Basic Aerodynamics

Assignment_module 8
Ms. Anadika Beghel

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 Introduction
In this assignment, you will find different air atmosphere characteristics, aerodynamic concepts
and associated terms, flight forces and their effect on aircraft performance, which will enable you
to understand how aircraft are influenced by aerodynamics and how important it is to design an
aircraft.

What is aerodynamics

Aerodynamics is one of the most study important subjects that you must
study it when you entering any of the fields of aviation, and it is a science that
studies how air deals with and effect on the plane and how the aircraft
overcomes the gravity and drag while its moves in the air and many
conditions that face the aerodynamics of aircraft. All of this you will learn it
while you study aerodynamics.

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Contact table ....................................................................(3)

Cover sheet.................................................……………...................................(1)
Introduction.......................................................................................................(2)
Task 1 (A)...........................................................................................................(4)
Task 1(B,C).........................................................................................................(5)
Task 1(D)............................................................................................................(6)
Task 2 (q1&q2).......................…………………………………………………(7)
Task 2(q3,4,5).....................................................................................................(8)
Task 2 (q6,7,8,9,10)............................................................................................(9)
Task 2(q11,12,13,14,15,16)..............................................................................(10)
Task 2(q17,18,19,20)........................................................................................(11)
Task 2(B1,B2,B3)..............................................................................................(12)
Task 2(B4).........................................................................................................(13)
Task 3 (A&B)...................................................................................................(14)
Task 3(C&D)....................................................................................................(15)
Task 3(E)...........................................................................................................(16)
Conclusion ......................................................................................................(17)
References........................................................................................................(18)

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Task 1

A. Describing the composition and layers of the atmosphere with the support of a diagram.

• The atmosphere is the layers surrounding our planet earth , also called (air).
It consists of a mixture of gases and foreign gasses Such as )pollen, dust, bacteria and soot ).
The Most abundant gas in the atmosphere is NITROGEN ,then Oxygen is the Second most
abundant gas in the atmosphere ,and a small percentage of other gases (such as Argon , Carbon
Dioxide ..).

Where they represent....

❖ 78% of NITROGEN
❖ 21% of oxygen
❖ 1% of others gasses

Figure )1)

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The physical composition of the atmosphere , is classified to five main layer based on
temperature and altitude .
Theses layers are ....

❖ Troposphere
❖ Tropopause
❖ Stratosphere
❖ Mesosphere
❖ Thermosphere
Figure (2)

Note: Only in the troposphere and the lowest region of the stratosphere can aircraft fly.

B. Explaining the nature, use and importance of the International Standard Atmosphere
(ISA) with charts/diagrams that will aid in understanding
the ISA.

ISA: as the atmosphere, pressure, and density differ from

place to place and from day to day, it is important to establish
a standard set of conditions in which an aircraft's preference
can be measured. For this reason, a typical international
standard atmosphere was adopted. It was developed to
provide a standard reference for temperature and pressure
with a table of values over a range of altitudes.

Figure (3)

C. Defining the following ISA parameters with plots in relation to the altitude and their sea
level standard values i.e.

a. Temperature, temperature lapse rate

• The temperature at sea level would be 15 c (59f) .
• With the rise in altitude by lap rate, it will decrease.

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• The lapse rate is that the temperature change decreases by 2c per 1000 feet at various altitudes.

b. Pressure
• The weight of air above any surface cusses pressure at that surface.
• The average pressure at sea-level is 14.7 psi (1013.25 gap)
• Pressure is inversely proportional with altitude.(The higher we climb, the lower the pressure
will be.)

c. Density
• Is described as a mass per unit of volume of substance.
• Sea level is 1225 kilograms per cubic meter (0.07647 IB/cu ft).

D. Acceleration due to gravity, dynamic viscosity, speed of sound

• Acceleration du to gravity is 9.8 𝑚⁄𝑠 2
• Dynamic viscosity , at sea-level is 1.789 × 10− 5𝑝𝑎. 𝑠
• Speed of sound, at sea level is 1100 feet/sec . Sound travel slowly in high altitude due the
reduce of temperature speed .

D. Describing the

a. pressure and temperature effects of altitude.

Altitude Temperature Pressure

Increase Decrease Decrease

Decrease Increase Increase

b. effects of humidity, temperature and pressure on density.

