Republic of the Philippines

Philippine State College of Aeronautics

Piccio Garden, Villamor, Pasay City

AE 321 – Aerodynamics II
SUBSONIC
AERODYNAMICS
(Topic 1 and 2)
Instructor I : Engr. Michael Jean A. Tenefrancia
1.) Review of Aircraft Propulsion Systems
- Reciprocating Engine
- Turbine Engine
2.) Steady, Level, Unaccelerated Flight
- Introduction to Flight Performance
- Equations of Motion
- Thrust Required for Level, Unaccelerated Flight
- Thrust Available and Maximum Available
- Power Required for Level, Unaccelerated Flight
- Power Available and Maximum Velocity
- Altitude Effects on Power Required and Power
Available
What is Aircraft Performance?
We will answer questions such
as:
How fast?
How high?
How far?
How long can an aircraft fly?
What is Aircraft Performance?
We will talk about static and dynamic
performance.
COVERAGE:
I. PRELIMINARIES

II. THEORY OF AIRPLANE PERFORMANCE

Introduction to Flight Performance

In the discussion of the fundamentals of aerodynamics, the physical

phenomena of producing lift, drag and moments of an airplane were
introduced. It was emphasized that aerodynamic forces and moments exerted
on a body moving through a fluid came from two sources which acts over the
body surface:
1. Pressure Distribution
2. Shear Stress Distribution

Concerns will be focused on the movement of the airplane as it responds to these

forces and such considerations form the core of flight dynamics. The study of flight
dynamics will no longer be concerned with aerodynamic details, rather we will
generally assume that the aerodynamicists have done their work and that the
pertinent aerodynamic data for the airplane are provided for us. These data are
usually packaged in the form of drag polar equation for the airplane.
Infinite Wings
Finite Wings

The flow field about a finite

wing is three-dimensional
and is therefore inherently
different from the two-
dimensional flow about an
infinite wing.
Finite Wing Properties:
1.) Geometric Wingspan, b - the distance between tip to tip of the of the
wings inclusive of ailerons

2.) Wing Area, S – the area of the projection of the actual outline on the
plane of the chord. Ailerons and flaps are counted as part of the wing
area.

3.) Chord Length, c – the length of the projection of the airfoil section on
its chord.

4.) Aspect Ratio, AR – the ratio of the square of the span to the wing
area.
Aspect Ratio:
b S
AR  AR  2
Ca Ca

For Non Rectangular Wings

Where:
Ct  Cr
b - wing span Ca – average chord - Ca 
S – Wing area Cr – root chord 2
Ct – tip chord
Finite Wing Properties Continued:
5.) Taper Ratio, TR - the ratio of the tip chord Ct to the root chord Cr.

Ct
TR 
Cr
6.) Mean Aerodynamic Chord, MAC - the chord of an imaginary simple rectangular wing
which, throughout the flight range, will have the same force vectors as the actual wing.
Mean Geometric Chord ‘MGC’ is sometimes synonymous to MAC. For a rectangular
monoplane wing, the MGC is identical with chord of the wing section

2  (Ct  Cr )  CtCr 2
MAC   
3 Ct  Cr 
TYPES OF
DRAG
What are the different types of drag?
 Skin friction drag
 Pressure drag
 Profile drag
 Interference drag
 Parasite drag
 Induced drag
 Zero-lift drag
 Drag due to lift
 Wave drag
Skin-friction drag.
Drag due to frictional
shear stress integrated
over the surface.
Pressure drag due to
flow separation (form
drag): The drag due
to the pressure
imbalance in the
drag direction
caused by separated
flow.
Profile drag. The sum of skin friction drag
and form drag. (The term profile drag is
usually used in conjunction with two-
dimensional airfoils; it is sometimes called
section drag.)
Interference drag. An
additional pressure drag
caused by the mutual
interaction of the flow fields
around each component of the
airplane. The total drag of the
combined body is usually
greater than that of the sum of
its individual parts; the
difference is the interference
drag.
Parasite drag. The term used for
the profile drag for a complete
airplane. It is that portion of the
total drag associated with skin
friction and pressure drag due to
flow separation, integrated over the
complete airplane surface. It
includes interference drag.
Induced drag. A pressure
drag due to the pressure
imbalance in the drag
direction caused by the
induced flow (downwash)
associated with the
vortices created at the
tips of finite wings.
Zero-lift drag. (Usually used in
conjunction with a complete airplane
configuration.) The parasite drag that
exists when the airplane is at its zero-lift
angle of attack, that is, when the lift of
the airplane is zero.
Drag due to lift. (Usually used in conjunction
with a complete airplane.) That portion of the
total airplane drag measured above the zero-
lift drag. It consists of the change in parasite
drag when the airplane is at an angle of attack
different from the zero-lift angle, plus the
induced drag from the wings and other lifting
components of the airplane.
Wave drag. The pressure
drag associated with
transonic and supersonic
flow (or shock waves,
hence the name). It can
be expressed as the sum
the zero-lift wave drag
and wave drag due to lift.
INDUCED DRAG
CALCULATION
Wing Tip Vortices
Wing Downwash
Effects of Wing Downwash
The “local relative wind that is
canted downward from the
original direction of V free stream
has two consequences:

1. The angle of attack of the airfoil

sections of the wing is effectively
reduced in comparison to the
angle of attack of the wing
referenced to V free stream.

2. There is an increase in the

drag. The increase is called
induced drag,
Calculation of Induced Drag
The Coefficient of Induced Drag

Where:
CL – coefficient of Lift
AR – Wing Aspect Ratio
e – span efficiency factor

For elliptical planforms, e = 1; for all other planforms, e < 1. Thus, CD,i and hence induced
drag is a minimum for an elliptical planform.

For a typical Subsonic Aircraft, e ranges from 0.85 to 0.95.

The Induced Drag Equation

Induced Drag is intimately related to lift

The Induced Drag Equation

Since

Therefore...

In Level Flight, L = W, therefore...

2
1 W 
Di   
q  b 
Total Drag Coefficient for a Finite Wing at Subsonic Speeds

Where:
CD – total drag
Cd – profile drag (Cd,f + Cd, p)
CD,i – induced drag
How much of the total
Drag of an airplane is
the Induced Drag?
Total Drag
Drag Polar
A wing or airfoil have its own drag polar
2
C
C D  Cd  L
πeAR
profile drag

An airplane have its own drag polar

2
C
C D  C D ,0  L
eAR zero-lift drag
Drag Polar of a Complete Airplane

2
C
C D  C D ,0   C D , 0  C D ,i
L
eAR
induced drag
parasite drag coefficient
Oswald’s coefficient at
efficiency zero lift
factor
Thrust required for steady level flight
at given speed.
Thrust Required for Level, Unaccelerated Flight
at a given velocity

NOTE:

TR  D Thrust Required is
a function of
velocity.

It has two
components.

It has a minimum.
Thrust Required for Level, Unaccelerated Flight

TR  D

2
1 W 1
TR   V S C Do  (
2
)( )
2 1  V S eAR
2
2
Thrust Required for Level, Unaccelerated Flight

2
1 W 1
TR   V S C Do  (
2
)( )
2 1  V S eAR
2
2

zero-lift lift-induced
thrust required thrust required
Thrust Required: Alternative Approach

W
TR 
CL / CD
Thrust Required for Level, Unaccelerated Flight

1/ 2
 2 1 W
VTR ,min  
   C Do eAR S 
At TRmin
2
C
C D,0  L
 C D ,i
eAR

Thus,
 CL   eAR / 4C
 C  D ,0
 D  max
Calculate the maximum velocity for the sample jet plane.
Intersection of TR
curve and maximum
TA defines maximum
flight speed of airplane.

