Book 1 Module 8 BASIC AERODYNAMICS Licence By Post ee- Licence By Post © copyright ALL 8.1 to 8.4 ISSUE 4 42‘y AUTHORITY It is IMPORTANT to note that the information in this book is for study/ training purposes only. When carrying out a procedure/work on aircraft/aircraft equipment you MUST always refer to the relevant aircraft maintenance manual or equipment manufacturer’s handbook. You should also follow the requirements of your national regulatory authority (the CAA in the UK) and laid down company policy as regards local procedures, recording, report writing, documentation etc. For health and safety in the workplace you should follow the regulations/ guidelines as specified by the equipment manufacturer, your company, national safety authorities and national governments. NOTE It is policy to review our study material in the light of changing technology and syllabus requirements. This means that books are re-written and/or updated on a regular basis. LBP 140 Narbeth Drive Aylesbury Bucks HP20 194 UK Te: (+ 44) 01296 433871 Fax: (+ 44) 01296 330697 Email: info@licencebypost.com Website: licencebypost.comCONTENTS The atmosphere Definitions ~ 1 Bernoulli Lift Definitions - 2 Lift augmentation Air resistance - drag The four forces Manoeuvres The axis Stability Dynamic stability Flutter Foreplanes Swept wings Delta wings Appendix ICAO standard atmosphere tables PAGE aA OM 14 17 29 32 38 39 45 48 49 50 51 52~~ HOW TO TACKLE THIS BOOK This book covers the complete syllabus for the JAR66 Module 8 Basic Aerodynamics and should be understood in it’s entirety for B1 and B2 technicians. The same goes for the category A mechanic except that he/she need not go into the subject to the same depth. This means that the mechanic need not try to remember any of the formulas nor try to understand the more complex vector diagrams. There is no need to remember details of scientists - these are included for interest only. ‘The appendix is added for reference only and details should not have to be remembered.)) THE ATMOSPHERE Before we consider how an aeroplane flies we must first look at the medium in which it operates - air. ‘The parameters of air (pressure, density and temperature) vary considerably both with height and geographical location around the world. The air is made up of approximately 21% oxygen (02) and 78% nitrogen (N) by volume, with the remaining 1% being made up from other gases. The ratios of the gases vary little with height although the moisture content drops with increase in altitude. Because of these variations and to allow standardisation and calibration of instruments and engine performance figures etc, a Standard Atmosphere has been devised. ‘This allows engines to be test run in, almost, any ambient conditions and the performance figures adjusted to standard atmospheric conditions ~ allowing the performance of one engine to directly compared to another. Pitot static operated instruments can be calibrated using the standard atmosphere and they can be set for flight using the same parameters (eg QNE on the altimeter). THE ICAO REGULATIONS CONCERNING A STANDARD ATMOSPHERE ‘The equations representing the relationship between meteorological and physical quantities satisfying the ICAO standard atmosphere are deduced on the basis of established meteorological and physical theory. It has been shown that the primary variables (pressure, temperature and density) of a standard atmosphere based upon certain simple assumptions were in fairly good agreement with average values observed at about latitude 40°N. Such a standard atmosphere may therefore be regarded as a suitable reference basis for certain parameters in free air (excluding those dependent on water vapour). The standard ICAO atmosphere is an arbitrary statement of conditions which is accepted as a basis of comparison of aircraft and engine performance and for the calibration of instruments. THE STANDARD ICAO ATMOSPHERE STATES THAT: THE AIR OF THE STANDARD ATMOSPHERE IS ASSUMED TO BE DRY. THE PRESSURE AT SEA LEVEL WILL BE 1013.25 MILLIBARS AT A TEMPERATURE OF 15°C AND THE TEMPERATURE LAPSE RATE WILL BE 1.98°C PER 1000 FEET UP TO A HEIGHT OF 36,090 FEET ABOVE WHICH THE TEMPERATURE WILL REMAIN CONSTANT AT -56.5°C TO 65,800 FEET. "G" WILL BE GIVEN A UNIFORM VALUE OF 9.81m/sec? AT SEA LEVEL. -1-For heights above 65,800 feet an extension to the ICAO law assuming a temperature lapse rate of approximately +0.303°C/ 1000 feet to -44,656°C at 105,000 feet was introduced in 1963. ‘The graph below shows graphically what has been stated above and also shows how the atmosphere has been divided into "layers". For those working on large aircraft the atmosphere is of interest up to say 60,000ft or so. For those working on small aircraft the atmosphere is not of much interest after say, 20,000ft. t= 2 ty ro Ze ws 8 = 50 2 < = 30 Tan RATURE - 56.4deaC ° rmomperschel_| ea as TEMP LAPSE a : Le Feurderund wn DENSITY ¢kgitm) 184000 GRAPH OF PRESSURE, TEMPERATURE & DENSITY AGAINST ALTITUDE) Pressure (force per unit area - Pa or psi or mb). Starts at 1013mb (14.7psi) at sea level and falls at a non-linear rate with altitude (the line on the graph is a curve). Losing most of its value at the lower altitudes so that at 18,000ft, for example, the pressure is halved to 506mb). Refer to the tables appendix 1. These pressure readings are absolute pressure readings. This means that if an ordinary pressure gauge is open to atmosphere it will read zero. To illustrate the point - checking a tyre pressure with it (say 30psi) the reading will be 30psi. This is called gauge pressure