PROBLEMS Chapter 3 Introduction to Aircraft Technology

USE: g0 = 9.81 m/s2

p0 = 101325 N/m2 (= 1 atmosphere)
T0 = 288.16 K
ρ0 = 1.225 kg/m3
R = 287 J/kgK
NOTE: Use the .xls sheet provided on BB, or program the SA formulas yourself in e.g. Matlab.
Do not use Tables in Appendix A or B, unless stated otherwise.

3.1 Plot the pressure, temperature and density as a function of the geometrical height hG. for heights
between sea level and 20 km (Use Matlab or something else to produce the plot). Use for this
the formulas derived in this chapter and check for 4 heights the values given in Appendix A.

3.2 At 12 km (geopotential) in the standard atmosphere, the pressure, density, and temperature are
1.9399 x 104 N/m2, 3.1194 x 10-1 kg/m3, and 216.66 K, respectively. Using these values,
calculate the standard atmospheric values of pressure, density, and temperature at an altitude of
18 km (geopotential), and check with the standard altitude tables.

3.3 Consider an airplane flying at some real altitude. The outside pressure and temperature are 2.65
x 104 N/m2 and 220 K, respectively. What are the pressure and density altitudes?

3.4 During a flight test of a new airplane, the pilot radios to the ground that she is in level flight at a
standard geopotential altitude of 11500 m. What is the ambient air pressure far ahead of the
airplane?

3.5 Consider an airplane flying at a pressure altitude of 11000 m and a density altitude of 10700 m.
Calculate the outside air temperature.

3.6 At what value of the geometric altitude is the difference h - hG equal to 2 percent of the
geopotential altitude, h?

3.7 Using Toussaint's formula, T = 15 – 0.0065h, with T in degrees Celsius and h the geopotential
height in meters, calculate the pressure at a geopotential altitude of 5 km.

3.8 The atmosphere of Jupiter is essentially made up of hydrogen, H 2 . For H2 , the specific
gas constant is 4157 J/(kg)(K). The acceleration of gravity of Jupiter is 24.9 m/s 2 .
Assuming an isothermal atmosphere with a temperature of 150 K, and assuming that
Jupiter has a definable surface, calculate the altitude above that surface where the pressure
is one-half the surface pressure.

3.9 An F-15 supersonic fighter aircraft is in a rapid climb. At the instant it passes through a
standard altitude of 8500 m (geopotential), its time rate of change of geopotential altitude
is 165 m/s, which by definition is the rate of climb, discussed in Chap. 6. Corresponding
to this rate of climb at 8500 m is a time rate of change of ambient pressure. Calculate this
rate of change of pressure in units of Newtons per square meter per second.
3.10 Assume that you are ascending in an elevator at sea level. Your eardrums are very sensitive to
minute changes in pressure. In this case, you are feeling a one-percent decrease in pressure per
minute. Calculate the upward speed of the elevator in meters per minute.

3.11 Consider an airplane flying at an altitude where the pressure and temperature are 25375 N/m2
and 216 K, respectively. Calculate the pressure and density altitudes at which the airplane is
flying.

3.12 Using the equations derived in this chapter calculate the temperature, pressure and density of air
at a geopotential height of 10000 m. Compare these values to the values given in the Appendix.

3.13 Using the equations derived in this chapter calculate the temperature, pressure and density of air
at a geopotential height of 5000 m. Compare these values to the values given in the Appendix.

3.14 Using the equations derived in this chapter calculate the temperature, pressure and density of air
at a geopotential height of 15000 m. Compare these values to the values given in the Appendix.

3.15 If the water in a lake is everywhere at rest, what is the pressure as a function of the distance
from the surface? The air above the surface of the lake is at standard atmospheric conditions.
How far down must one go before the pressure is 1 atm greater than the pressure at the surface?
Hint: Use Eq. (3.2) on page 105.

3.16 Consider a large rectangular-shaped tank of water open to the atmosphere, 3 m deep, with walls
of length 10 m each. When the tank is filled to the top with water, calculate the force exerted on
the side of each wall in contact with the water. The tank is located at sea level and take g = g0.
(Note: The density of water is 1000 kg/m3).
Hint: Use the hydrostatic equation.

3.17 A discussion of the entry of a space vehicle into the earth's atmosphere after it has completed its
mission in space is given in Chap. 8. An approximate analysis of the vehicle motion and
aerodynamic heating during atmospheric re-entry assumes an approximate atmospheric model
called the "exponential atmosphere," where the air density variation with altitude is assumed to
be

 e  g h / RT
0

0

where ρ0 is the sea-level density and h is the geometric altitude measured above sea level. This
equation is only an approximation for the density variation with altitude throughout the whole
atmosphere, but its simple form makes it very useful for approximate analyses. Using this
equation, calculate the density at a geometric altitude of 45 km. Compare your result with the
actual value of density from the standard altitude tables. In the above equation, assume T = 240
K (a reasonable representation for the value of the temperature between sea level and 45 km,
which you can see by scanning down the standard atmosphere table).