Vmax = 975 ft/s

= 665 mi/h
 Computation of TR
curve assumed constant CD,o

At this speed, drag

divergence effects are
significant, and adds
to the CD,o
Maximum Velocity: Analytical
Maximum Velocity: Analytical
Solving the quadratic equation and setting thrust, T, to
maximum available thrust, TA,max results in,

1
 T   W     A
W T
2
4C  2

 A       
D,0

  W  max  S   S   W  max eAR 
Vmax  
 CD,0
 
 
 
Maximum Velocity: Design Considerations
1
 T   W   W   TA 
2
4C D , 0 
2

 A        
  W  max  S   S   W  max eAR 
Vmax  
 C D ,0
 
 
 

• TA,max does not appear alone, but only in ratio: (TA/W)max

• S does not appear alone, but only in ratio: (W/S)
• Vmax does not depend on thrust alone or weight alone, but
rather on ratios
• (TA/W)max: maximum thrust-to-weight ratio
• W/S: wing loading
Maximum Velocity: Design Considerations
1
 T   W   W   TA 
2
4C D , 0 
2

 A        
  W  max  S   S   W  max eAR 
Vmax  
 C D ,0
 
 
 

• Vmax also depends on density (altitude), CD,0, eAR

• Increase Vmax by
• Increase maximum thrust-to-weight ratio, (TA/W)max
• Increasing wing loading, (W/S)
• Decreasing zero-lift drag coefficient, CD,0
 ANY
QUESTIONS?
The power required curve is defined as a plot of the Power Required (PR) versus
velocity (V∞) as shown in the figure. Qualitatively, it resembles the thrust
required curve in a sense that the power required will decrease, hit a minimum
and increase again. The minimum point corresponds to the maximum lift to drag
ratio (Cl^3/2)/Cd .
How do we compute for (L /D)
3/2
max?

At PRmin
3C D , 0  C Di
Thus,
3
 C 32  1  3eAR  4
 L    
 CD  4  C 13 
  max  D,0 
How do we compute for (L /D)
3/2
max?

3
C 2
 L
3

  3C D , 0eAR 
3
4

1  3eAR 
4

 CD  4 C  1 
4 C D ,0 3
  max D ,0
 
(L/D)max VS (L /D)
3/2
max
Locating (L/D)max in the PR curve
How do we compute for PR,min?

You can
substitute Or you can substitute
3

 2 
1
2 C 2 3
 1  3eAR  4
1 W  L    
V , PR ,min    CD  4  C 13 
  3C D , 0eAR S    max  D,0 
 
to to
2
1 W 1 2W 3 1
PR   V S C Do  (
3
)( ) PR 
2 1 V S eAR
2  ρ S  C 3 2 
 L 
 CD 
 
From the intersection of the PA and PR, figure 2.19 shows that at an altitude, the
minimum velocity can be greater than the actual stalling velocity. This means that the
aircraft at an altitude would stall beyond the minimum velocity point depicted in the
graph.
EXAMPLE
1. Constructing thrust required versus velocity curve. A light, single-engine,
propeller driven airplane has the given specifications listed below, at SSLC
conditions:
b = 35.8 ft S = 174 ft2
W = 2950 lbs Fuel Capacity = 65 gal. of aviation gas
c = 0.45 lb/HP-hr CDO = 0.025
e = 0.8 ⴄ = 0.8

Calculate the coefficient of lift and drag, lift to drag ratio and the thrust required for
a velocity of 100 ft/s.
EXAMPLE
2. For problem #1, calculate the minimum drag and the velocity for minimum drag.
at SSLC conditions:
b = 35.8 ft S = 174 ft2
W = 2950 lbs Fuel Capacity = 65 gal. of aviation gas
c = 0.45 lb/HP-hr CDO = 0.025
e = 0.8 ⴄ= 0.8
EXAMPLE
3. For problem #1, calculate the power available, and power required if the engine
is rated at 150 HP.
At SSLC conditions:
b = 35.8 ft S = 174 ft2
W = 2950 lbs Fuel Capacity = 65 gal. of aviation gas
c = 0.45 lb/HP-hr CDO = 0.025
e = 0.8 ⴄ= 0.8
EXAMPLE
4. For problem #1, calculate the minimum power required and its corresponding
velocity.
At SSLC conditions:
b = 35.8 ft S = 174 ft2
W = 2950 lbs Fuel Capacity = 65 gal. of aviation gas
c = 0.45 lb/HP-hr CDO = 0.025
e = 0.8 ⴄ= 0.8
EXAMPLE
5. For 100 ft/s of sea level velocity, what is the velocity required needed to fly an
aircraft, steady and level at 10000 ft. The density at 10,000 ft is 0.001755 slug/ft3.
 ANY
QUESTIONS?
ACTIVITY
TIME!