Aerodynamics I

Basics
UNIT-3

Forces and Moments

AIRFOILS VERSUS WINGS

ft force is the component

R that is perpendicular to
ee stream velocity, and
ag is the component of R
arallel to the free stream
elocity. If planes height is
ot changing then:
Lift = Weight
Forces on airplane at

level speed and constant

height and speed.

CL =
L/(1/2 V2Ap)
CD =
D/(1/2 V2A)

Ap and c are independent of

Ap = planform area
max. proj. of wing

*
As angle of attack increases
stagnation point moves
downstream along bottom
surface, causing an
unfavorable pressure gradient
at the nose*.

The tendency for flow to leak around the wing tips

generally cause streamlines over the top surface of
the wing to veer to the wing root and streamlines
over the bottom surface veer to the wing tips.

Endplates (winglets) at en
of wing reduces tip vortex

Airfoil Nomenclature

Reynolds No, Boundary Layer Transition and

surface roughness

NACA Conventional Airfoils

Laminar Flow Airfoils

An airfoil designed for minimum drag

and uninterrupted flow of the
boundary layer is called a laminar
airfoil.

Whitchomb supercritical airfoils

Drag Reduction And lift

Augmentation Methods

Many theories have been developed on how a wing generates lift. The
most common one is the Longer Path Theory.
This theory describes how the shape of the aerofoil produces a pressure
difference which generates lift. As the aerofoil is designed in such a way
that its upper surface is longer than the bottom, and because the
molecules that hit the leading edge must meet again at the trailing edge,
the ones that travel on the upper surface do so with greater velocity than
the lower

Flap system
Leading edge devices
Multi element airfoils
Circulation control
Laminar flow control
winglets

Flap systems
Flap is an element attached to the aileron of
the wing section
It is always possible to reduce stall speed by
increasing wing area

Different types of flap system

Flaps change the airfoil pressure

distribution, increasing the camber of the
airfoil and allowing more of the lift to be
carried over the rear portion of the section

Leading Edge
Devices

Leading Edge Devices

Leading edge devices such as nose flaps,
Kruger flaps, and slats reduce the pressure
peak near the nose by changing the nose
camber. Slots and slats permit a new
boundary layer to start on the main wing
portion, eliminating the detrimental effect
of the initial adverse gradient.

A Wing with slats and

Flaps

Multi Element Airfoils

Winglets

Winglets

NACA FOUR-DIGIT SERIES

First set of airfoils designed using this approach was NACA

Four-Digit Series
First digit specifies maximum camber in percentage of chord
Second digit indicates position of maximum camber in tenths
NACA 2415
of chord
Last two digits provide maximum thickness of airfoil in
percentage of chord

Example: NACA 2415

Airfoil has maximum thickness of 15%
of chord (0.15c)
Camber of 2% (0.02c) located 40%
back from airfoil leading edge (0.4c)

INFINITE VERSUS FINITE WINGS

High AR

Aspect Ratio
b: wingspan
S: wing area

b
AR
S

Low AR

EXAMPLE: F-104 LOCKHEED

STARFIGHTER

First airplane designed for sustained flight at Mach 2

Very sharp leading edge on wings (razor sharp leading edges,
thickness 3.4 %)
Designed to minimize wave drag at supersonic speeds
Very poor low-speed aerodynamic performance
Such wings tend to stall at low angles of attack, CLmax is only about 1.15
Vstall (full of fuel) ~ 198 MPH
Vstall (fuel empty) ~ 152 MPH
Vstall proportional to W1/2

AIRFOILS VERSUS FINITE WINGS

High AR

Aspect Ratio

b
AR
S
Low AR

AIRFOIL NOMENCLATURE

Mean Chamber Line: Set of points halfway between upper and lower
surfaces
Measured perpendicular to mean chamber line itself

Leading Edge: Most forward point of mean chamber line

Trailing Edge: Most reward point of mean chamber line
Chord Line: Straight line connecting the leading and trailing edges
Chord, c: Distance along the chord line from leading to trailing edge
Camber: Maximum distance between mean chamber line and chord line
Measured perpendicular to chord line

STREAMLINES OVER AN AIRFOIL

WHAT CREATES AERODYNAMIC FORCES?

