimental research is needed to suggest what is more appropriate. This article will be concerned for the most part with amplifying these remarks; but, by and large, it must be admitted at the outset that we cannot point to any revolutionary discontinuities in the progress of aerofoil design such as have characterized advances in the means of aircraft propulsion, or structural design.

THE method given in “The Stressing of Rigid‐Jointed Frames” published in the Journal of the Royal Aeronautical Society for June, 1936, may be applied to the case of frames embodying initially curved members, as for example, monocoque rings.

FROM the conventional wartime under‐carriage consisting of a straight through axle suspended on bracing struts by shock absorber cord has developed the complex modern undercarriage which is required to absorb the energy of descent, provide smooth taxying and the braking effort, and disappear when not in use. These requirements have brought in their trail a collection of hydraulic, pneumatic and electrical auxiliaries and a comprehensive treatment of the subject would assume some magnitude. This paper therefore summarises existing practice to some extent, and presents some notes on various design aspects which, it is hoped, will prove informative.

THE following list of contracts placed by the Air Ministry during March is extracted from the April issue of The Ministry of Labour Gazette:—

These companion volumes are designed to cover a university engineering course in mechanics, but they will have a welcome extending outside university circles. The needs of the engineer have been kept in mind throughout, with the result that important subjects such as frameworks, and especially space frames, in statics, and vibrations in dynamics, receive especially full treatment. The examples, too, of which there are more than three hundred in each volume, have been carefully chosen, not only to illustrate the theory, but also to have a practical interest. Students often find that their greatest difficulty in solving problems lies in marshalling the known facts in a mathematical form suitable for solution; and in the many worked examples the authors have taken great care to explain this process. The worked examples have also been used to introduce subjects which are later fully developed in the text, or which are not of sufficient importance to justify special treatment.