Autonomous University of Baja California

Faculty of Engineering

Aerospace Engineering

Aircraft Stability and Control

HOMEWORK: AIRCRAFT CENTER OF
MASS

Profesor: Dr. Ortiz Pérez Sebastián

Alejandro
Mexicali, B.C.,
December 3, 2019
 AUTONOMOUS UNIVERSITY OF BAJA CALIFORNIA FACULTY OF ENGINEERING
AEROSPACE ENGINEERING

AIRCRAFT CONTROL AND STABILITY

task

MEMBERS:

Canizales Salvador Brandon Álvarez Flores Erwin Pamela de

Chávez Carlos Hernan Salomón Murillo Alejandro Jesús
Jesús Rubén Oscar Gutierrez Jesús Andrés Octavio Medina Nieto Lizárraga
Oreste Escarrega Jesús Lizárraga

Mexicali, Baja California, 4/12/ 2019.

 INTRODUCTION
When we studied Law's of motion (in some classes of our engineering program) we have
applied them even to the bodies having finite size imagining that motion of such bodies
can be described in terms of motion of particles, while doing so we have ignored the
internal structure of such bodies. Any real body we encounter in our daily life has a finite
size and idealized model of particle is inadequate when we deal with motion of real bodies
of finite size. Real bodies of finite size can also be regarded as the system of particles.
While studying system of particles we will not concentrate on each and every particle of
the system instead we will consider the motion of system as a whole. Large number of
problems involving extended bodies or real bodies of finite size can be solved by
considering them as Rigid Bodies. We define rigid body as a body having definite and
unchanging shape; a rigid body is a rigid assembly of particles with fixed inter-particle
distances. In actual bodies deformations do occur but we neglect them for the sake of
simplicity.
First of all we have to consider a body consisting of large number of particles whose mass
is equal to the total mass of all the particles (mass conservation principle). When such a
body undergoes a translational motion the displacement is produced in each and every
particle of the body with respect to their original position. If this body is executing motion
under the effect of some external forces acting on it then it has been found that there is a
point in the system, where whole mass of the system is supposed to be concentrated.
The nature the motion executed by the system remains unaltered when force acting on
the system is directly applied to this point. Such a point of the system is called center of
mass of the system.
Hence for any system Center of mass is the point where whole mass of the system
can be supposed to be concentrated and motion of the system can be defined in
terms of the center of mass. And, in other words center of mass, Motion of center of
mass, Vector product of two vectors, Equilibrium of a rigid body, Moment of inertia,
Theorems of perpendicular and parallel axes, Rolling motion, Kinematics and dynamics
of rotational motion about a fixed axis, Torque and angular momentum.
 THEORY
Center of mass Formula

Position of center of mass for two particle system

Consider a system of two point masses (or particles) m1m1 and m2m2 , whose position
⃗⃗⃗⃗ and 𝑟2
vectors at time k with reference to the origin O of the inertial frame are 𝑟1 ⃗⃗⃗⃗
respectively as shown below in the figure.

FIG. 13 Position of center of mass for a two particle system

⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗ )𝑡𝑜𝑡 that is acting on point mass 𝑚1 consists of two parts:

The total force (𝐹1
⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗ )𝑒𝑥𝑡 which appears because of some agency acting on the system.
1. A force (𝐹1
2. A force (𝐹1⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗ 2) which appears because of point charge 𝑚2 . This force is internal
force of the two particle system.
So, Total force is:

(1)
Similarly for point mass 𝑚2 :

(2)

Now we will write the equation of motion for point mass 𝑚1 using newton’s second law of
motion:

(3)

Similarly for point mass 𝑚2 :

(4)
Adding equations (3) and (4) we get:

(1)
From equation (1) and (2):

(2)
⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗ ) = -(𝐹1
But from Newton’s third law of motion we know that (𝐹21 ⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗ 2) so now we have:

(3)

Or,

(5)

Where, is the total external force:

 ⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗ )𝑒𝑥𝑡 and (𝐹2
You must remember that (𝐹1 ⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗ )𝑒𝑥𝑡 are acting on different points of the system
and we are adding them as free vectors.
Now the velocity vectors are given by:

(4)
So, we have:

From equation (5) we have:

(8)

Or,

(9)
This equation is clearly the equation of motion of a hypothetical object of mass M
= 𝑚1 + 𝑚2 . The position of this point at any time is given by position vector Rcm such that:

(6)

The point whose position is defined by 𝑅⃗𝐶𝑀 is called the center of mass of two particle
system. So, equation (6) gives the center of mass formula for a two particle system at
any time t. It is a point at which the total external force is supposed to be acting.
 ANALISYS
For our report we had chosen the Boeing 747-8I, the Boeing 747-8 is a wide-body jet
airliner developed by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. It was officially announced in 2005.
The 747-8 is the third generation of the 747, with a lengthened fuselage, redesigned
wings, new engines, and improved efficiency. The 747-8 is the largest 747 version, the
largest commercial aircraft built in the United States, and the longest operational
passenger aircraft in the world.
The characteristics of the aircraft are:

Table 1: Boeing 747-8I Characteristics

 Figure 14: Solidworks: aircraft characteristics

We analyzed the center mass of the aircraft using the center mass tool and we obtained
the following data:
Through the front view we
can check that our center of
mass is exactly at the
middle of the aircraft from
the span distance as we
supposed (Fig.15). Then in
the Figure 16 we show the
distance of the center of
mass, we have to
remember that this aircraft
is a scaled around (1:16)
model and the distance is
given in centimeter.

Fig. 15 Front view and center of mass

Fig. 16 Top View; Center of mass and its distance to the tail and the end of the wing
Fig. 17 Front view, Center of mass and distances
 RESOLUCION DE PROBLEMA: BOEING 747-8I

USING THIS INFORMATION WE HAVE THAT:

Fig. 18 BOEING 747-8I SPECS

WING ASPEC RATIO

Aw=8.45

bw=224.4ft

TAIL ASPEC RATIO

At=bt^2/St= (91ft^2)/(1593ft)= 3,91

𝟎. 𝟏𝟎𝟗 𝟏𝟖𝟎𝒅𝒆𝒈
𝒂𝟎𝒕 𝒅𝒆𝒈 𝝅𝒓𝒂𝒅 𝟓. 𝟐𝟐𝟗𝟒
𝑪𝑳∝𝒘 = 𝒂 = =
𝟏 + 𝟎𝒘 𝟎. 𝟎𝟗 𝟏𝟖𝟎𝒅𝒆𝒈 𝒓𝒂𝒅
𝝅𝑨𝒘 𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒈 𝝅𝒓𝒂𝒅
𝟏+
𝝅(𝟖. 𝟒𝟓)(𝟏)

𝟎. 𝟏𝟎𝟗 𝟏𝟖𝟎𝒅𝒆𝒈
𝒂𝟎𝒕 𝒅𝒆𝒈 𝝅𝒓𝒂𝒅 𝟒. 𝟑𝟗𝟖𝟔
𝑪𝑳∝𝒕 = 𝒂 = =
𝟏 + 𝟎𝒘 𝟎. 𝟎𝟗 𝟏𝟖𝟎𝒅𝒆𝒈 𝒓𝒂𝒅
𝝅𝑨𝒕 𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒈 𝝅𝒓𝒂𝒅
𝟏+
𝝅(𝟑. 𝟗𝟏)(𝟏)

𝝅𝒓𝒂𝒅
𝑪𝑳𝟎𝒘 = ‖𝟔. 𝟐𝟓𝒅𝒆𝒈 ‖𝑪 = 𝟎. 𝟓𝟕𝟎𝟒
𝟏𝟖𝟎𝒅𝒆𝒈 𝑳∝𝒘

WING CONTRIBUTION

𝑪𝑴𝟎𝑾 = 𝟎. 𝟏𝟐 + 𝑪𝑳𝟎𝒘 (𝑿𝒄𝒈 − 𝑿𝒄𝒂)