Humidity & temperature Density

Increase Decrease

Decrease Increase

Pressure Density

Increase Increase

Decrease Decrease

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• Density is directly proportional to pressure. ( the higher ascend in the atmosphere the Less air
molecules , so the pressure will be Less).

Task 2

1- What’s the boundary layer?

Boundary layer Is a layer of air that results by friction with the surface of an object The
speed of the boundary layer extends from zero on the aerofoil layer to the speed of the free
stream at the boundary layer's outer edge, however the thickness of this layer depends on the
form of flow and velocity.

Figure )4)

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✓ Increase the distance will increase the thickness of boundary layer.

2 - what are Laminar and turbulent flow ?

There are two main types of boundary layer one of them is the laminar and the other is
turbulent.

These two flow regimes behave in very different way . The laminar flow is characterized by
smooth flow.the fluid is moving horizontally in layer and there’s a minimal amount of mixing
between layers. As we increase the flow velocity we begging to see some bursts of random
motion. This the start of the transition between the laminar and turbulent regimes.
So if we continue increasing the velocity and the drag becomes greater we end up with fully
turbulent flow.

Figure (5)

3- what are Free stream and relative flow?

The airflow of free stream is a clean flow over the object , it’s far enough to be unaffected by
going through it, which does not alter direction.

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• Streamlines is lines witch show the direction of the flow.
• Streamline shape is a body designed to provide the least resistance possible .
The free stream air is directly proportional with resistance (drag form turbulence ) Instated to
the airflow.
That’s mean..
✓ When the resistance increase , the turbulence will also increase.
✓ When the resistance decrease ,the turbulence will also Figure
decrease.( as shown in figure 6) (6)

airplane in-flight passes through countless particles of

air in the atmosphere with respect to the motion of the
airplane these particles becomes straight lines of flow in
a direction that is exactly opposite to the airplane flight
path direction this is called the relative airflow.

4. Upwash and downwash.

• Upwash is the upward air turbulence caused by a propeller or jet. The upward motion of air
as a result of eddies behind a wing or chimney. The wider the area of low pressure, the greater
the volume of upwash.
• Downwash is the change in direction of air deflected by the aerodynamic action of an airfoil,
the wing or helicopter rotor blade in motion, as part of processes of producing lift.

5. Vortices.

If the airflow over the wing's top surface approaches the airflow at the trailing edge over the
lowest surface, they pass at separate angels. It creates vortexes.
At each wing tip, all the vortices on one side appear to
link together and form one wide vortex .
These are called vortices of the wing-tip . Figure (7)
Vortices happen regularly when an airplane is flying.

6. Stagnation point
Stagnation point is the point where the air come stagnant on it or the point on the leading
edge of an airfoil, Some go over the wing as the airflow separates, and some go over the wing.
• Pressure In this point is very high.

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• Velocity =0

7. Transition point
When the drag increase the boundary layer changes from laminar airflow)smooth airflow) to
turbulent airflow at the point on the wing, this point called transition point.
At this point friction and drag become greater.

8. Separation point
When is the boundary layer becomes slips away from the surface this point on the wing called
separation point.

Figure (8)

9. Camber

Camber The curvature of the aerofoil . An aerofoil with a double convex curvature.
• One is the upper chamber, which relates to the curve on the upper surface of the aerofoil.
• Other is the lower chamber, which relates to the curve of the lower surface.(figure 9)

10. Chord

Is the straight line that is linking the leading edge to the training edge .
(It is used while the angular direction is determined).(figure 9)

Figure 9

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11. Mean Aerodynamic Chord (MAC).

MAC (Percent Mean Aerodynamic Chord) is a mathematical equation that indicates where the
center of gravity is above the wing. It is defined in simple
form as the average distance from the front edge to the
trailing edge of the wing.(figure 10)

12. Profile (Parasite) Drag

Parasite drag is a direct result of the air resistance as the

airplane flies through the air.
There are three types of parasite drag..
1. Interference drag occurs in locations over the aircraft (Figure 10)

where different surfaces meet for

2. Skin friction drag is caused by the rough imperfections of an airplane surface .
3. Form drag results from the turbulence created as the air tries to flow around the aircraft.
Aircraft with large cross section will have higher drag than thinner more streamlined designs .

Parasite drag varies with the speed of the aircraft as the , as the airplane speed increases the
amount of parasite drag will also increase. (Directly proportional to the square of the airspeed).

