Dietrich Küchemann
Encyclopedia
Dietrich Küchemann CBE FRS
FRAeS
(11. September 1911 in Göttingen
, Germany; † 23. February 1976 in Farnham
, Great Britain) was a German
aerodynamicist who made several important contributions to the advancement of high-speed flight
. He spent most of his career in England, where he is best known for his work on Concorde
.
and studied at the University, home of the largest German institute of aerodynamics
. He was originally going to move on to pure physics
research under Max Born
, a friend of his father's, but lost this chance when Born and several other Jewish members of the University staff were expelled from the country by the Nazi
regime. Instead Küchemann went on to join Ludwig Prandtl in aerodynamics research. He published his doctoral thesis in 1936.
With the war looming, Küchemann volunteered for service in 1938, and as expected was given a non-combatant role in Signals. He held the rank of Unteroffizier from 1942–45, but he saw no active service. During this period he continued research, notably into the problems of high speed flight, wave drag
, swept wing
theory and initial steps on the road to the area rule
, and he designed a fuselage shape later dubbed the “Küchemann Coke Bottle”.
One year after the war Küchemann moved to England
and started work at the Royal Aircraft Establishment
(RAE) at Farnborough
. In 1953 he and his colleague, Johanna Weber, published the still-standard work on the topic, Aerodynamics of Propulsion, based on their work at the AVA, Göttingen from 1940 to 1945.
Küchemann continued his work on high-speed flight, and was instrumental in the development of the slender wing
in England. He raised the design as a possible approach for supersonic transport, but indicated he was unclear about the low speed controllability. A series of test aircraft, such as Handley Page HP.115
were built during the 1950s to study the various problems with the design, which eventually led to the advanced ogive
shape used on Concorde. He was also a tireless promoter of the lifting body
concept for aircraft (as opposed to spacecraft, as in US research), although to date no blended wing body
aircraft has entered service. Similar research was followed on the waverider
concept.
In 1954 he was promoted to the Senior Principal Scientific Officer (SPSO) at the RAE, in 1957 the Deputy Chief Scientific Officer (DCSO) and head of the Supersonics Division, and finally the Chief Scientific Officer (CSO) and head of the entire Aerodynamics Department in 1966. He retired from adminstrative duties in 1971, but continued work on an effort to build a very large supersonic
wind tunnel
for use by various European research departments, but this was not completed in his lifetime.
With the help of colleagues at the RAE and Imperial College London
his book The Aerodynamic Design of Aircraft was published two years after his death, and is considered by many to be the classic text on modern aerodynamics.
In 1962 he was awarded the Royal Aeronautical Society
's Silver Medal, and in 1963 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society
. In 1964 he was appointed a Commander of the British Empire.
His name has entered aeronautical lore in the form of the trailing edge anti-shock bodies
used on the Convair 990
jetliners, commonly referred to as "Kuchemann's carrots".
A Classical Cello
player, he joined the Farnborough Symphony Orchestra in 1946. He became principal cellist and remained with the orchestra until 1971.
Royal Society
The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...
FRAeS
Royal Aeronautical Society
The Royal Aeronautical Society, also known as the RAeS, is a multidisciplinary professional institution dedicated to the global aerospace community.-Function:...
(11. September 1911 in Göttingen
Göttingen
Göttingen is a university town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Göttingen. The Leine river runs through the town. In 2006 the population was 129,686.-General information:...
, Germany; † 23. February 1976 in Farnham
Farnham
Farnham is a town in Surrey, England, within the Borough of Waverley. The town is situated some 42 miles southwest of London in the extreme west of Surrey, adjacent to the border with Hampshire...
, Great Britain) was a German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
aerodynamicist who made several important contributions to the advancement of high-speed flight
High-speed flight
In high-speed flight the assumptions of incompressibility of the air used in low-speed aerodynamics no longer apply. In subsonic aerodynamics, the theory of lift is based upon the forces generated on a body and a moving gas in which it is immersed...
. He spent most of his career in England, where he is best known for his work on Concorde
Concorde
Aérospatiale-BAC Concorde was a turbojet-powered supersonic passenger airliner, a supersonic transport . It was a product of an Anglo-French government treaty, combining the manufacturing efforts of Aérospatiale and the British Aircraft Corporation...
.
Biography
Küchemann was born in GöttingenGöttingen
Göttingen is a university town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Göttingen. The Leine river runs through the town. In 2006 the population was 129,686.-General information:...
and studied at the University, home of the largest German institute of aerodynamics
Aerodynamics
Aerodynamics is a branch of dynamics concerned with studying the motion of air, particularly when it interacts with a moving object. Aerodynamics is a subfield of fluid dynamics and gas dynamics, with much theory shared between them. Aerodynamics is often used synonymously with gas dynamics, with...
. He was originally going to move on to pure physics
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
research under Max Born
Max Born
Max Born was a German-born physicist and mathematician who was instrumental in the development of quantum mechanics. He also made contributions to solid-state physics and optics and supervised the work of a number of notable physicists in the 1920s and 30s...
, a friend of his father's, but lost this chance when Born and several other Jewish members of the University staff were expelled from the country by the Nazi
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
regime. Instead Küchemann went on to join Ludwig Prandtl in aerodynamics research. He published his doctoral thesis in 1936.
With the war looming, Küchemann volunteered for service in 1938, and as expected was given a non-combatant role in Signals. He held the rank of Unteroffizier from 1942–45, but he saw no active service. During this period he continued research, notably into the problems of high speed flight, wave drag
Wave drag
In aeronautics, wave drag is a component of the drag on aircraft, blade tips and projectiles moving at transonic and supersonic speeds, due to the presence of shock waves. Wave drag is independent of viscous effects.- Overview :...
