Published online by Cambridge University Press: 21 April 2006
An approach utilizing multiple scales and matched asymptotic expansions is developed for the description of small perturbations at large distances from a thin airfoil oscillating harmonically in a uniform supersonic flow. The problem of determining the unsteady perturbation potential is formulated in general, and an analytical solution is derived for an airfoil with parabolic or flat surfaces. The results describe the flow ahead of the region influenced by the trailing edge. The variation in the pressure jump across an attached leading-edge shock wave is also obtained.