of the tyre. Its absolute pressure would be gauge pressure plus atmospheric pressure = 30 + 14.7 = 44.7psi absolute. Density (mass per unit volume - 1X/m). Starts at 1.2kg per metre cubed at sea level and falls at a similar rate to pressure, ie at a non linear rate. ‘Temperature. Starts at 15°C at sea level and falls at a rate of about 2°C (1.987 actual) per 1000 feet to 36,000 feet (11km). This is called the lapse rate which is linear to this altitude. It remains steady at about minus 56°C to 65,000 feet where it starts to rise. Humidity. The relative humidity falls with altitude. This is usually taken as a percentage of the total maximum humidity that the air will hold at a particular temperature. (For air conditioning purposes water is added to the air entering the cabin at altitude to counter the effect of the ambient dry air - low relative humidity). QUESTION: What does Pa, psi and mb mean? (10 mins) ANSWER: Pa is the SI unit of pressure called the PASCAL (Blais Pascal French mathematician 1623-1662). It is equal to 1N/m? where the N (Newton) is the SI unit of force and m (metre) the SI unit of length. It is very small - there is nearly 7000Pa to Ipsi (psi = pounds force per square inch). Going out of date in the UK but still the standard unit of pressure in the US. mb = millibar and is the standard unit of pressure when dealing with the atmosphere and instruments such as the altimeter etc. DEFINITIONS ‘The following definitions should be remembered. Fluid. A liquid or gas (and sometimes powders) that behave as a fluid.Incompressible Flow. Flow below sonic speed (the speed of sound - 762mph at sea ~ level) is assumed to be incompressible. Not strictly true but close enough for most practical purposes. At supersonic speeds the air is compressible. Bernoulli's equation (below) assumes incompressible flow and therefore only applies to subsonic speeds. If the aircraft was to fly at speeds approaching the speed of sound (Mcait and above) then shock waves would cause a large increase in drag (as well as buffeting etc). This process starts in the transonic speed range. Laminar Flow. Fluid flow in which the streamlines maintain a uniform parallel separation with no turbulence. Shown as parallel straight lines on a flow diagram. Stre line. An imaginary line marking the path of a particle of fluid from one point to another especially in laminar flow. Usually shown as a line with an arrow indicating direction. Turbulent Flow. Random motion of fluid with unpredictable fluctuations and vortices. There are no streamlines present. Airspeed. The speed of the aircraft through the air. Not usually the same as ground speed, for example: If the aircraft is flying through the air at 140 knots with a tail wind of 30 knots then its ground speed will be 140 + 30 = 170 knots. If the aircraft turns round and flies into wind then its ground speed is 140 - 30 = 110 knots. Hence the reason why aircraft always land into wind - the actual landing speed is reduced by the amount of head wind. NOTE. The knot is 1 nautical mile per hour and is a common term for speed in the nautical and aeronautical industry (1 nautical mile = 1.15 statute miles). 1 knot = 1.15mph = 1.85km/h = 0.514m/s BERNOULLI In incompressible flow it is assumed that the mass flow rate (cubic metres per second) through one part of a duct will be the same as any other part of the duct - assuming their are no losses. This means that if the duct area decreases the velocity will increase, and vice versa This can be verified by Bernoulli's Theorem. (Daniel Bernoulli Swiss physicist 1700 - 1782). He stated that the total sum of the energies in an incompressible fluid flow are constant provided losses are ignored. ~a r a The energies are: Positional or potential energy = pgh Kinetic energy = ¥apV? Pressure energy = P where density (kg m-') (pronounced “rho”} gravity (9.81 m s-*) height (m) - above a specified datum velocity (ms”') = static pressure (Pa or N m-*) 0 ws rm 0 Potential Energy is that energy stored in a mass at some height from a datum. With solids the mass is taken as m (kgs), with fluids it is usually taken as p(density - kg/m?) Kinetic Energy is the energy stored in a moving object. smV° for a solid and ¥apV? for fluids. Pressure Energy is energy stored as pressure (P). QUESTION: Define the term “energy” and state it’s SI unit. (5 mins) ANSWER: Energy is the ability to do work and it’s SI unit is the Joule (James Prescote Joule British physicist 1818-1889). 1J = 1Nx Im = 1 Nm. The joule is a very small unit. It would take about 10 joules of energy to lift a cup of tea (or coffee) in the process of having a drink. Ne ‘NRFLOW ee! 2 a Fig. 1 THE VENTURIVelocity /Area Relationship ~ To understand how an aerofoil works it is useful to first look at what happens to a slow speed (incompressible - below the speed of sound) flow through a contraction, or venturi, in a duct. One of the assumptions used when looking at incompressible flow is that the flow rate (cubic metres per second) through one part of the duct will be the same as any other part of the duct, ignoring any losses. There are some losses of course, but these are ignored. This means that if the duct area decreases, ie through a venturi, the velocity of the flow must increase to keep the total mass flow rate the same. Bernoulli states that the sum of the energies at position 1 in the duct shown in figure 1 are the same as the sum of the energies at position 2. This means that: pgh + ‘%4pV? + P = constant i so pgh. + %apV + Pi = pghe + Y4pV22+ Pa By inspection the fluid has to go faster at position 2 than position 1 (to maintain the same volume flow rate), so V at position 2 has to increase. This means that the sum of the terms on the right (pghe + %pV2. + P2) is bigger than the sum of the terms on the left and that can't be. So at least one of the terms on the right must reduce. On inspection pghs does not change - the centre line (h) is horizontal so P, must be lower than P, and the pressure drops. 