Our goal in writing this Second Edition of Low-Speed Aerodynamics remains the same, to present a comprehensive and up-to-date treatment of the subject of inviscid, incompressible, and irrotational aerodynamics. It is still true that for most practical aerodynamic and hydrodynamic problems, the classical model of a thin viscous boundary layer along a body's surface, surrounded by a mainly inviscid flowfield, has produced important engineering results. This approach requires first the solution of the inviscid flow to obtain the pressure field and consequently the forces such as lift and induced drag. Then, a solution of the viscous flow in the thin boundary layer allows for the calculation of the skin friction effects.

The First Edition provides the theory and related computational methods for the solution of the inviscid flow problem. This material is complemented in the Second Edition with a new Chapter 14, “The Laminar Boundary Layer,” whose goal is to provide a modern discussion of the coupling of the inviscid outer flow with the viscous boundary layer. First, an introduction to the classical boundary-layer theory of Prandtl is presented. The need for an interactive approach (to replace the classical sequential one) to the coupling is discussed and a viscous–inviscid interaction method is presented. Examples for extending this approach, which include transition to turbulence, are provided in the final Chapter 15.

In addition, updated versions of the computational methods are presented and several topics are improved and updated throughout the text.