= 𝟎. 𝟏𝟐 + 𝟓. 𝟐𝟐𝟗𝟒((𝟎. 𝟐𝟖 ∗ 𝟐𝟎) − (𝟎. 𝟐𝟓 ∗ 𝟐𝟎) = 𝟑. 𝟐𝟓𝟕𝟔𝟒

𝟑𝟒𝟐. 𝟐𝟒 ∗ 𝟏𝟎−𝟑
𝑪𝑴∝𝑾 = 𝑪𝑳∝𝒘 (𝑿𝒄𝒈 − 𝑿𝒄𝒂) =
𝒓𝒂𝒅
SO THE WING CONTRIBUTION BECOMES:

𝑪𝑴𝑾 = 𝑪𝑴𝟎𝑾 + 𝑪𝑴∝𝑾 = 𝟑. 𝟓𝟗𝟗𝟖𝟖

HORIZONTAL VOLUME TAIL RATIO:

𝑰𝒕 𝑺𝒕 𝟐𝟐𝒇𝒕 × 𝟏𝟔𝟑𝟔𝒇𝒕^𝟐
𝑽𝑯 = = = 𝟑𝟎𝟐. 𝟐𝟒𝟑𝟖𝟒𝒙𝟏𝟎−𝟑
𝑺𝑪 𝟓𝟗𝟔𝟎𝒇𝒕^𝟐 × 𝟐𝟎𝒇𝒕

The lift coefficient at zero angle of attack

𝟐𝑪𝑳𝟎𝒘 𝟐 × 𝑪𝑳𝟎𝒘
𝝐𝟎 = = = 𝟎. 𝟎𝟒𝟐𝟗𝟕
𝝅𝑨𝒘 𝒆 𝝅 × 𝟖. 𝟒𝟓 × 𝟏

The variation of upwash with respect to aircraft angle of attack

𝟐𝑪𝑳∝𝒘 𝟐 × 𝑪𝑳∝𝒘
= = 𝟎. 𝟑𝟗𝟑𝟗𝟖
𝝅𝑨𝒘 𝒆 𝝅 × 𝟖. 𝟒𝟓 × 𝟏

Calculus of intercept of tail contribution

𝑪𝑴𝟎𝒕 = 𝟏𝑽𝑯 𝑪𝑳∝𝒕 (𝝐𝟎 + 𝒊𝒘 − 𝒊𝒕) = 𝟎. 𝟓𝟑𝟕𝟖𝟑

Calculus of slope of tail contribution:

𝒅𝝐
𝑪𝑴∝𝒕 = 𝟏𝑽𝑯 𝑪𝑳∝𝒕 (𝟏 − )
𝒅∝
𝒅𝝐
𝑪𝑴∝𝒕 =𝟏 × 𝑽𝑯 × 𝑪𝑳∝𝒕 (𝟏 − )
𝒅∝
𝑪𝑴∝𝒕 = 𝟏. 𝟑𝟒𝟏𝟒𝟔
THE TAIL CONTRIBUTION IS THEN:

𝑪𝑴𝒕 = 𝑪𝑴𝟎𝒕 − 𝑪𝑴∝𝒕 = −𝟎. 𝟖𝟎𝟑𝟔𝟑

Maximum diameter:

𝒃𝒇𝒎𝒂𝒙 = 𝟐𝟔. 𝟓𝟕

𝑰𝒇 𝟐𝟓𝟎. 𝟏𝒇𝒕
= = 𝟗. 𝟒𝟏
𝒃𝒇𝒎𝒂𝒙 𝟐𝟔. 𝟓𝟕𝒇𝒕

So the fineness ratio is: 0.925

And the apparent mass constant is 𝒌𝟐 − 𝒌𝟏 =0.925

Fig. 19 Fineness ratio

 Fig. 20 FUSELAGE SECTIONS

EACH SECTION OF THE AIRCRAFT LENGTH IS: 26.8ft (because the model is scaled)