2 This principle is used in the carburettor of a petrol engine and how an aerofoil obtains lift. It is also the principal of intake airspeed control of air entering a jet engine in a convergent/divergent duct. ‘The same analysis can be applied to an inclined duct of uniform cross section. As h changes so P changes in the opposite direction (if h increases so P reduces and the balance of the equation remains unchanged). If the air was to enter the convergent duct a speeds at or above the speed of sound then it would behave as if it was compressible, shock waves would form and at the convergence the velocity would decrease with a rise in pressure and density.LUFT The Venturi Effect When air passes through a tube which contracts to a throat, it can be shown by a simple experiment that the air pressure (called the Static Pressure) changes as the tube contracts. In fact the static pressure drops at the throat - where the air velocity is at its fastest. (Bernoulli's Theorem above) If we represent the streamlines of a flow of air through such a venturi we see that the streamlines are forced together where the speed is greatest and the pressure is smallest. VELOCITY INCREASES. STREAMLINES: AND PRESSURE DECREASES AIRFLOW DIRECTION | Fig. 2 AIRFLOW THROUGH A VENTURI If the two sides of the venturi are free to move they will move together as the pressure drops. If we reverse the venturi sides then we put the low pressure areas on the outside of the shape and we have the makings of an aerofoil. ici veLocry ano. LOW PRESSURE AREAS ARFLOW Fig. 3 SYMMETRICAL AEROFOILThe Aerofoil ~ ‘The previous drawing shows a symmetrical aerofoil (some aircraft are fitted with these}, but the more usual aerofoil is asymmetric. (If a symmetrical aerofoil is used it is usually set at a positive angle of incidence to produce lift). ‘The top surface of an asymmetric aerofoil usually has a good convex camber with the bottom surface being nearly flat, or in some cases having a slight concave surface. This type of aerofoil will produce a negative pressure on the top surface and a positive pressure on the bottom surface. In general about 2/3rds of the lift is produced from the top surface and about 1/3rd from the bottom. The pressure distribution is as shown in figure 4 with each vector line in the drawing indicating the amount of lift produced from that part of the aerofoil. These can be added together (mathematically or by drawing) to give one Total Air Reaction vector acting from the Centre of Pressure - this about 1/3rd from the leading edge. > NEGATE PRESSURE ‘The nas ae dawn 2 oor logs and are ebisne ying Bont win i ser ea ‘Sawing moat AIRFLOW, Posmive PRESSURE Fig. 4 PRESSURE DISTRIBUTION AROUND AN AEROFOIL oO The total air reaction can be organised into its component vectors - lift and drag. ‘The lift vector always acts at right angles to the airflow (or free-stream flow) and the drag vector always acts at right angles to the lift vector and in line with the airflow. QUESTION: What is a Vector? (5 mins) ANSWER: Itisa line representing a quantity which has direction. A line is drawn to scale the length of which represents the value of the quantity (eg, - velocity or force) and the direction of the line represents the direction in which the quantity acts. ~It can TODA AR REACTION c fe Fig. 5 LIFT AND DRAG VECTORS woe fogs HOR UNE vp wasi STAGNATION on RANG rOce woe Fig. 6 AN AEROFOIL be shown that the lift produced by an aerofoil is related to: * Its shape and angle of attack (C:) * The air density (9) * The air velocity (V) * The plan wing area (A) and lift is calculated by: where LIFT = CiapV7 C. is found by experimentation and is related mainly to aerofoil shape. A higher C, means greater lift. It is just a number which is called a coefficient. _ is the air density (1.2 kg/m? at sea level). The lower the altitude of the aircraft the greater is the density and the more the lift is created - all other parameters being fixed.V is the air velocity. With an increase in speed more lift is created. Nn. fact the lift is related to the square of speed. For example, if the speed is doubled the lift is increased four-fold A is related to wing area. In general the greater the wing area the greater the lift. Some More Definitions: Angle of Attack. This is the angle between the chord line of the aerofoil and the free-stream flow. If a symmetrical aerofoil is given a positive angle of attack the speed of the airflow over the top surface increases - and the suction increases, and the speed of the airflow under the aerofoil decreases - and the pressure increases. Hence lift is produced. 