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AIRCRAFT DESIGN
PROJECT
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Aircraft Design Project
Contents
1. CHAPTER 1.................................................................................................................3
2. INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................3
2.1. Defining a new design..............................................................................................3
2.2. Design process..........................................................................................................3
2.3. Conceptual design.....................................................................................................3
2.4. Defining a new design..............................................................................................4
2.5. Aircraft Purpose........................................................................................................5
2.6. Payload.....................................................................................................................6
2.7. Cruise and Maximum Speeds...................................................................................6
3. Normal Cruise Altitude................................................................................................6
3.1. Range........................................................................................................................7
3.2. Endurance.................................................................................................................7
3.3. Take-off Distance......................................................................................................7
4. Landing Distance..........................................................................................................8
4.1. Purchase Cost............................................................................................................9
4.2. Federal Aviation Regulations....................................................................................9
5. Design Process...........................................................................................................10
6. Conceptual Design.....................................................................................................13
7. ESTIMATION OF AIRCRAFT WEIGHT.................................................................16
8. ESTIMATION OF CRITICAL PERFORMANCE PARAMETERS.........................19
9. PERFORMANCE CURVES......................................................................................23
10. V-n DIAGRAM......................................................................................................30
11. 3-VIEW DIAGRAM...............................................................................................32
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Chapter 1
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1.CHAPTER 1
2.INTRODUCTION
2.1. Defining a new design
2.2. Design process
2.3. Conceptual design
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A beautiful aircraft is the expression of the genius of a great engineer who is also a
great artist.
Neville Shute,
British Aeronautical Engineer and Novelist,
From, No Highway, 1947.
When you look at aircraft, it is easy to observe that they have a number of
common features: wings, a tail with vertical and horizontal wing sections, engines to
propel them through the air, and a fuselage to carry passengers or cargo. If, however, you
take a more critical look beyond the gross features, you also can see subtle, and
sometimes not so subtle, differences. What are the reasons for these differences? What
was on the mind(S) of the designers that caused them to configure the aircraft in this
way?
Each of these areas involves parameters that govern the size, shape,
weight and performance of an aircraft. Although we generally try to seek optimum in
all these aspects, with an aircraft, this is practically impossible to achieve. The reason
is that in many cases, optimizing one characteristic degrades another.
Aerodynamics Propulsion
Light-Weight Control
Structures
In most cases, the design objectives are not as focused. More often, the
nature of an aircraft design is compromise. That is, the goal is to balance the
different aspects of the total performance while trying to optimize a few (or one)
based on well-defined mission requirements.
There are many performance aspects that can be specified by the mission
requirements. These include:
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With modern military aircraft, the purpose for a new aircraft generally
comes from a military program office. For example, the mission specifications for
the X-29 pictured in figure 1.1 came from a 1977 request for proposals from the
U.S. Air Force Flight Dynamics Laboratory in which they were seeking a research
aircraft that would explore the forward swept wing concept and validate studies
that indicated such a design could provide better control and lift qualities in
extreme maneuvers.
2.6. Payload
The payload is what is carried on board and delivered as part of the aircrafts
mission. Standard payloads are passengers, cargo or ordnance. The first two are
considered non-expendable payload because they are expected to be transported
for the complete duration of the flight plan. Military ordnance is expendable
payload since at some point in the flight plan it permanently leaves the aircraft.
This includes bombs, rockets, missiles and ammunition for on-board guns.
For personal or small general aviation aircraft, the payload includes the
pilot as well as passengers and baggage. For business, commuter and commercial
aircraft, the payload does not include the flight or cabin crew, only the passengers,
baggage and cargo.
Modern military jet combat and attack aircraft usually have a flight plan
that involves efficient cruise at high subsonic Mach numbers. This is usually in
the range from Mach 0.85 to 0.90. The maximum speed is usually specified in the
context of an intercept portion of the flight plan. This has a Mach number that is
typically in the range of 2.0.
At higher subsonic Mach numbers, the turbo-jet engine gives the higher
efficiency. For subsonic turbo-jet aircraft, there is an optimum altitude where the
fuel consumption is a minimum. This occurs at approximately 36,000 feet.
Therefore, it is the best altitude for the most efficient, long range cruise of turbo-
jet-powered aircraft.
