Resultant force

Aircraft Lift and Drag

Lift and Drag

If air flows past an aerofoil (or lifting surface) that is inclined to the direction of air flow, we find that the air on top surface is reduced while that underneath is increased. This difference in pressure results in a net force on the aerofoil which pushes it upwards and also backwards.
The resultant force on the lifting surface can be split into two components relative to the direction of air flow:

A component at right angle to the air flow called Lift, and

A component parallel to the direction of air flow called drag

Airflow over an aerofoil

Following observations can be made from airflow over an aerofoil There is a slight upflow before reaching the aerofoil There is a downflow after passing the aerofoil The air does not strike the aerofoil exactly on the nose, but actually divides it at a point just behind it on the underside The streamlines are closer together above the aerofoil where the pressure is decreased.

Chord line and angle of attack

The angle of attack to the airflow has a big influence on generation of lift. Since the aerofoil surfaces are curved, it is not easy to define a datum with reference to which the angle of attack can be measured. Therefore, a chord line is defined to serve this purpose. Chord line is an imaginary line joining the leading edge and trailing edge of an aerofoil. The angle between the chord line of the aerofoil and the direction of airflow is called angle of attack.

Aerofoil with concave pressure surface

Aerofoil with flat pressure surface

Aerofoil with convex pressure surface

Line of zero lift

An aerofoil may provide lift even with a negative angle of attack. In such a case, though the angle of attack may be negative, the curved surfaces of the aerofoil may be inclined at various angles, positive and negative, the net effect being a slightly positive angle which produces lift. If the nose of the aerofoil is tilted downwards until it produces no lift and if a straight line is drawn through the aerofoil parallel to the airflow, such a line is called a line of zero lift or a neutral lift line. For a symmetric aerofoil, zero lift corresponds to zero angle of attack.

Pressure distribution over an aerofoil

Figure shows the pressure distribution over an aerofoil at an angle of attack of 4. Points to be noted are: The decrease in pressure on the upper (suction) surface is greater than the increase on the lower (pressure) surface. The pressure is not uniformly distributed. Both the decreased pressure on the suction surface and the increased pressure on the pressure surface are most dominant over the front portion of the aerofoil.

= 4

Centre of pressure
If all the distributed forces due to pressure were replaced by a single resultant force, then the position on the chord at which this resultant force acts is called the centre of pressure. This is an important consideration for the wing. The top surface of the wing must be held down on to the ribs, while the bottom skin will simply be pressed up to the ribs. Thus, the forces to be borne by fasteners can be evaluated.

Movement of centre of pressure

If the angle of attack is altered, the pressure distribution over the aerofoil changes considerably. Plot of pressure distribution with angle of attack shows that for this particular aerofoil, as the angle of attack is increased up to 16, the centre of pressure (and hence lift) gradually moves forward until it is about 1/3 chord from the leading edge; above this angle, it begins to move backwards.

Change of lift distribution with angle of attack

Lift, drag and pitching moment of an aerofoil

Ultimate objective of the aerofoil is to obtain the lift necessary to keep the aircraft in the air. In order to do so, the aerofoil must be propelled through the air at a definite velocity and it must be set at a definite angle of attack to the airflow. We know that a purely vertical force can not be obtained, or, we can obtain lift at the expense of a certain amount of drag. Drag is unwanted and so, it must be as small as possible to reduce the power required to pull the aerofoil through the air. Therefore, before selecting an optimum aerofoil for an aircraft, different aerofoil shapes should be investigated to know the lift-to-drag ratios for various velocities and angles of attack. The lift, drag and pitching moments primarily depend on:
(a) Shape of the aerofoil (b) Plan area of the aerofoil (c) Square of the velocity (d) Density of the air

Lift, drag and pitching moment of an aerofoil

Accordingly, the lift, drag and pitching moments are expressed as:
1 Lift C L . V 2 .S or C L .q.S 2 1 Drag C D . V 2 .S or C D .q.S 2 1 Pitching moment CM . V 2 .Sc or 2
Pitching moment is positive when it tends to push the nose upwards and negative when the nose tends to go downwards.

C D .q.Sc

Here,
CL , CD and CM are coefficients of lift, drag and pitching moment respectively. (These depend on the shape of the aerofoil) is the density of air S is the area of the aerofoil projected on the plane of the chord c is the chord length of the aerofoil V is the air speed

Aerofoil characteristics
The aerofoil characteristics therefore depend on: The lift coefficient The drag coefficient The ratio of lift to drag, and The position of the centre of pressure or the pitching moment coefficient. The aerofoil characteristics are analysed with the use of The lift curve The drag curve The lift/drag ratio curve, and Centre of pressure and moment coefficient curve

Lift curve
Figure shows typical variation of lift coefficient with angle of attack for a particular aerofoil When the angle of attack is zero, there is a definite lift coefficient and hence a definite lift. Between 0 and 12 the graph is practically a straight line indicating that the lift increases steadily with increase in angle of attack Above 12, although the lift still increases for a few degrees, the curve starts to peak. At about 15 the lift coefficient reaches a maximum and then drops. The angle at which CL peaks is called the stalling angle.
Ordinary angles of flight

Stalling of aerofoil
For this particular aerofoil, as long as the angle of attack is less than 15, the air is defelected by the aerofoil and flow is steady Suddenly, when the angle of attack reaches the critical value of 15, there is complete change in the nature of flow. The airflow breaks away or separates from the top surface forming vortices thus destroying the low pressure distribution. This causes severe loss of thrust. Sudden loss of thrust due to high angle of attack is called stalling of aerofoil

Drag curve
Figure shows typical variation of drag coefficient with angle of attack The drag is minimum at zero or slight negative angle of attack and increases on both sides of this angle Initially, the increase in drag coefficient is not rapid with angle of attack. Later, the increase becomes more and more rapid Especially after the stalling angle when the air separates, the increase in drag coefficient is very high meaning very high thrust to fly

Ordinary angles of flight

Lift/Drag curve
For optimum performance, an aerofoil should be operated at maximum lift and minimum drag. The lift curve showed that the maximum lift occurs at 15 and the drag curve showed that minimum drag occurs at 0 angle of attack. But both of them are at the extreme ends of the range of possible angles. Therefore, it is better to consider the best lift/drag ratio, which is the same as best ratio of CL/CD
Ordinary angles of flight

We notice that the best CL/CD ratio occurs at an angle of attack of 3 or 4 which is the best operating point for this aerofoil

Centre of pressure and moment coefficient curve

Ordinary angles of flight

Centre of pressure and moment coefficient curve

We know that the centre of pressure gradually moves forward as the angle of attack increases; and this trends towards instability. After 12, it begins to move back again but this angle is not often used in flight. It should be noted that the pitching moment and its coefficient depend not only on the lift (or resultant force) and the centre of pressure, but also on the point about which the moment is taken (or the reference point)