4 For an asymmetric aerofoil lift can be generated at zero angle of attack and even at small negative angles of attack. This means that for a given airspeed lift increases with an increase in angle of attack ~ but only up to the stalling angle (usually 15° for a “clean” wing). This increased angle will also increase upwash and downwash ~ and drag of course. N01 OF ACK THETA) ELAINE SS Fig. 7 ANGLE OF ATTACK . Angle of Incidence. The angle the chord line makes with the longitudinal datum line of the aircraft. Fixed for most aircraft wings but variable for many aircraft tailplanes. The angle of incidence may change from root to tip. If it increases it is said to wash in, if it decreases it is said to wash out. Centre of Pressure. All the pressure differences between the top and bottom surfaces of the aerofoil can be added together to produce the Total Air Reaction which can be considered to act at a point called the Centre of Pressure (C of P). : As the angle of attack increases and the pressure distribution changes, the position of the C of P moves forward, usually reaching a point about % chord jength from the leading edge at the stalling angle. After the stalling angle has been passed it moves rapidly back to about mid-chord position. ~ -10- =y » Chordline. A straight imaginary line joining the centre of curvature of the leading edge of an aerofoil section to the trailing edge. Downwash. An area behind the trailing edge of an aerofoil where the airflow tends to move downwards. Fineness Ratio. The ratio between the maximum depth of the aerofoil and the chord length. Mean Aerodynamic Chord. Close to Mean Chord. Chord of imaginary wing of constant aerofoil section producing the same forces (lift and drag) as those produced by an actual wing. Mean Camber Line. An imaginary line drawn from the centre of curvature or the leading edge to the trailing edge of an aerofoil, but equidistant from the top and bottom surfaces. This is the same as the chord line on a symmetrical aerofoil but will be curved on an asymmetric aerofoil. Mean Chord. Average chord length found by dividing the gross wing area (wing tip to wing tip) in plan view, by the span (wing tip to wing tip). Stagnation Point. A minute area in front of the leading edge of an aerofoil where the airflow is brought to rest and has zero velocity in relation to the aerofoil. It is said that a particle of air stays at this point for the duration of the flight. As the aerofoil changes angle of attack it does not, so if the angle of attack increases the stagnation point moves down relative to the aerofoil leading edge and vice versa. Upwash. An area in front of the leading edge of an aerofoil where the airflow tends to move upwards. CENTRE OF LIFT CENTRE OF PRESSURE Fig. 8 CENTRE OF PRESSURE -ll-(: Alterations of Lift and Drag with Angle of Attack ( The lift and drag of an aerofoil depends on three factors: (a) The lift and drag equations. (b) The angle of attack, and (c) The wing configuration - for fixed wing aircraft the use of slats and flaps affect lift and drag considerably. Increase in angle of attack will result in an increase in the amount of lift produced but with an attendant increase in drag - but this is only true up to a point. The angle at which lift reaches its maximum is just before the stalling angle - after this lift will decrease rapidly and drag will rise sharply. Stalling Angle As the angle of attack increases so the airflow has more difficulty in remaining laminar on the top surface. There is often a Transition Point on the top of the aerofoil where the airflow changes from laminar to turbulent, and this may be the case for the whole speed range of the flight. But as the angle of attack increases so this point will move forward. ~ LAMINAR FLOW, TURBULENT FLOW ) C Gy » G © SOC wen Fig. 9 AEROFOIL STALLING a) AEROFONL At approximately 15° angle of attack, the airflow can no longer remain laminar on the top surface of the aerofoil and it will break away and become turbulent. This will destroy the lift in this area and the drag will increase sharply. At this point the aerofoil is said to stall. The aerofoil is no longer able to support the aircraft weight and it will loose height rapidly. Lift Curve If we plot the lift produced against the angle of attack then the following graph will result. Notice how the lift increases steadily as the angle of attack increases ~ up to 15° when the wing stalls. -12-y LIFT COEFFICIENT 0 9 15 ANGLE OF ATTACK ° GRAPH OF ANGLE OF ATTACK (0) AGAINST LIFT COEFFICIENT (C;) At the point where the wing stalls the aircraft will lose height rapidly. Buffeting might occur due to turbulent air from the wings hitting other parts of the aircraft such as the tailplane. One wing might stall before the other making the aircraft roll whilst losing height. If the outer part of the wing stalls before the inner part then the turbulent air from the stalled area of the wing would affect the ailerons. The pilot would lose roll control during the stall and this could lead to the aircraft approaching a spin condition — not a pleasant state of affairs. To help to prevent this a fixed “stall bar” or “stall spoiler” is fitted to the leading edge of the inboard part of the wing (on some aircraft). This causes the inboard part of the wing to stall before the outer part, during the stall process, so helping the pilot to maintain roll control during the stall. To recover from a stall the pilot must regain airspeed and control of the aircraft. To do this he/she pushes the control column forward and opens up the throttles. The aircraft will lose height, with the altimeter “winding off” quickly and the airspeed will start to increase, with the airspeed indicator (ASI) increasing slowly. It is to be hoped that there is enough altitude to allow sufficient airspeed increase before the altimeter indicates too low an altitude and the GPWS (Ground Proximity Warning System) alarm sounds. When the airspeed has increased sufficiently the pilot can regain control of the aircraft; pull the control column back, noting the slowing-up of the rate of descent; and adjusting the throttles. isePrior to the stall, the