13. Induced drag

At high angles of attack the high pressure air below the wing, likes swirl around the wing-tip
towards the low pressure air above the wing a twisting vortex of air form
behind the wing deflecting the air flow downwards this is called induced drag .

14. Centre of pressure

The point along the chord line where the total lift is said to act. It
also called center of the lift. (Figure 11)
(Figure 11)

15. Angle of attack

The angle between the chord line and the relative flow.

(Figure 12)

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16. Wash In and Wash Out
• Wash in increase in angle of incidence towards the wing tip.
• Wash out decrease in angle of incidence towards the wing
tip.
(Figure 12).

(Figure 13)
17. Fineness ratio
Is the calculation of the thickness of the aerofoil.(figure 13).
✦ 𝑡 ⁄𝑐
✦ t is breadth
✦ c is length

18. Aspect ratio

Is the wingspan divided by its chord or the square root of
wingspan divided by the wing area .(figure 13)
✦ AR= span/ chord or 𝑠𝑝𝑎𝑛2 /𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑎

19. Wing shape (planform)

Planforms leads to the outline of the aerospace’s wing as seen from above or below.
• There are four main types of
the platform (figure 14).

(Figure 14)

20. thickness ratio

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The average of the maximum thickness of the airfoil to the chord .(figure 15)

(Figure 15)

B. Provide your understanding of aerodynamic principles by answering the following:

1. Explain how an aircraft is controlled by the forces to

maintain straight and level flight.
• Lift =weight
• Thrust =drag
• Acceleration is zero ( a=0)

(Figure 16)

2. Describe how lift and drag forces are generated and how they are affected by the change of
I) angle of attack .
The lift produced by an aerofoil is the net force generated perpendicular to the relative airflow,
and the net force generated parallel to the relative airflow is the drag.
• If you increase angle of attack drag and lift also will increase.

II) Lift co-efficient affected by the shape of the aerofoil and attack angle .
• The lift coefficient will also increase the angle of attack, and this effect will increase the amount
of induced drag due to wing flow.

III) Drag coefficient affect the lift by the air resistance.

• More drag than lift means aircraft will start stall because, of the air pulling the aircraft back
words.

3. Show the association of lift and drag to the polar curve and stall angle.

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L/D when increasing angle of attack we see our L/D
ratio is also increasing .(that’s mean lift increasing
more than drag , both of them will increase but lift
will increase more and it’s increasing exponentially
until we reach the maximum point L/D ratio, after
that the L/D ratio begin to reduce from angle of
attack 5 to 15 , the ratio start (dropping) to decrease.(
that is mean the ratio of drag start increasing, until
you reach the stall aoa point. At this point the
amount of lift that producing is not enough, so the
lift it Still more than drag but it’s not enough to keep
(Figure 17)
your aircraft in the air, and starting to stall.

4. Distinguish between the following:

i. Indicated air speed (IAS): measured speed of the airplane past the air
ii. True air speed (TAS) : speed of the airplane past the air
• T= S+D
• S is static pressure
• D is dynamic pressure
• T is total pressure that is will be your (TAS)

iii. Ground speed (GS) : speed of the aircraft over the ground
• Has nothing to do with air or atmosphere conditions
• If the wind opposite to the plan the ground speed is , true airspeed minus wind velocity
• If the wind in the same direction of plan ground speed is , true airspeed plus wind velocity (figure
18 ).

(Figure 18)

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Task 3
A. Describe glide ratio and glide angle. Explore the effects of angle of attack on glide
range.
• Glide ratio is lift to drag ratio (L/D). The combination of drag and lift force must be equal to
the weight force.

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• Glide angle is the intersection of the flight path with the ground at an angle (a), so to calculate a
is the 𝑡𝑎𝑛− 1 multiply by change in height over distance flown. 𝑎 =
𝑡𝑎𝑛− 1(ℎ/𝑑). (Figure 19)

(Figure 19)

𝑜 𝑜
• The best L/D ratio is the angle of attack is 4 and the glide path is 15 .
𝑜
• If we increase the angle of attack greater than 4 , our glide path also will increase so, it’s
become more steeper.
𝑜
• If the angle of attack smaller than 4 ,the same thing will happen, that your glide path steeper.

B. Explain wing loading and analyse its influence on stalling, flight envelope and structural
limitations.

• Wing lodging is defined as your all-up-weight (AUW) divided by the wing area ( it a ratio of a
weight and the wing area).
• The greater the wing lodging the greater your stalling speed, as shown in the line graph.(figure 20).
• The smaller wing loading the smaller your stalling speed.

