The flow of a compressible fluid past a curved surface

An iteration method is employed to obtain the flow of a compressible fluid past a curved surface. The first approximation which leads to the Prandtl-Glauert rule, is based on the assumption that the flow differs but little from a pure translation. The iteration process then consists in improving this first approximation in order that it will apply to a flow differing from pure translatory motion to a greater degree. The method fails when the Mach number of the undisturbed stream reaches unity but permits a transition from subsonic to supersonic conditions without the appearance of a compression shock. The limiting value at which potential flow no longer exits is indicated by the apparent divergence of the power series representing the velocity of the fluid at the surface of the solid boundary.