stall warning system should have provided a visual and ~ aural warning and the “stick shaker” and/or “stick nudger” to operate - so the pilot should have time to prevent the stall before it started. (For further information on these systems see modules 11 and 13 as appropriate). On swept wing aircraft, if the outer wing (towards the wing tip) stalls before the inner wing then this lose of lift may cause a nose up pitching moment. This is because this part of the wing may be behind the centre of gravity on the longitudinal axis and this lift element would be causing a nose down couple. With it removed (as in an outer wing stall) the nose may pitch up momentarily. LIFT AUGMENTATION Lift is increased for landing and take-off by the use of leading edge slats and trailing edge flaps. Lift can be increased in flight by: * Increasing the airspeed - throttles/thrust levers. * Increasing the angle of attack - elevators. * Increasing the effective camber of the mean camber line ~ flaps - leading edge devices. * Increasing the stalling angle - some flaps and leading edge devices. * Increasing the wing area - Fowler type flaps. * Using the ailerons as flaps. Using the ailerons in a combined roll setting them both partly down for take-off and landing, whilst the pilot still has differential movement for roll control. Lift augmentation generally refers to leading and trailing edge devices, which means flaps, slats etc. A Clean Wing a) Figure 10 shows an aerofoil section of a clean wing - every thing either in or up ~ landing gear, flaps, slats, spoilers etc. Notice the Mean Camber Line (MCL). If we can make this more cambered or make it longer (bigger wing area) then lift will be increased. MEAN CAMBER LINE (MCL) Fig. 10 A CLEAN WING -14- -») Figure 11 shows that the effective MCL (EMCL) becomes more cambered when flaps are lowered, which means lift is increased - by about 60% in fact. The stalling angle is not affected significantly. The drawing shows a split flap, but the same is true for all types of flap with the Fowler type producing the best EMCL. Fig, 11 SPLIT FLAP Figure 12 shows a Fowler type flap which not only goes down when selected but also travels rearward (on tracks). This means that the wing area is increased as well as the camber of the MCL. The increase in lift for this type of flap is up to 90% - that means, nearly double the lift for that section of the wing. ‘The double slotted Fowler uses an additional small slat type aerofoil in front of the main flap to direct air over the top of the main flap to help to prevent it from stalling - similar to a slat. This means that this type of flap produces up to 100% more lift with an increase in the stalling angle to 20° Fig. 12 FOWLER TYPE FLAP ‘AIRFLOW SWEEPS TOP OF FLAP CLEAR OF TURBULENCE oN Fig. 13 DOUBLE SLOTTED FOWLER FLAP Some Fowler flaps have an additional hinged surface on the trailing edge that moves down when the flaps are lowered ~ thus increasing the lift still further. -15-Figure 14 shows a Krueger flap. It is hinged forward to increase the camber of the — EMCL, and it also increases the wing area. Popular on the inboard sections of mainplanes of many large airliners, it increases the lift by about 50% with an ~ increase in the stalling angle to 25°. Fig. 14 KRUEGER FLAP ‘The slat increases the EMCL as well as the wing area but its main advantage is 4 that it controls the boundary layer on top of the wing. At high angles of attack the ~ air flows through the gap to be directed along the top of the wing. This airflow “sweeps” any turbulent air away and holds the stall off until about 22°. The lift increase is about 60%. AIRFLOW SWEEPS TOP OF AEROFOIL CLEAR OF TURBULENCE oe Fig. 15 THE SLAT On some small aircraft the slats may be fixed; on others they may be automatic - sucked out at high angles of attack against a spring. On large aircraft they are powered and selected by the pilot, often when the flaps are selected. Combination of Slat/Flap If slats and flaps are deployed together - which they usually are ~ the increase in performance is up to: * Lift - 120%. * Stalling angle - nearly 30° (double the normal stalling angle). -16-y 5) Symmetry All trailing edge and leading edge lift devices must operate symmetrically (ie the flaps/slats on the right wing move at the same speed and to the same distance as the flaps/slats on the left wing). If asymmetric operation was to occur then a violent roll would ensue - which would be uncontrollable (it has happened, and it has killed people). The aircraft is fitted with systems to prevent asymmetric operation such as a common drive system for port and starboard flaps/slats and an asymmetric detection system that will stop the systems immediately any asymmetry is detected (and warn the pilot) Drag Any device placed into the airflow will cause drag and this applies to flaps and slats, so they are designed to produce as little drag as possible. But if flaps are lowered to a large angle then they can be used to reduce the speed of the aircraft. If flaps/slats are lowered at excessive airspeed then they would be damaged by the airflow so devices are fitted to the aircraft to prevent them being lowered if the aircraft is travelling too fast. AIR RESISTANCE (DRAG) We do not need any scientific evidence that moving air produces a pressure on an object. This pressure is called Dynamic Pressure and can be produced equally by: * Air moving against a stationary object - wind blowing against a tree for example. * An object moving through the air - a moving car (or aircraft) for example. STATIONARY opvecT MOVING