(Figure 20)

C. Show your understanding of the theory of turn for an aircraft by describing the following:

1. What is the relationship between centrifugal force and centripetal force?

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When an object moves in a circle, it acts as if it has an external force known as the centrifugal
force, which depends on the object's mass, the speed of rotation, and the distance from the center.
Centripetal force is the force act toward the center and the centrifugal force away from it.
• These two forces are equal and opposite each other.
• If any one of them becomes great you going to have your aircraft, that either going to fall
toward center or it’s going to fall away from the center. Witch is called slipping or skidding.
movement.

2. Slipping : when the vertical lift component is not enough and your weight becoming more
than your vertical lift component, that’s going cause you to start dropping in altitude.because of
this dropping you start increasing the force acting toward the center of the circle.

Skidding: if your bank angle is too small, that is mean you’re not generating a good amount of the
horizontal lift component so you going to have something noun as skidding motion, and will
start skidding outward.

D. Using vector diagrams and schematics, explain load factor

and show why does it increase during a turn?

At a constant altitude, the load factor is the product of two forces

during a controlled turn in any aircraft: centrifugal force and
weight.
To retain altitude, you need to increase your total lift when you
turn. By changing your angle of attack, you increase your total lift,
meaning you're closer to the stall than you were in a wing-level
flight. And in relation to the square root of your load factor, your
(Figure 21)
stall speed increases. (Figure 21)

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 E. What are the various lift augmentation methods and how do they work?

lift augmentation is increasing of lift at a specific speed .

(Figure 22)

• Slots and slats are two forms of lift augmentation.

• It is a gap between the lower and upper surface of the leading edge of the wing. It could be a
fixed or a moving part (Slat).(figure 22)
When Slats are employed, they re - energize the boundary layer.
• They're simply throwing more flow at the tip. So, higher flow from the top results in greater
lift. Leading edge flaps are not a wing part. Slats, on the other hand, are present at the top of
the leading edge and they emerge from the top when they are actuated and become the wing's
leading edge.

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 Conclusion

This assignment has explicitly explained the various air and atmosphere properties,
aerodynamic rules, related terms, flight forces and their effect on aircraft performance by
solving several questions and using drawings to help you better understand them.

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References
(1) https://sites.google.com/site/layersofearthsatmosphere/gases-in-the-atmosphere
(2) http://www.vtaide.com/png/atmosphere.htm
(3) https://www.flightliteracy.com/structure-of-the-atmosphere-part-one/
(4) https://howthingsfly.si.edu/aerodynamics/friction-drag
(5) http://www.formula1-dictionary.net/boundary_layer.html
(6) http://iceboatdynamics.blogspot.com/2014/09/air-flow-in-steamlines.html
(7) https://www.flightliteracy.com/wingtip-vortices/
(8) http://www.industrial-electronics.com/aircraft_15.html
(9) https://skill-lync.com/projects/flow-over-an-airfoil-39
(10) https://www.askpilot.info/2020/04/mean-aerodynamic-chord-mac.html
(11) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Longitudinal_aircraft_stability_14.svg
(12) https://kasworld-aero.blogspot.com/2018/06/basic-aerodynamics-terminologies.html
(13) https://www.f1technical.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=24104
(14) https://www.flightliteracy.com/effect-of-wing-planform/
(15) https://www.google.ae/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Faviation_dictionary.enacade
mic.com%2F6741%2Fthickness_chord_ratio&psig=AOvVaw0gAq1ihD_PswVMYSTBG

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 xmn&ust=1607379686839000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAIQjRxqFwoTCKjsn4
6yuu0CFQAAAAAdAAAAABAI
(16) https://www.grc.nasa.gov/www/k-12/airplane/cruise.html
(17) https://scientistmohamed.wordpress.com/2020/04/06/the-miracle-airfoil-4-aviation-
wind-industry-cfd-simulation-analysis/
(18) http://www.aerospaceweb.org/question/instruments/q0210.shtml
(19) https://www.grc.nasa.gov/www/k-12/VirtualAero/BottleRocket/airplane/glidang.html
(20) https://www.thoughtco.com/most-abundant-gas-in-the-earths-atmosphere-604006
(21) The aerodynamics book
(22) https://listtelecom.weebly.com/difference-between-leading-edge-flaps-slots-and-
slats.html

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