Station ∆𝒙(𝒇𝒕) 𝒃𝒇 (𝒇𝒕) X(ft) 𝜶𝟎𝒘 + (𝒊𝑪𝑳 )𝑩 𝑏𝑓2(∝0𝑤 + (𝑖𝐶𝐿 )𝐵 )∆𝑥

1 27.8 20.4 - (−𝟓 + 𝟎)𝝅/𝟏𝟖𝟎 -1006.525

2 27.8 26.57 - (−𝟓 + 𝟎)𝝅/𝟏𝟖𝟎 -1712.676

3 27.8 26.57 - (−𝟓 + 𝟎)𝝅/𝟏𝟖𝟎 -1712.676

4 27.8 23.8 - (−𝟓 + 𝟎)𝝅/𝟏𝟖𝟎

 -1374.188

5 27.8 23 - (−𝟓 + 𝟎)𝝅/𝟏𝟖𝟎 -1283.358

6 27.8 21.2 - (−𝟓 + 𝟎)𝝅/𝟏𝟖𝟎 -1090.345

7 27.8 18.4 - (−𝟓 + 𝟎)𝝅/𝟏𝟖𝟎 -821.349

8 27.8 15.4 - (−𝟓 + 𝟎)𝝅/𝟏𝟖𝟎 -575.352

9 27.8 11.4 - (−𝟓 + 𝟎)𝝅/𝟏𝟖𝟎 -315.284

SUM -9891.753

𝑰𝒇
𝝅(𝒌𝟐 − 𝒌𝟏 ) 𝝅(𝟎. 𝟗𝟐𝟓)(𝑺𝑼𝑴)
𝑪𝑴𝟎𝒇 = ∑ 𝒃𝟐𝒇 (𝜶𝟎𝒘 + 𝒊𝑪𝑳,𝑩)∆𝒙 = = −𝟎. 𝟏𝟐
𝟐𝑺𝑪 𝟐(𝟓𝟗𝟔𝟎𝒇𝒕𝟐 )(𝟐𝟎𝒇𝒕)
𝒙=𝟎

Fig. 21 FUSELAGE TOP SECTIONS

Station ∆𝒙(𝒇𝒕) 𝒃𝒇 (𝒇𝒕) X(ft) 𝜶𝟎𝒘 + (𝒊𝑪𝑳 )𝑩 𝑏𝑓2 (∝0𝑤 + (𝑖𝐶𝐿 )𝐵 )∆𝑥
1 22.44 18 78.54 (−𝟓 + 𝟎)𝝅/𝟏𝟖𝟎 37163657.101
2 22.44 22 56.1 (−𝟓 + 𝟎)𝝅/𝟏𝟖𝟎 12063468.564
3 22.44 28 33.66 (−𝟓 + 𝟎)𝝅/𝟏𝟖𝟎 1618966.070
4 22.44 28 22.44 (−𝟓 + 𝟎)𝝅/𝟏𝟖𝟎 4567047.723
5 22.44 28 11.22 (−𝟓 + 𝟎)𝝅/𝟏𝟖𝟎 -16382.847
6 22.44 26 33.66 (−𝟓 + 𝟎)𝝅/𝟏𝟖𝟎 -12039.198
7 22.44 23 56.1 (−𝟓 + 𝟎)𝝅/𝟏𝟖𝟎 -7788.171
8 22.44 18 78.54 (−𝟓 + 𝟎)𝝅/𝟏𝟖𝟎 -3769.875
9 22.44 10 100.98 (−𝟓 + 𝟎)𝝅/𝟏𝟖𝟎 -854.839
SUM 55372304.529

𝜹𝑪𝑴
= 𝟎. 𝟔𝟕𝟒𝟗
𝜹𝜶

𝑪𝑴𝒇 = 𝟎. 𝟖𝟎𝟑𝟔𝟑 + 𝟎. 𝟖𝟎𝟑𝟔𝟑𝜶

𝑪𝑴𝒘 = 𝟑. 𝟐𝟓+. 𝟑𝟓𝜶

𝑪𝑴𝑻 = 𝑪𝑴𝟎𝑻 − 𝟏. 𝟑𝟒𝜶

𝐂𝐦𝐰 = 𝟑. 𝟐𝟓 + . 𝟑𝟓𝜶
-IS STABLE

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