Aerodynamic forces exerted by airflow comes from only two sources

Pressure, p, distribution on surface
Acts normal to surface

Shear stress, w, (friction) on surface

Acts tangentially to surface

Pressure and shear are in units of force per unit area (N/m 2)
Net unbalance creates an aerodynamic force
No matter how complex the flow field, and no matter how complex the
shape of the body, the only way nature has of communicating an
aerodynamic force to a solid object or surface is through the pressure and
shear stress distributions that exist on the surface.
The pressure and shear stress distributions are the two hands of nature
that reach out and grab the body, exerting a force on the body the
aerodynamic force

Relative
Wind: Direction
of V
RESOLVING
THE
AERODYNAMIC

We used subscript to indicate far upstream conditions

FORCE

Angle of Attack, Angle between relative wind (V) and chord line

Total aerodynamic force, R, can be resolved into two force components

Lift, L: Component of aerodynamic force perpendicular to relative wind
Drag, D: Component of aerodynamic force parallel to relative wind

RESOLVING THE AERODYNAMIC FORCE

Aerodynamic force, R, may also be resolved into

components perpendicular and parallel to chord
line
Normal Force, N: Perpendicular to chord line
Axial Force, A: Parallel to chord line

L and D are easily related to N and A

L N cos A sin
D N sin A cos

For airfoils and wings, L and D most common

For rockets, missiles, bullets, etc. N and A more
useful

Total aerodynamic force on airfoil is summation of F 1 and F2

Lift is obtained when F2 > F1
Misalignment of F1 and F2 creates Moments, M, which tend to rotate
airfoil/wing
Value of induced moment depends on point about which moments are taken
Moments about leading edge, MLE or quarter-chord point, c/4, M c/4
In general MLE Mc/4

F1

F2

VARIATION OF L, D, AND M WITH

Lift, Drag and M on a airfoil or wing will change as

changes

Variations of these quantities are some of most

important information that an airplane designer
needs to know

Aerodynamic Center
Point about which moments essentially do not vary with
Mac=constant (independent of )
For low speed airfoils aerodynamic center is near quarterchord point

Lift due to imbalance of pressure distribution over top and

bottom surfaces of airfoil (or wing)
If pressure on top is lower than pressure on bottom surface, lift is
generated
Why is pressure lower on top surface?

We can understand answer from basic physics:

Continuity (Mass Conservation)
Newtons 2nd law (Euler or Bernoulli Equation)

Lift = PA

HOW DOES AN AIRFOIL GENERATE LIFT?

1.

Flow velocity over top of airfoil is faster than over bottom surface
Streamtube A senses upper portion of airfoil as an obstruction
Streamtube A is squashed to smaller cross-sectional area
Mass continuity AV=constant: IF A THEN V

Streamtube A is squashed
most in nose region
(ahead of maximum thickness)

A
B

HOW DOES AN AIRFOIL GENERATE LIFT?

2.

As V p

1
2
p

V
constant
Incompressible: Bernoullis Equation2
Compressible: Eulers Equation dp VdV
Called Bernoulli Effect

With lower pressure over upper surface and

higher pressure over bottom surface, airfoil feels
Most of lift is produced
net force
in upward direction Lift
n firsta20-30%
of wing
3.

ust downstream of leading edge)

Can you express these ideas in your own words?

Curved surface of an airfoil is not necessary to

produce lift even a flat plate can generate lift

A
B

Behavior of L, D, and M depend on , but also on velocity and altitude

V, , Wing Area (S), Wing Shape, , compressibility

Characterize behavior of L, D, M with coefficients (c l, cd, cm)

1
2
L V Scl
2
L
L
cl

1
q
S
2

V S
2
cl f , M , Re

Matching Mach and Reynolds

(called similarity parameters)

M, Re

M, Re

cl, cd, cm identical

LIFT, DRAG, AND MOMENT COEFFICIENTS

Behavior of L, D, and M depend on , but also on velocity and

altitude
V, , Wing Area (S), Wing Shape, , compressibility

Characterize behavior of L, D, M with coefficients (c l, cd, cm)

1
L V2 Scl
2
L
L
cl

1
V2 S q S
2
cl f1 , M , Re

1
D V2 Scd
2
D
D
cd

1
V2 S q S
2
cd f 2 , M , Re

1
V2 Sccm
2
M
L
cm

1
V2 Sc q Sc
2
cm f 3 , M , Re
M

Note on Notation:
We use lower case, cl, cd, and cm for infinite wings (airfoils)
We use upper case, CL, CD, and CM for finite wings

Lift (for now)

SAMPLE DATA TRENDS

Cambered airfoil has

lift at =0
At negative airfoil
will have zero lift

Lift coefficient (or lift) linear variation with angle of

attack, a

Cambered airfoils
have positive lift
when =0
Symmetric airfoils
have zero lift when
=0

At high enough angle of attack, the performance

of the airfoil rapidly degrades stall

To understand drag and actual airfoil/wing behavior we need an

understanding of viscous flows (all real flows have friction)

Inviscid (frictionless) flow around a body will result in zero drag!

