Tutorial on XFOIL

1. First, download XFOIL. You can do either ;

a) From MIT Site. (You should unzip twice.)
b) From Sejong Site (You can use ALZIP just once.)
When you unzip xfoil6.96.zip (from MIT), you will have unzipped files as follows.
When you unzip XFOIL_W32.zip (from Sejong), you will have unzipped files as follows.
2. Now, let's have fun with XFOIL, one of the most extensively used Airfoil
Design/Analysis Tool.
a) Open XfoilWin32 folder.
b) Some descriptions of the folder (old people like me call directory) names.
bin : excutable files
orrs : Solvers for the Orr-somerfeld equations (transition criteria)
plotlib : Plotting libraries & binary files
runs : Stored Results
src : Source files (all written in good-old FORTRAN)
2. You can neglect other files and directories, except /bin .
Now, open the /bin folder.
3. Copy the data file of your favorite airfoil geometry into bin folder. Here in this
tutorial, I'll use e387.dat all along.
4. Now, let's run XFOIL. Double-click xfoil.exe . You'll see a DOS-type command
window, and maybe you will think it is dumb-looking. But, please remember that all
these things were done back in 1986.
From now on, all commands should be typed in. The prorgam also has a very
innovative interactive-design feature, which you may be interested in the future.
5. Load the airfoil data into the program first.
a) Type and press enter : load e387.dat
You'll see the airfoil geometry in the plotting window, as follows.
b) You will see warning messages about the coarse data points.
Type and press enter : pane
You'll see some messages in the xfoil window.
6. Now, you're ready to run xfoil. You need to set-up Re number for viscous flow
analysis.
a) Type and press enter : oper
You'll enter into interactive operation mode.
b) Set starting angle of attack.
Type and press enter : alfa -4.0
We are doing an inviscid flow analysis at c 4.0. You will see the Cp plot
on upper & lower surfaces
c) Type and press enter : visc 1.0e7
We're setting Ic
C
1.0 10
7
. For the first run on an airfoil, it is a good idea to
start with inviscid flow, because the Newton-Solver can blow-up for viscous
flows.
d) Type and press enter : alfa -4.0
We're analyzing the viscous flow at c 4.0. The BL fails to converge. Then,
we need initialize the BL again.
e) Type and press enter : init

f) Type and press enter : alfa -4.0
After the initialization the BL converges fine this time.
You will see convergence in 4 iterations, typical for Newton solvers.
In the plot, you will see the streamlines (BL displacement thicknesses) displaced from
the airfoil surfaces.
Also, you will find the Cp plots are superposed on the previous Cp plot (inviscid).
g) Type and press enter : pacc
Now, you're ready to accumulate the plotting data
h) For the polar file name, Type and press enter : e387polar1
i) For the dump file name, press enter :
7. Now, you're ready to use xfoil to find drag polars of e387 airfoil.
a) Type and press enter : aseq -4.0 18.0 0.2
The program will run for some seconds (less than 15 sec on most PCs).
b) Type and press enter : pplot
Now, you will see the drag polar & lift curve of e387 airfoil.

8. Now, you're almost done. You will find there is a file named e387polar1 in the
/bin folder. The file is written in ASCII text mode, and can be read with all text
editors, like MS Word, Wordpad, Notepad, and etc.
You can draw your own drag-polar & Cl curve with this data file. Or, you can make
the PostScript file in the program by typing : hard.
But, you have to use PostScript editors / viewers like ( GhostScript / GhostView ).
9. All done, and you are ready to exit the program.
a) Press enter :
You will return to xfoil data mode.
b) Type and press enter : quit
This will end all the xfoil program and the plot window.
10. Now, you are ready to do your own homework now. (What else do you expect ?)
a) Pick a reflex airfoil from the data files you have downloaded.
b) Use forced transition at 0.1C on both sides.
c) Find the drag polar & Cl, Cm curve for the airfoil at Ic
C
1.0 10

, from -4.0
to 18.0 in angle of attack.
If xfoil fails to converge during the course, you can reduce the angle to a
smaller value than the c, at which xfoil failed. Then, you can type in ( init )
and continue with ( aseq ) command. Also, reducing the angle interval from
0.2 to 0.1 would help.
Ex ) aseq -4.0 12.0 0.2
Ex ) init
Ex ) aseq 12.0 18.0 0.1
c) Plotting drag polar & lift curve from the data file you generated with softwares
like MatLab will give you a good experience in processing computed results.
* Each member of a team should prepare his/her own report, using different airfoils.
(They don't need to be reflex airfoils.)