AIR Movin OBJECT STATIONARY AIR = Fig. 16 AIR RESISTANCE -17-Calculation of Dynamic Pressure ~ Part of the drag equation is made up from the formula for Dynamic Pressure. ~ Dynamic Pressure varies with: * Density. (p) The greater the density of a moving fluid the greater the pressure it will cause when it comes to rest. + Velocity. (V) Dynamic pressure is found to be related to the square of the velocity ie, double the velocity and the dynamic pressure will increase by four times. Mathematically written as: q = %pv? Cs where q = dynamic pressure Drag can be divided into Profile Drag and Induced Drag. Profile Drag ‘The drag that an object experiences in moving air depends on: The density (p) The velocity (V2) It’s frontal area (A) It's shape, surface finish and external surface area (Cs) ‘The first three parameters (p, V? & A) can be obtained by measurement, the last _j one is obtained by experiment, and is called the Drag Coefficient. Drag coefficients start at 1 for a flat plate at 90° to the airflow, and get as low as 0.01 for a streamlined shape. Mathematically written as: Drag = Co¥spV2A Note that the equation includes the dynamic equation (q). QUESTION: Thinking of density only, how much drag would be produced if an object was moved through water as opposed to air? (in qualitative terms) (5 mins) ~ -18-y y ”y ANSWER: Water has a density (p) of 1000kg/m? and air (at sea level) is 1.2 kg/ms, So the drag would be approximately 1000 times greater. (Try walking through water in a swimming pool and compare the effort to that required to walk through air). Profile drag can be divided into Form Drag, Skin Friction and Parasite drag. DRAG PROFILE INDUCED PARASITE FORM SKIN FRICTION Profile drag is associated with the whole aircraft moving through the air and increases as the square of speed. Induced drag is associated with the production of lift and is opposite to profile drag in that it decreases with the square of speed ~ more of this later. Parasite Drag Part of profile drag. An older term associated with all the non lifting parts of the aircraft (fuselage, fin etc). Form Drag Also part of profile drag and is related to the shape of the body. A flat plate produces a lot more form drag (Co = 1) than a streamline shape with the same frontal area (Co = 0.01). x (COEFFICIENT = 1 Ce Lone WAKE Fig. 17 FLAT PLATE AIRFLOW ¢ CeThe flat plate and the streamline shape shown below have the same frontal area. at ‘The flat plate produces more disturbance to the airflow (the greatest change in velocity), while the streamline shape tends to keep the airflow around it in a laminar condition. hp == Fig. 18 FLAT PLATE WITH ‘NOSE’ ADDED LUTTUE OR No TURBULENCE Ave v fea ANO A VERY SMALL WAKE ~ - DRAG | aN ae "TAIL SECTION IS WHEN REOUCNG DRAG COMPARED TO THE NOSE. SECTION Fig. 19 FLAT PLATE WITH ‘NOSE’ AND ‘TAIL’ ADDED Note. The shape of the "tail" is just as important as the "nose" of an object in reducing turbulence. Skin Friction Also part of profile drag. This is associated with the Boundary Layer. When air passes over a body the molecules closest to the surface stick to the surface. The next layer of molecules pass over the first layer - but slowly. The next layer passes over the second layer a little faster - and so it goes on, layer by layer, until we reach the free-stream flow. This sluggish low energy layer of slow moving air is called the Boundary Layer. This boundary layer is viscous with low energy levels and will adversely affect flying control surfaces, engine performance - if it gets into intakes, and the performance of aerofoils. This layer of air is bled away from engine intakes, and on some aerofoils Vortex Generators are fitted to move the free-stream flow down into the boundary layer in an attempt to liven it up and give it more energy. ~ - 20- vy Laois eoce ee r ‘Top suarace OF WING Fig. 20 VORTEX GENERATORS -~ PLAN VIEW OF WING Some Airbus A340s are fitted with a riblet film to aerofoils and fuselage, which are microgrooves to help reduce skin friction caused by the boundary layer. The boundary layer may be Imm thick or several millimetres thick. The thicker it is the worse it is. The thickness is affected by several parameters: * The further the air has to pass down the surface of a body the thicker the boundary layer becomes. ‘The rougher the surface the thicker the boundary layer. * If the boundary layer gets too thick then it can become turbulent - increasing it’s depth still further. * The slower the airflow the thicker the boundary layer - in general. r FREE-STREAM ¢ Flow BOUNDARY LAYER Fig. 21 BOUNDARY LAYER The boundary layer problems can be reduced by: * Having smooth highly polished wings, fuselage, tail and flying control r surfaces - reducing boundary layer thickness. a -21-* Bleeding away the boundary layer through many small surface air ~ inlets on the wings using vacuum pressure - experimental aircraft usually. * Giving it more energy by mixing free-stream airflow into the boundary layer air using vortex generators. * Bleeding boundary layer air away from engine intakes that are close to the fuselage, or designing the intake so that it is away from the surface of the fuselage. The ideal arrangement is to have no boundary layer at all, but this is not possible, so the thinner, and more laminar it is, the better. As the air passes over the wing so it starts to get turbulent at a point towards the |, trailing edge. This Transition Point is usually close to the trailing edge but will 7 move forward as the angle of attack is increased and if the boundary layer gets too thick. During the