COURSE DESCRIPTION

MANE 4070 Aerodynamics

Fall 2015, EATON 214, T,F 2-3:20*
Course Topics: The fundamental principles of fluid dynamics, theory of inviscid
incompressible flow, thin airfoils, high aspect ratio wings, compressible flow, compressible
small-disturbance theory.
Book: Fundamentals of Aerodynamics, Fifth edition, by John D. Anderson, McGraw Hill,
Boston, 2011.

Contact information:
Professor Amir H. Hirsa, JEC 5036, x6997, hirsaa@rpi.edu; Office Hours: Tuesdays 3:20-5 PM.
Administrative Assistant: Mrs. Hollis McEvilly, JEC 2049, 276-6030, mcevih@rpi.edu
TAs:
Ms. Yeonha Hwang (hwangy2@rpi.edu), OH: Mondays 6-8 PM (in JEC 5219)
Mr. Aditya (Adi) Raghunandan (raghua2@rpi.edu), OH: Thursdays 3-5 PM (McNeil Room)
Course Format:
1.* There will be two lectures (T-F 2:00-3:20), each 80 minutes in length, held every week
except where noted on the schedule. On some days the lectures will continue until 3:30,
in order to make up the time for any classes that may be cancelled.
2. Prior to class, students are expected to have read the assigned topics as listed in the
syllabus for the day.
3. HW is assigned each day and is always due at the beginning of the following (5 minute
cushion allowed in start of class=2:05 to accommodate late arrivals). After 2:05 it will
be considered late and receive no more than half-credit. Tuesday it will not be graded.
4. Please note that All HW problems must be done in pencil. On HW and exams detailed
work supporting answers must be shown.
5. HW will be graded in the following manner. One problem, randomly chosen, will be
graded in detail for 10 points. The balance of the assignment will be graded based on
effort (2 points for all problems attempted with visual progress toward the right solution,
1 point for roughly half meeting that criteria, 0 for less). HW solutions will be posted a
week after the problem is assigned.

Grading: The course final grade will be computed as follows:

3 Interim Examinations (closed book/note) @ 20%

60%

Comprehensive Final Exam (open book/note) @ 30%

30%

Homework

10%
Total

100%

Note: The lowest grade among the three interim exams can be replaced by the weighted average
of the other two interim exams and the final (final counting as 1.5 times as an interim).
Course Policies: In general, there will be no scheduled retests or make-up exams. A test may be
missed and excused provided there is a valid reason, i.e., a note on official stationary from the
Student Health Service, Dean of Students Office, Associate Dean of Engineering for Academic
and Student Affairs, or RPI Athletic Department (Varsity Sports only). Students with a valid
excuse will be offered the choice of a makeup test during the final exam week or replacing the
missed grade by the final exam score. Questions about test scores or other grades should be
resolved within a week of receiving the grade; otherwise the grade stands.
Academic Integrity: Student-teacher relationships are built on trust. Students must trust that
teachers have made appropriate decisions about the structure and content of the courses they
teach. Teachers must trust that the assignments which students turn-in are their own. Acts which
violate this trust undermine the educational process. The Rensselaer Handbook defines various
forms of Academic Dishonesty and procedures for responding to them. All forms are violations
of the trust between students and teachers. Students should familiarize themselves with this
portion of the Handbook and should note that the penalties for plagiarism and other forms of
cheating can be quite harsh. While collaborative or group work will be encouraged in many
instances, there will also be times when individual work is required, such as during the hourly
tests. While collaboration may be helpful when thinking about a particular homework or
computer assignment, check with the instructor about when an assignment is meant to be
collaborative vs. individual.

MANE-4070 AERODYNAMICS
Fall 2015

Assignment Sheet and Exam Schedule

For:
T Sept 1 (Lecture 1)
F Sept 4 (2)

Please read sections:

1 (all)
2.1-2.4

T Sept 8 (3)
F Sept 11 (4)

2.5-2.13
2.14-2.15

T Sept 15 (5)
F Sept 18 (6)

2.16-2.18
3.1-3.6

T Sept 22 (7)
F Sept 25 (8)

3.7-3.10
3.11-3.14

T Sept 29 (9)
F Oct 2

3.15-3.21
EXAM-1 (through Lecture 8)

T Oct 6 (10)
F Oct 9 (11)

4.1-4.6
4.7-4.10

T Oct 13
F Oct 16 (12)

NO CLASS (Monday Schedule)

4.11-4.13

T Oct 20 (13)
F Oct 23 (14)

4.14,4.15, 5.1
5.2, 5.3

T Oct 27 (15)
F Oct 30 (16)

5.4-5.9
7 (all)

*T Nov 3 (17)
F Nov 6

8 (all)
EXAM-2 (through Lecture 16)

*T Nov 10 (18)
*F Nov13 (19)

9.1-9.5
9.6-9.9

*T Nov 17 (20)
*F Nov 20 (21)

9.10, 9.11, 10.1, 10.2

10.3-10.7

T Nov 24
F Nov 27

Class cancelled
NO CLASS (Thanksgiving Recess)

*T Dec 1 (22)
*F Dec 4 (23)

11 (all)
12 (all)

*T Dec 8 (24)
F Dec 11

(no reading assigment)

EXAM-3 (through Lecture 24)

Dec (16-18,21,22?)

FINAL EXAM (comprehensive)

* Please note: 10 extra minutes added to make up the lost time for canceling class on Nov. 24th.

9/1/15
In-class problem
Consider an airfoil at 12 angle of attack. The normal and
axial force coefficients are 1.2 and 0.03, respectively.
Calculate the lift and drag coefficients.

HW (due Friday 9/4/15)

i) Anderson 1.3
ii) Suppose the resultant aerodynamic force on a body is
R=(5,10,3) N. If the spanwise axis is the x axis and
V=(0, 52, 5) m/s, find the lift and drag forces.