EAS 4700 Aerospace Design 1

Prof. P.M. Sforza

University of Florida
Commercial Airplane Design

1.Mission specification and market

survey

Number of passengers: classes of service

Range: domestic or international routes
Cruise speed: turbofans 0.72<M<0.86
Cruise altitude: 30,000 to 40,000 ft

Commercial Airplane Design

Range versus number of passenger

seats for jet transports
10000

R=25Np

R (Range in miles)

9000

R=20Np

8000

R=15Np

7000
6000
5000
4000
3000
2000
1000
0
0

100

200

300

400

500

600

Np (Number of Passengers)
Commercial Airplane Design

The market for commercial aircraft

18
16

average age (years)

aircraft (hundreds)

14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
American

US Air

Delta

Northwest

Commercial Airplane Design

United

Continental

Annual sales of commercial aircraft:

2001-2008
(estimate)

70
current $
constant $

Billions of $

60

(preliminary)

50
40
30
20
10
0
1

Year (200_)

Commercial Airplane Design

Forecast of new aircraft deliveries:

2008 2027
New airplane deliveries

25,000
Time period: 2008-2027
Total new airplane
deliveries=29,400

20,000
15,000
10,000
5,000
0
Regional jets

Single aisle

Twin aisle

Commercial Airplane Design

Ultra-large

Forecast of market value of new

deliveries by aircraft type: 2008-2027
Market value (2007 $B)

1600
Time period:
2008-2027
Total market
value=$3.2 trillion

1400
1200
1000
800
600
400
200
0
Regional jets

Single aisle

Twin aisle

Commercial Airplane Design

Ultra-large

Forecast for the change the

commercial fleet: 2007-2027

Aircraft in the fleet

25000
Total number of aircraft:
2007=19,000
2027=35,800

20000
15000
10000
5000
0
Regional jets

Single aisle

Twin aisle

Commercial Airplane Design

Ultra-large

Forecast of market value share by

region: 2008-2027
Market Value Share by Region
4%

8%

2%
North America
23%

Asia-Pacific
Europe & CIS

25%

Latin America
Middle East
38%

Africa

Total Market value =$3.2 trillion

Commercial Airplane Design

General trend of take-off weight vs

number of passengers
A380

Take-off Weight Wto (lbs)

1,400,000
1,200,000

B747

1,000,000

B777

800,000

B787

600,000

B737

400,000
200,000
0
0

100

200

300

400

500

600

Number of Passengers Np
Commercial Airplane Design

10

Market Survey
Rigorously examine 3 or 4 existing aircraft which
closely satisfy the mission
Introduce mission specification, the competitor
aircraft, and special attributes of your aircraft
Present detailed quantitative data for the
competitor aircraft in tabular form, along with 3views, in an Appendix.
Photos of the competitor aircraft appear in
Chapter 1 along with airplane descriptions
Commercial Airplane Design

11

Aircraft data resources

Janes All the Worlds Aircraft
Aviation Week & Space Technology
Aerospace Source Book
Manufacturers websites
www.boeing.com
www.airbus.com
http://www.flightglobal.com/StaticPages/cutaways.html

Commercial Airplane Design

12

Federal Air Regulations

the Federal Aviation Agency (FAA), establishes
airworthiness requirements to ensure public
safety in aviation.
It issues Federal Aviation Regulations (FAR)
and FAA Advisory Notes laying down rules for
aircraft and their operation.
The FAR is Title 14 of the Code of Federal
Regulations and is available on-line (Ref. 1-4).
Subchapter C, Parts 1-59, deal with aircraft.
Commercial Airplane Design

13

2. Preliminary Weight Estimate

Commercial Airplane Design

14

2. Preliminary weight estimate

WTO

= WE + WTFO + WPLC + WF,USED + WF,RES

=Take-off Weight

WE

=Empty Weight

WF

= WF,USED + WF,RES
= Weight of Fuel Used+ Weight of Fuel Reserve
= Total Fuel Weight
=WPL+WCREW = Weight of Payload +Weight of Crew

WPLC

MTFO = WTFO / WTO=(Trapped Fuel and Oil Weight)/WTO

MFUEL = WF/WTO= Fuel Fraction
Commercial Airplane Design

15

Empty weight vs take-off weight

WE

(1-MTFO-MFUEL)
increasing

Fuel fraction
needed for
mission,
including
reserves
WTO

Solve for the empty weight knowing WPLC

-WPLC

WE = (1 MTFO MFUEL)WTO WPLC = aWTO + b

Commercial Airplane Design

16

Mission profile
WF = WTO WFINAL=WTO (Weight at End of Mission)
WF/WTO = MFUEL= 1 WFINAL/WTO = 1 MFINAL
Fuel Needed for Mission