, swept wing
Swept wing
A swept wing is a wing planform favored for high subsonic jet speeds first investigated by Germany during the Second World War. Since the introduction of the MiG-15 and North American F-86 which demonstrated a decisive superiority over the slower first generation of straight-wing jet fighters...
theory and initial steps on the road to the area rule
Area rule
The Whitcomb area rule, also called the transonic area rule, is a design technique used to reduce an aircraft's drag at transonic and supersonic speeds, particularly between Mach 0.75 and 1.2....
, and he designed a fuselage shape later dubbed the “Küchemann Coke Bottle”.
One year after the war Küchemann moved to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and started work at the Royal Aircraft Establishment
Royal Aircraft Establishment
The Royal Aircraft Establishment , was a British research establishment, known by several different names during its history, that eventually came under the aegis of the UK Ministry of Defence , before finally losing its identity in mergers with other institutions.The first site was at Farnborough...
(RAE) at Farnborough
Farnborough, Hampshire
-History:Name changes: Ferneberga ; Farnburghe, Farenberg ; Farnborowe, Fremborough, Fameborough .Tower Hill, Cove: There is substantial evidence...
. In 1953 he and his colleague, Johanna Weber, published the still-standard work on the topic, Aerodynamics of Propulsion, based on their work at the AVA, Göttingen from 1940 to 1945.
Küchemann continued his work on high-speed flight, and was instrumental in the development of the slender wing
Delta wing
The delta wing is a wing planform in the form of a triangle. It is named for its similarity in shape to the Greek uppercase letter delta .-Delta-shaped stabilizers:...
in England. He raised the design as a possible approach for supersonic transport, but indicated he was unclear about the low speed controllability. A series of test aircraft, such as Handley Page HP.115
Handley Page HP.115
|-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Barfield, Norman. "Aérospatiale/BAC Concorde." Aircraft in Profile, Volume 14. Windsor, Berkshire, UK: Profile Publications, 1974. ISBN 0-85383-023-1....
were built during the 1950s to study the various problems with the design, which eventually led to the advanced ogive
Ogive
An ogive is the roundly tapered end of a two-dimensional or three-dimensional object.-Applied physical science and engineering:In ballistics or aerodynamics, an ogive is a pointed, curved surface mainly used to form the approximately streamlined nose of a bullet or other projectile.The traditional...
shape used on Concorde. He was also a tireless promoter of the lifting body
Lifting body
A lifting body is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration in which the body itself produces lift. In contrast to a flying wing, which is a wing with minimal or no conventional fuselage, a lifting body can be thought of as a fuselage with little or no conventional wing...
concept for aircraft (as opposed to spacecraft, as in US research), although to date no blended wing body
Blended wing body
Blended Wing Body aircraft have a flattened and airfoil shaped body, which produces most of the lift, the wings contributing the balance. The body form is composed of distinct and separate wing structures, though the wings are smoothly blended into the body...
aircraft has entered service. Similar research was followed on the waverider
Waverider
A waverider is a hypersonic aircraft design that improves its supersonic lift-to-drag ratio by using the shock waves being generated by its own flight as a lifting surface. To date the only aircraft to use the technique is the Mach 3 supersonic XB-70 Valkyrie, which was waverider-like with its...
concept.
In 1954 he was promoted to the Senior Principal Scientific Officer (SPSO) at the RAE, in 1957 the Deputy Chief Scientific Officer (DCSO) and head of the Supersonics Division, and finally the Chief Scientific Officer (CSO) and head of the entire Aerodynamics Department in 1966. He retired from adminstrative duties in 1971, but continued work on an effort to build a very large supersonic
Supersonic
Supersonic speed is a rate of travel of an object that exceeds the speed of sound . For objects traveling in dry air of a temperature of 20 °C this speed is approximately 343 m/s, 1,125 ft/s, 768 mph or 1,235 km/h. Speeds greater than five times the speed of sound are often...
wind tunnel
Wind tunnel
A wind tunnel is a research tool used in aerodynamic research to study the effects of air moving past solid objects.-Theory of operation:Wind tunnels were first proposed as a means of studying vehicles in free flight...
for use by various European research departments, but this was not completed in his lifetime.
With the help of colleagues at the RAE and Imperial College London
Imperial College London
Imperial College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom, specialising in science, engineering, business and medicine...
his book The Aerodynamic Design of Aircraft was published two years after his death, and is considered by many to be the classic text on modern aerodynamics.
In 1962 he was awarded the Royal Aeronautical Society
Royal Aeronautical Society
The Royal Aeronautical Society, also known as the RAeS, is a multidisciplinary professional institution dedicated to the global aerospace community.-Function:...
's Silver Medal, and in 1963 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society
Royal Society
The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...
. In 1964 he was appointed a Commander of the British Empire.
His name has entered aeronautical lore in the form of the trailing edge anti-shock bodies
Anti-shock body
An Anti-shock body is a pod positioned on the leading or trailing edge of an aircraft's aerodynamic surface to reduce wave drag at transonic speeds .-Wing trailing edge:...
used on the Convair 990
Convair 990
The Convair 990 Coronado was a narrow-body jet airliner produced by the Convair division of General Dynamics, a "stretched" version of their earlier Convair 880 produced in response to a request from American Airlines. The 990 was lengthened by 10 feet, which increased the number of passengers from...
jetliners, commonly referred to as "Kuchemann's carrots".
A Classical Cello
Cello
The cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
player, he joined the Farnborough Symphony Orchestra in 1946. He became principal cellist and remained with the orchestra until 1971.
Books and Publications
- Störungsbewegungen in einer Gasströmung mit Grenzschicht (1938)
- Aerodynamics of Propulsion (1953)
- The Aerodynamic Design of Aircraft (1978)