stall it moves well forward to produce a very turbulent region of air on the top of the wing Induced Drag So far the drag that we have been dealing with increases with the square of speed. The faster the aircraft flies the greater it becomes - significantly, ie double the speed and the profile drag increases four fold. With Induced Drag it is the opposite - the faster the aircraft flies the less it becomes. It is caused by the lift generated by the wings. NEGATIVE PRESSURE (= —=) Fig. 22 INDUCED DRAG - AIR MOVEMENT OVER THE WINGTIPS +44 +++ POSITIVE PRESSURE oory » cr > ‘As you know the pressure on top of the wing is negative whilst the pressure underneath is positive. This is true of both a wing and a helicopter rotor blade. As the wing separates the two areas of positive and negative pressure, they cannot equalise - except at the wing tips. Here the air under the wing “spills over” the wing tip to move into the area of low pressure on top of the wing. This creates wing tip vortices which use energy which ultimately comes from the aircraft engines — and costs fuel (like all drag). As these vortices spill over the wing tip the air pressure drops and so does the temperature, and under some atmospheric conditions this causes the moisture to condense and vapour trails are produced. Induced drag is a penalty we pay for the production of lift, but there are ways of keeping it to a minimum. QUESTION: Can you think of any? (15 mins) ANSWER: Refer to the following paragraphs. Speed, With an increase in speed induced drag is reduced - but some aircraft can't fly fast, such as gliders, so they are stuck with this one. The effect of speed means that the air does not have time to move spanwise to spill over the wing tip ~ it is “pushed” too quickly chordwise over the trailing edge. AIRFLOW OVER THE WING AIRFLOW UNDER THE WING INCLINATION ANGLE INCREASES TOWARDS THE TIP ANGLES SHOWN EXAGGERATED Fig. 23 AIRFLOW OVER/UNDER THE WING Reducing Angle of Attack. Induced drag is at its greatest at high angles of attack. ‘Again we can't always change the angle of attack just to reduce the induced drag. The effect of a large angle of attack is to increase the pressure difference between the top and bottom of the wing and therefore increase the induced drag. - 23 -Winglets. A winglet helps prevent the air from spilling over the wing tip. Some - aircraft have a winglet fitted beneath the wing tip, others on top, and some top LU and bottom. Some aircraft - the Boeing 777 for example - don't have them at all. So the case for them is not as clear-cut as it appears. LEADING EDGE FIXED SPOILERS. Fig. 24 WINGLETS It is interesting to note that even winglets will produce both profile and induced drag. Some aircraft use wing tip fuel tanks and other attachments at the tips to help reduce induced drag. Note. Figure 24 shows an aircraft with winglets and also leading edge Fixed Spoilers or Stall Strips. With swept wing aircraft there is a tendency for the wing tips to stall first which is not a good idea as this means loss of lateral control {ailerons), so some aircraft are fitted with inboard leading edge spoilers. These are triangular shaped devices fitted to the leading edge so as stall is approached they cause that section of the wing to stall first. During the stall the pilot will still have lateral control as the outer part of the wing where the ailerons are are un-stalled and the air is still laminar. Increasing Aspect Ratio. Aspect ratio is defined as the number of times the average chord length divides into the wing span. When a wing is designed it is made to withstand a certain “load per unit area” (total mass of the aircraft divided by the gross wing area in plan view). This is called Wing Loading. -24-y ») HIGH ASPECT RATIO WING AIRCRAFT 1 / TOTAL WING SPAN WING CHORD FUSELAGE WING AREA = 170 10 \ ASPECT RATIO #170310= 17 LOW ASPECT NRCRAFT 2 ‘TOTAL WING SPAN RATIO WING WING CHORD WING AREA® 19705 = 1700 sqft ASPECT RATIO = 8619843 WING PLAN FORM OF TWO AIRCRAFT WITH THE SAME WING AREA Fig. 25 ASPECT RATIO Wing loading will effect stalling speed, maximum aircraft speed, gliding distance, aircraft performance etc, so other parameters are also used when calculating the wing loading of an aircraft and hence wing area. We are only concerned with induced drag here, and for a given wing area the aspect ratio can be changed by changing the wing span. Figure 25 shows two aircraft with the same wing area and hence wing loading (if we assume both aircraft are the same basic weight), but the aircraft with the higher aspect ratio wing has smaller wing tips and hence will have less induced drag because there is less wing tip for the air to flow over. In general, aircraft that fly slowly, such as gliders, will have high induced drag and there-fore will have high aspect ratio wings to help keep this drag as low as possible. High speed aircraft will have low aspect ratio wings because their induced drag is not high (at high speed). Wing Fences As the air under the wing tends to spill out over the tip it produces a span-wise movement from root to tip. Similarly as the air comes over the top of the wing tip a span-wise component is produced on the top from tip to root. -25-On swept wings there is a tendency for the air to move spanwise towards the tips. =~ To try to counter these problems some aircraft have wing fences fitted. These are strips of metal up to a foot high (30cm) running parallel to the airflow usually fitted on the top of the wing running from the leading edge to about 2/3 rds chord length Fitted to the top surface of some swept winged aircraft, to promote correct airflow direction in front of ailerons to ensure correct airflow direction over the control surface. Drag Curve Ifa graph is plotted of profile drag against angle of attack then the following graph. 