Normal
5

Diversion

4
7

1 2

10

11

Commercial Airplane Design

17

Mission profile
Segment weight fractions Wi / Wi -1
exp[-RCj/V(L/D)]

exp[-Cj/(L/D)]
5

0.98

exp[-230Cj/V(L/D)]
9

0.99

8
7

0.98

0.99
10

0.99 0.99 0.995

0.992
1 2

11

3
Commercial Airplane Design

18

MFINAL =(W11/W10)(W10/W9)(W9/W8).(W2/W1)(W1/W0)

M FINAL
WF ,USED
WTO

n
WFINAL W11
Wi
=
=
=
WTO
W0 i =1 Wi 1

Final Weight Fraction

= M F ,USED = 1 M FINAL M F , RES Fuel Weight

WLAND , NOM
WTO

M F , RES =

Fraction Used

= M FINAL + M F , RES

WF , RES
WTO

Nominal Landing Weight

9
5 Wi
Wi
=
1

i = 6 Wi 1
i =1 Wi 1
Commercial Airplane Design

Reserve
Fuel
Fraction
19

Mission fuel fraction vs range

0.4

1-Mfinal

0.35

1-MFINAL =0.00316(R-800)1/2

0.3
0.25
0.2
0.15
0.1
0.05
0
0

2000

4000

6000

8000

10000

Range (mi)
This is the nominal value of the ratio WF,USED/WTO
Commercial Airplane Design

20

Total fuel fraction vs range

0.5

1 - Mfinal+Mres

0.45
0.4
0.35
0.3
0.25
0.2
0.15
0.1

1-MFINAL+MRES=0.0048R1/2

0.05
0
0

2000

4000

6000

8000

10000

Range (miles)

Nominal ratio of total fuel carried to take-off weight, MFUEL

Commercial Airplane Design

21

Fraction of trapped fuel and oil

0.003
0.0025

Mtfo

0.002

MTFO=0.227(MFUEL)2/3(WTO)-1/3

0.0015
0.001
0.0005
0
0

200,00 400,00 600,00 800,00 1,000,0 1,200,0 1,400,0

0
0
0
0
00
00
00
Take-Off Weight (lbs)

Correlation for the weight fraction of trapped fuel and oil

Commercial Airplane Design

22

Empty weight, We (klbs)

Empty weight vs take-off weight for

45 airliners
700.0
Actual weights
logWe=(logWto - A)/B
We=0.5Wto

600.0
500.0
400.0
300.0
200.0
100.0
0.0
0.0

200.0

400.0

600.0

800.0

1000.0

1200.0

1400.0

Take-off weight, Wto (klbs)

Commercial Airplane Design

23

Empty weight fraction, We/Wto

Empty weight vs take-off weight for

45 airliners
0.700
0.600
0.500
0.400
0.300

We/Wto = 1.59/(Wto/1000)^.0906

0.200
0.100
0.000
0.0

200.0

400.0

600.0

800.0

1000.0

1200.0

1400.0

Take-off weight, Wto (klbs)

Commercial Airplane Design

24

Estimating aircraft empty weight

WE

Market survey aircraft

WE=aWTO-WPLC
Historical
correlation
WE=0.504WTO

0
-WPLC

WTO

Commercial Airplane Design

25

Cruise fuel requirement

V L
W4
R=
log e
Cj D
W5

Breguet Range Equation

Ratio of Weight at End

W5
V
L
of Cruise to Weight at
= exp R

W4
C j D Start of Cruise

0.76<M<0.86 Mach Number

0.5<Cj<0.6

Specific Fuel Consumption

14<L/D<18

Lift to Drag Ratio

Commercial Airplane Design

26

L/D characteristics of a jet airliner

20

23kft

Convair CV-880
L/D
ML/D

15

35kft
23kft

10
5

L/D, Landing

35kft

L/D, Power approach

0
0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

Mach Number
Commercial Airplane Design

27

Jet fuel characteristics

Wide-cut
gasoline

Jet B JP-4 6.36 -50C

lb/gal to
-58
Kerosene Jet A JP-8 6.76 -40C
lb/gal to
-50C

Commercial Airplane Design

18,720 119,000
Btu/lb Btu/gal
18,610 125,800
Btu/lb Btu/gal

28

Design plot for estimating empty and

take-off weight of airplane
WE

Design curves for various values of V, Cj,

and L/D
Design region
Market survey aircraft

Historical Correlation,
WE=0.5WTO

WTO
-WPLC
Commercial Airplane Design

29

3. Fuselage Design

Commercial Airplane Design

30

Fuselage design factors

Optimal aerodynamics, reducing aerodynamic drag
Suppression of aerodynamic instability
Comfortable and attractive seat design, placement, and storage
space
Safety features to deal with emergencies such as fires, cabin
depressurization, etc.; proper placement of emergency exits,
oxygen systems, etc.
Easy handling for cargo loading and unloading, safe and robust
cargo hatches and doors
Structural support for wing and tail forces acting in flight, as well
Airplane
Design
31
as for landing and groundCommercial
operation
forces