Called dAlemberts paradox (Must include friction in theory)

THE REYNOLDS NUMBER

One of most important dimensionless numbers in fluid mechanics/

aerodynamics
Reynolds number is ratio of two forces

Inertial Forces
Viscous Forces
c is length scale (chord)

V c
Re

Reynolds number tells you when viscous forces are important and
when viscosity can be neglected
Outside B.L. flow
Inviscid (high Re)

Within B.L. flow

highly viscous
(low Re)

LAMINAR VERSUS TURBULENT FLOW

Reynolds number also tells you about two types of viscous flows
Laminar: streamlines are smooth and regular and a fluid element moves
smoothly along a streamline
Turbulent: streamlines break up and fluid elements move in a random,
irregular, and chaotic fashion

Stability & Control

pitch

The
The 33 axes
axes of
of motion:
motion:
roll,
roll, pitch,
pitch, yaw
yaw

roll
yaw

CENTER OF PRESSURE AND AERODYNAMIC CENTER

Center of Pressure: Point on an airfoil (or

body) about which aerodynamic moment is
c
zero
x
Thin Airfoil Theory:
Symmetric Airfoil:

cp

Aerodynamic Center: Point on an airfoil (or body) about which

aerodynamic moment is independent of angle of attack
Thin Airfoil Theory:
Symmetric Airfoil:

x A.C .

Drag

The resistance to an objects passage through the ai

Types of Drag

Induced
Profile
Parasite

Induced Drag
Drag
Drag that
that is
is incurred
incurred as
as aa result
result of
of the
the production
production of
of lift
lift
Parallel
Parallel to
to and
and in
in the
the same
same direction
direction as
as relative
relative wind
wind
Increases
Increases with
with increased
increased angle
angle of
of attack
attack
Decreases
Decreases with
with increased
increased airspeed
airspeed

Each
Each blade
blade passes
passes through
through the
the previous
previous blades
blades disturbed
disturbed
air
air this
this condition
condition is
is most
most pronounced
pronounced at
at high
high power
power settings
settings
and
and no
no or
or low
low forward
forward airspeeds.
airspeeds.

Profile Drag
Parasitic
Parasitic drag
drag of
of the
the rotor
rotor system
system
At
At a
a constant
constant RPM,
RPM, profile
profile drag
drag is
is relatively
relatively constant
constant but
but does
does
increase
increase slightly
slightly with
with airspeed.
airspeed.
Increases
Increases rapidly
rapidly with
with very
very high
high airspeeds
airspeeds due
due to
to onset
onset of
of blade
blade stall
stall
or
or compressibility
compressibility
Profile
Profile drag
drag is
is greater
greater on
on 3,
3, 4,
4, 6,
6, etc.
etc. bladed
bladed systems
systems

Parasitic Drag
The
The resistance
resistance offered
offered by
by the
the fuselage
fuselage and
and other
other nonlifting
nonlifting
surfaces
surfaces to
to the
the flow
flow of
of air
air
Causes
Causes
Form
Form or
or shape
shape of
of the
the helicopter,
helicopter, the
the more
more streamlined
streamlined the
the helicopter,
helicopter,
the
the less
less parasitic
parasitic drag
drag
Skin
Skin friction,
friction, the
the smoother
smoother the
the skin
skin of
of the
the fuselage,
fuselage, the
the less
less parasitic
parasitic
drag
drag

Increases
Increases rapidly
rapidly with
with airspeed
airspeed

Total Drag Curve

The
The summation
summation of
of all
all drag
drag forces
forces acting
acting on
on the
the helicopter
helicopter
Total
Total drag
drag is
is high
high at
at a
a hover,
hover, decreases
decreases to
to a
a minimum
minimum value
value at
at a
a
particular
particular airspeed,
airspeed, then
then starts
starts increasing
increasing with airspeed
Minimum
Minimum rate
rate of
of descent
descent for
for autorotation
autorotation
Maximum
Maximum endurance
endurance airspeed
Maximum
Maximum rate
rate of
of climb
climb airspeed
airspeed
Best
Best maneuvering
maneuvering airspeed
airspeed
The
The above
above are
are airspeeds
airspeeds that
that fall
fall within
within the lowest drag area
of
of the
the total
total drag
drag curve.
curve. Theses
Theses speeds
speeds typically
typically range
range from
from
60
60 to
to 80
80 kts
kts

Drag Forces
Torque
Torque Available
Available

Total Drag

Parasite
Drag

Drag
Drag

Profile
Drag

Forward
Forward Speed
Speed

Induced
Drag