3.1. Range
The range is the furthest distance the aircraft can fly without refueling. In a flight
plan, range refers to the distance traveled during the cruise phase.The choice of
the range is one of the most important decisions because it has a large
(exponential) effect on the aircraft take-off weight. An aircraft that is intended to
fly across the United States (New York to Seattle) should have a minimum range
of 2500 nautical miles. A range of 3500 nautical miles would be necessary for
transatlantic flights from East coast U.S. cities to coastal cities in Western Europe.
Shorter range transports that are designed to fly between major cities in a regional
area (e.g., Los Angeles to San Francisco) should have a minimum range of 500
nautical miles. Twice that range would allow an aircraft to fly non-stop between
most of the major cities along either coast of the United States.
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3.2. Endurance
Endurance is the amount of time an aircraft can fly without refueling. With a
reconnaissance aircraft, endurance is one of the main design drivers. For a
commercial aircraft, a flight plan will include an endurance phase to allow for
time that night is spent in a holding pattern prior to landing. For operation within
the continental United States commercial aircraft are required to be able to hold
for 45 minutes at normal cruise fuel consumption. For international operation, the
required hold time is 30 minutes.
Different designs can fall into standard categories for take-off and landing.
A conventional take-off and landing (CTOL) aircraft has distance that is greater
than 1000 feet. A short take-off and landing (STOL) aircraft, such as the YC-15 in
figure 1.2 can take off and land in under 1000 feet. Both of these would have a
ground roll portion during take-off and landing. A vertical take-off and landing
(VTOL) aircraft does not require a ground roll.
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Larger twin engine propeller commuter aircraft, which operate out of medium to
larger size airports, have take-off distances from 3000 to 5000 feet. Business and
smaller commercial jets have take-off distances of 5000 to 7500 feet. Larger
commercial jet transport aircraft require take0off distances from 8000 to 11000
feet. The take-off distance is a function of the altitude of the airport, although the
distance at sea level is usually specified. Table 1.2 lists the altitude and runway
lengths of some of the major airports in America.
4.Landing Distance
The landing distance consists of the length of the runway needed to descend from
a specified height of 50 feet, touchdown and break to a stop. Factors that affect
the landing distance are the maximum lift to weight and the surface of the air
field, which affects the landing-gear wheels braking friction coefficient. The lift
to weight ratio directly affects the slowest (stall) speed at which the aircraft can
fly. The landing touchdown speed is taken to be a small percentage higher than
the stall speed.
Sections of the FARs that are of particular interest to designers are Air
Worthiness Standards, General Operating and Flight Rules and Operations. Air
Worthiness Standards Part 23 and 25 in particular define different categories of
aircraft (for example, transport or commuter) based on such characteristics as
number of passengers and maximum take off weight.
5.Design Process
The process of designing an aircraft and taking it to the point of a flight test article
consists of a sequence of steps, as illustrated in figure 1.3. It starts by identifying a
need or capability for a new aircraft that is brought about by (1) a perceived
market potential and (2) technological advances made through research and
development. The former will include a market-share forecast, which attempts to
examine factors that might impact future sales of a new design. These factors
include the need for a new design of a specific size and performance, the number
of competing designs, and the commonality of features with existing aircraft. As a
rule, a new design with competitive performance and cost will have an equal
share of new sales with existing competitors.
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The needs and capabilities of a new aircraft that are determined in a
market survey go to define the mission requirements for a conceptual aircraft.
These are compiled in the form of a design proposal that includes (1) the
motivation for initiating a new design and (2) the technology readiness of new
technology for incorporation into a new design. It is essential that the mission
requirements be defined before the design can be started. Based on these, the most
important performance aspects or design drivers can be identified and
optimized above all others.
The design will make estimates of the total drag and size the power plant.
It will determine the best airframe to accommodate the (1) payload and (2) wing
and engine placement. This conceptual design will locate principle weight groups
in order to satisfy static stability requirements. It will size control surfaces to
achieve a desired degree of maneuverability. Finally the conceptual design will
estimate the RDT&E and acquisition costs to develop one or more test articles.
Mission Requirements
Conceptual Design
Requirements
No satisfied ?
Yes
Preliminary Design
Stop
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Final Evaluation
Go
Detailed Design
Flight Test
This aircraft would be one among the long range series which has
been manufactured by Bombardier, Dassault, Boeing, Gulf Stream, Cessna etc.
Hence it has so many competitors. But still due to its unique fuel consumption
and light weight structure it has to attract the customer and develop a good
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market. Figure 1.4 shows an artists rendition of the proposed design. The
characteristics of this jet are listed in the table that follows. Since there are so
many equivalent aircrafts are there, comparisons can be made to optimize the
values and also for initial data acquisition. It is evident that all of the aircrafts that
has been selected for the literature survey are currently in service.