Structurally optimized, saving weight while incorporating

protection against corrosion and fatigue
Optimized flight deck, reducing pilot workload and
protecting against crew fatigue and intrusion by passengers
Convenient size and placement of galleys, lavatories, and
coat racks
Suppressed noise and vibration, providing a comfortable,
secure environment
Control of cabin climate including air conditioning, heating,
and ventilation
Providing housing for different sub-systems, including
Commercial Airplane
Design air conditioning, etc.
32
auxiliary power units, hydraulic
system,

Major components of fuselage

L

TC

LNC

LC

Commercial Airplane Design

LTC

33

Circular fuselage cross-section

A circle has the greatest cross-sectional area per unit
perimeter. The drag of a typical fuselage, which has a rather
large fineness ratio (l/d), is dominated by skin friction
A circle is strongest under internal pressure. At stratospheric
cruising altitudes the outside pressure is 0.2 to 0.3
atmospheres, while the internal pressure is maintained at that
at 8,000 feet, or about 0.7 atmospheres. Pressure difference
across the thin skin of the cabin ranges from 0.4 to 0.5
atmospheres, or 6 to 7 psi (40 to 50 kPa)
A circle more easily accommodates growth in Np in terms of
manufacturing since cylindrical sections, called plugs, can be
reasonably easily added to so-called stretched versions of a
given aircraft.
Commercial Airplane Design

34

Circular cross-section limitations

Limited space outside the passenger compartment for
auxiliary systems and cargo. The passenger compartment
must be located around a diameter of the circle for the
greatest width for seats and aisles.
Awkward circular sectors above and below the passenger
compartment to house other items.
Modern designs have expanded the lower portion of the
circular cabin into a more rectangular cross-section in the
vicinity of the wing root chord to accommodate more internal
carriage.
Cabin forward and aft of the wing root is maintained as a
circular cross-section, and stretching will require plugs to be
added in these regions.
Commercial Airplane Design

35

Layout of the cabin cross-section

Overhead
storage bins
Pressure
shell
a

Passenger
aisle

Passenger seats
Passenger
compartment floor

Commercial Airplane Design

Cargo
containers

36

Cabin cross-section

Overhead storage
bins
Pressure shell
Passenger aisle
a

Passenger seats
Passenger
compartment floor

Commercial Airplane Design

Cargo
containers

37

Cabin floor plan

Commercial Airplane Design

38

Correlation of fineness ratio and

fuselage dimensions

10

L/d
= 0.9(LC /d) +/d+5)
5
L/d=0.9(L
c

5
(LTC
+L
5 0.1(LC / d) C/d)
(L
+L
NC)/d
TC
NC=)/d=5-0.1(L

8
LC /d

Commercial Airplane Design

10

12

39

Nose and tail cone correlations

4

Tail
cones

LNC /d
LTC /d

1
Nose
cones

0
0

6
8
Commercial Airplane Design
LC /d

10
40

Fuselage drag breakdown

L
p

p
w

D
d
p

LNC

LC

LTC

Base drag

D = D p , NC + D f , NC + D p ,C + D f ,C + D p ,TC + D f ,TC
Commercial Airplane Design

41

Nose cone pressure drag is

approximately zero
Underpressure
Overpressure

Cp
1.0

The overpressure is just about balanced by the underpressure

so that the pressure drag on the nose cone is approximately
zero, Dp,NC~0
Commercial Airplane Design

42

General equation for fuselage drag

D = D f , NC + D f ,C + D f ,TC + D p , BASE
S wetted D p.BASE
D
cD =
= c f ( Re, M )
+
qS
S
qS
cD , fuselage

1.5
7

= 4kcF ( Re, M ) F 1 + 3 / 2 + 3
F
F

Commercial Airplane Design

43

Variation of fuselage drag with

fineness ratio
M=0.85 at 35,000ft altitude
Re~3x10^8

Cd based on
frontal area

0.12
0.1
0.08
0.06
0.04
0.02
0
0

10

15

20

Fineness ratio
Commercial Airplane Design

44

Optimal fineness ratio

The minimum drag coefficient occurs for F~3 but this
would not be a practical fuselage design for safely and
efficiently packing passengers

For compressible flows where M~1 the slimmer fuselages

would have reduced wave drag due to compressibility and
they have the advantage of efficient use of space

Commercial Airplane Design

45