Uploaded October 2019 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago

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This is the first real step towards writing a panel code: the geometry. While the material in this video might seem trivial at first, it can actually be the most confusing part of the whole method since it involves a lot of tedious definitions of variables. If these variables aren't defined properly in your code, you'll get results that don't make sense.

In this video, I'll go through the panel method geometry in detail. We will use the simplest geometry, a circle approximated with 8 points (octagon), to define the variables. Then we will look at the Python code I wrote for both the circle and an airfoil. You can find the links to my Python and MATLAB programs in the CODE section below.

==== CODE =====
Panel Method Blog Post and Code (Python and MATLAB)
- Code can be downloaded at the bottom of the post
► joshtheengineer.com/2019/10/09/panel-method-geometry

GitHub: Panel Methods
► github.com/jte0419/Panel_Methods

==== RELATED VIDEOS/PLAYLISTS ====
Panel Methods YouTube Playlist
► youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxT-itJ3HGuUDVMuWKBxyoY8Dm9O9qstP

Panel Methods Overview Launch Page
► joshtheengineer.com/panel-methods

==== ERRORS ====
- If you find errors in the video, let me know and I'll add them here.

===== REFERENCES =====
Note: the links are Amazon affiliate links. If you do happen to want to buy the book and use the link below, it helps me out a little.
► Fundamentals of Aerodynamics, Anderson
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► Foundations of Aerodynamics, Kuethe and Chow
amzn.to/2yMg1Vi
► Theory of Wing Sections, Abbott and Doenhoff
amzn.to/2wvZyUt