Aeronautics Flashcards
(45 cards)
How are ailerons deflected?
to roll left, and which deflection direction is positive
- to roll left, left aileron deflects up, right deflects down (differentially)
- this increases lift on right side, and decreases lift on left, causing roll to the left
- deflection down = positive
How are elevators deflected
- deflection down = positive
- both sides of the elevator deflect together
How is the rudder deflected
- deflection to the left = positive
- to the left means rear of plane swings right
Directions of the three control surface effects
elevator, rudder, aileron directions
- elevator controls pitch M (+ve nose up)
- rudder controls yaw N (+ve nose pointing right)
- aileron controls roll L (+ve right wing down)
- this means positive control deflections give negative moments
e.g. signs are opposite to the deflection directions
positive control input for elevator = elevator deflects down, which creates more lift on tail, which pushes tail up and nose down, hence a negative pitching moment
Secondary effects of the control surfaces
- elevator: changes height AND speed, not just pitch angle
- rudder: also generates roll due to sideslip (flying at an angle to oncomoing flow)
- aileron: also generates yaw due to roll rate and differential aileron drag (drag on two ailerons is not the same, which induces a yaw moment)
Trapezoidal wing parameters
winger taper ratio, standard mean chord, aspect ratio, MAC
- wing taper ratio, λ = tip chord / root chord
- standard mean chord, SMC, c bar = S / b (total planform area / span)
- aspect ratio, AR = b / c bar = b^2 / S (AR defines the “thinness” of the wing)
- mean aerodynamic chord MAC, c bar bar = 1/S ∫c^2 * y dy from -b/2 to b/2 (driven by how the aerodynamic properties of 3D wings work)
Explanation of lift
- fluid forces arise from the distribution of pressure and shear stresses
- N3L: for wing to generate lift, it must force air down i.e. lift can be thought of as a reaction force
- lift is proportional to the amount of air diverted per second, and change in vertical velocity of air
- air diverted per second is porportional to speed of wing and air density, vertical velocity is proportional to speed of wing and angle of attack
- hence lift is proprtional to the speed squared, density and angle of attack
Equation for coefficient of lift
2 ways
C_l=L/(1/2 ρv^2 S)
OR
C_l=a(α-α_0)
where alpha0 is the zero lift angle of attack and a is a constant (gradient of Cl-alpha curve)
a = 2pi / rad for a thin 2D airfoil in an ideal fluid
What must you be at to fly at minimum speed?
When straight and level
C_lmax:
V_min= √(W/(1/2 ρSC_lmax )) (at a specific AoA)
hence for takeoff and landing, we need greater C_lmax, by increasing camber using flaps
Different types of drag?
Two main: Skin friction drag and normal pressure drag
pressure drag consists of wave drag (supersonic), induced drag (due to wings being 3D and finite, not infinite 2D) and form drag
profile drag is the overal “2D” drag - combination of skin friction drag and form drag
generally low form drag means higher skin friction drag due to the shape of airfoil, or vice versa
What is induced drag?
A drag that acts on 3D wings, proportional to lift^2
driven by the pressure difference between upper and lower surface on the wing (i.e. lift), as it creates vortices when airlflow “rolls up” around the wing tip
the tip vorties induce a downwash, which is a downwards flow component of air. This as a result, with V_infinity being horizontal, rotatess the velocity vector downwards by a small angle epsilon, which effectively reduces AoA and so reduces lift
lift is perpendicular to velocity vector, so lift force now has a horizontal component, which is the induced drag
Equations for induced drag coefficient C_D_i
ε= C_L/(π∙AR)
C_(D_i )= (C_L^2)/(π∙e∙AR)
where e is the spanwise efficiency factor
What exactly is e?
There is a distribution of wing loading that gives the minimal amount of induced drag, called elliptical loading, which gives an efficiency factor of 1
Total drag equation
C_D=C_(D_0 )+KC_L^2
where C_(D_0) is profile drag (i.e. 2D drag or zero-lift drag) and KC_L^2 is induced drag
where K = 1//(π∙e∙AR)
also can be written as
C_D=C_(D_min )+K〖(C_L-C_(L_0 ))〗^2
What is the critical Mach number, and drag divergence Mach number
M_crit lowest freestream Mach number at which any part of the airfoil reacts to the speed of sound
M_dd is the freestream Mach number where C_D begins to rapidly increase due to the wave drag caused by shockwaves
How do swept wings affect M_dd?
swept wings can delay M_dd, because the velocity now hits the wing at an angle equal to the sweep angle, hence velocity perpendicular to the wing (which is the only velocity the airfoil ‘sees’) is lower
what is pitching moment and centre of pressure
Lift and drag can be combined into a single aerodynamic fore, R. The line of action of R crosses the chord line at the centre of pressure, x_CP, about which there is no pitching moment. but CP is not fixed, and it changes with C_L and hence AoA
Hence we need a point where C_M does not vary with C_L, called the aerodynamic centre
Aerodynamic centre is at the quarter-chord point for 2D thin airfoils
Different regions of the atmosphere
Troposphere (0-11km)
Stratosphere (11-48km)
Mesosphere (48-80km)
Thermosphere (80km above)
Assumptions of the international standard atmosphere and ISA sea level values
- air is a perfect gas
- air is dry
- g does not vary with altitude
- hydrostatic equilibrium exists
pressure: 1.01325e5 Pa
temperature: 288.15K
density: 1.225 kg/m3
speed of sound: 340.29 m/s
rate of temperature decrease in the troposphere
rate = -6.5 degrees celsius / km
at the tropopause (11km), T = -56 degrees C
the lower part of the stratosphere (11-20km) is isothermal so also = -56
Equivalent airspeed
The speed if flying at standard sea level density
V_E=V√(ρ/ρ_0 )=V√σ
Minimum drag coefficient at minimum drag, lift coefficient at minimum drag, and velocity at minimum drag
C_(D_0) = K (C_L)^2 at minimum drag
therefore C_D_min = 2C(D_0) = 2K(C_L)^2
This means C_(L_MD) = √(C_(D_0) / K)
and subbing in to find V_MD:
V_MD=〖(2W/ρS)〗^(1/2)∙〖(K/C_(D_0 ) )〗^(1/4)
Power for straight and level flight
P = Thrust x Velocity = Drag x Velocity at S&L flight
therefore find total drag at straight and level (CD0 + KCL^2) and multiply by V
Effect of flying at higher altitude on required power
flying at higher altitude will require more power
but at higher velocities the power required actually reduces