The primary design drivers are light weight, high L/D and less fuel
consumption. The secondary design considerations include moderate take-off and
landing distances which are comparable to existing high speed subsonic business
jets. An important note is that most of the control systems should be of basic type
(like split flap etc.) in order to make the aircraft available at a cheap rate but at a
reliable condition.
6.Conceptual Design
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This article deals with the steps involved in the conceptual design of an
aircraft. It is broken down in to several elements, which are followed in order.
These consist of,
1. Literature survey
2. Preliminary data acquisition
3. Estimation of aircraft weight
a. Maximum take-off weight
b. Empty weight of the aircraft
c. Weight of the fuel
d. Fuel tank capacity
4. Estimation of critical performance parameters
a. Wing area
b. Lift and drag coefficients
c. Wing loading
d. Power loading
e. Thrust to weight ratio
5. Engine selection
6. Performance curves
7. V-n diagram
8. 3-view diagram
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Chapter 2
DATA AQUISITION
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Chapter 3
CHAPTER 3
3.1 Aim:
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To estimate the gross take off weight, fuel weight and empty weight of the aircraft
in the designing process through various through numerical steps.
3.3 Procedure:
5
6
4 7
1 2 3 8 9
Description:
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Chapter 4
CHAPTER 4
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4.1 Aim:
1. (CL) MAX
2. L/D
3. W/S
4. T/W
Procedure:
This is the stage in the design process where we make an initial choice for the
airfoil shape for the wing. As from the references obtained from the literature survey and
through web most of the business jets avail NACA 6 digit airfoil sections the laminar
flow series.
6 - SIXTH SERIES
3 - LOCATION OF MIN CP in (1/10)th OF CHORD
2 - IDEAL CL IN TENTHS
12 - MAX THICKNESS IN % OF CHORD
After the six-series sections, airfoil design became much more specialized for the
particular application. Airfoils with good transonic performance, good maximum lift
capability, very thick sections, and very low drag sections are now designed for each use.
Often a wing design begins with the definition of several airfoil sections and then the
entire geometry is modified based on its 3-dimensional characteristics.
The NACA six digit airfoils have been particularly favored by the general aviation
industry in the United States. Though we have introduced the primary airfoil families
developed in the United States before the advent of supersonic flight, we haven't said
anything about their uses. So let's briefly explore the advantages, disadvantages, and
applications of each of these families.
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Advantages:
Disadvantages:
Applications:
1. Piston-powered fighters
2. Business jets
3. Jet trainers
4. Supersonic jets
For many airplanes, including some general aviation aircraft, one airfoil section is
used at the wing root, and another airfoil shape is used at the wing tip, with the airfoil
sections between the root and tip being a linear interpolation between the root and tip
sections. Since the survey details for the airfoils of business jets are maintained secretly,
we can choose our own airfoil which will meet the requirements.
4.8 Conclusion:
References:
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Chapter 5
CHAPTER 5
9.PERFORMANCE CURVES
-----------------------------------------------------------------
9.1. Aim
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9.2. Graph & Calculations
9.3. Graph
9.4. Calculations
9.5. Summary
9.6. Result
-----------------------------------------------------------------
5.1 Aim
1. Thrust Vs Velocity
Graph:
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Graph:
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4. Aerodynamic Parameters
Graph:
5. Climb Hodograph:
Graph:
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Calculations:
Graph:
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6. Altitude Vs [R/c]MAX:
Graph:
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Chapter 6
CHAPTER 6
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10.3. Diagram
10.4. Model Calculation
10.5. Table
10.6. Conclusion
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6.1 Aim
To draw the V-n diagram for the long range high speed subsonic business jet.
L CL MAX (1 / 2) V 2 S
1. n =
W W
2nW
2. V
*
C L MAX S
6.3 Diagram
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Chapter 7
CHAPTER 7
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11.2. 7.2 Diagram
11.3. 7.3 Conclusion
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7.1 Aim
To draw the 3-view diagram of the aircraft which has been designed.
7.2 Diagram
7.3 Conclusion
Thus the 3-view diagram of the aircraft that has been designed to meet the
proposed requirements is drawn.
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Chapter 8
CHAPTER 8
DESIGN SUMMARY
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8.1 Table
8.2 Result
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