4 results. ~~ As you can see, as the angle of attack increases so the drag increases. DRAG COEFFICIENT ANGLE OF ATTACK GRAPH OF ANGLE OF ATTACK AGAINST DRAG COEFFICIENT ~ Lift/Drag Ratio Graph With any aerofoil we want as much lift as possible with as little drag as possible ~ in other words we want a good Lift/Drag (L/D) ratio. This is obtained by dividing the lift obtained at a particular angle of attack by the drag produced (dividing the lift vector by the drag vector) - thus giving the L/D ratio for that angle of attack. If we did this for each angle of attack we could then plot each ratio with its corresponding angle of attack on a graph. 6) ‘The graph below shows the curve produced, and indicates a point of interesting at about 4° angle of attack. This is known as the Optimum Angle of Attack. ‘This is the angle that produces the best L/D ratio and so the optimum cruise angle. It is the angle the wing is fixed to the fuselage, or there-abouts - the Angle of Incidence. LIFT/DRAG RATIO 1 ' \ ° 5 o 4 15 20 ANGLE OF ATTACK * GRAPH OF L/D RATIO AGAINST ANGLE OF ATTACK Although many large aircraft fly with the fuselage at a slight angle of attack when in straight and level flight as this will also produce some lift. If induced drag and profile drag are plotted against speed on the one graph then the total drag is found. Where the total is at a minimum - this is the speed where the total drag is least and the speed that will give the aircraft it’s greatest range for a specific volume of fuel used. TOTAL MINIMUM DRAG DRAG |_—— MAXIMUM RANGE SPEED iL r LY] : oRAGHN 4 - Leora a 7 RAS aE peasy Hora i % 50 100 «150 200250 300 8 AIRSPEED kis GRAPH OF INDUCED & PROFILE DRAG AGAINST AIRSPEED -27-q Induced Drag - Conclusion Is inversely proportional to the square of speed and is caused by the production of litt It can be reduced by: Increasing the airspeed. Reducing the angle of attack. Increasing the aspect ratio. Preventing spanwise motion of the airflow - wing fences. Reducing tip spillage - tip tanks - winglets - wash-out. Reducing wing tip size by the use of well rounded wing tips. 4 i 4 Profile Drag - Conclusion Caused by the relative movement between air (or any fluid for that matter) and a body. Is proportional to the square of speed (unlike induced drag), and is calculated from the equation: Profile Drag = Co¥apV2S Lift - Conclusion Is created by the relative movement of air and an aerofoil, with about 2/3rds being obtained from the top surface and !/grd from the bottom surface. ‘The equation for lift is similar to the drag equation, being made up from the dynamic equation with some extra parameters included, eg: a) Lift = C.%pv2s Where Ci = Coefficient of lift - obtained by experiment. Co = Coefficient of drag - also obtained by experiment. p = Density - 1.2kg/m? at sea level. V_ = Velocity - in m/s. S = Gross wing area - this is the whole of the wing, including that part that might be considered to be the fuselage. -28-y THE FOUR FORCES ‘The important forces acting on an aerofoil in flight are lift and drag. However, when considering the aircraft as a whole there are other forces to be taken into consideration. The other two important forces are: * Weight * Thrust Lift This force is provided mainly by the wing of a fixed wing aircraft and some lift by the fuselage, and on some aircraft a small amount is provided by the tailplane. It acts at right angles to the free-stream flow through the centre of pressure. Drag This acts backwards at right angles to the lift and resists the forward motion of the aircraft. It opposes thrust and acts through the aircraft's centre of drag. Thrust For most aircraft this is provided by accelerating a mass of air backwards either by a propeller or a jet engine. And according to Newton's 2nd and 3rd laws of motion this produces thrust to propel the aircraft forward. It acts through the centre line of the jet engine or the propeller spinner. When more than one engine is fitted to an aircraft the sum of all the engine thrusts can be calculated to produce one thrust line to act through the centre of thrust, Weight (Mass) ‘This always acts downwards, unlike the other forces that act relative to the aircraft. All the mass of the aircraft is said to act through the Centre of Gravity (C of G) of the aircraft. oor¢ Arrangement of the Four Forces These are so arranged on the aircraft as to make it reasonably stable. In straight and level flight at constant speed with no turning moments (an equilibrium condition) THRUST « DRAG and WEIGHT = LIFT They are equal and opposite. Although they are opposite in direction they may not be exactly opposite in position The angle of attack is adjusted to make the lift equal to the weight, if it is greater the aircraft will climb. If it is less the aircraft will descend. The engine thrust is adjusted to make it equal to the drag, if it is greater then the aircraft will increase speed ~ if it is less the aircraft’s speed will decrease. ~ “Ideal” Arrangement ‘The drawing below shows the “ideal” arrangement of the forces. Not all aircraft are like this. For various reasons some aircraft have to have their forces in a less than an ideal arrangement ~ seaplanes for example have a high thrust line ~ to keep the engines out of the water. NOSE UP COUPLE WEIGHT Fig. 26 THE “IDEAL” ARRANGEMENT OF THE FOUR FORCES -30- -