Introduction to

AEROSPACE ENGINEERING

Ujjwal K Saha, PhD

Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati
Drag Polar
 CD,0 is parasite drag coefficient at zero lift ( L=0)
 CD,i drag coefficient due to lift (induced drag)
 Oswald efficiency factor (e) includes all effects from airplane
 CD,0 and e are known aerodynamics quantities of airplane.

CL2
CD  CD , 0   C D , 0  C D ,i
eAR

Drag Polar for the complete airplane

Force Diagram for an Airplane in Flight

 The flight path is inclined at angle  with respect to horizontal.

 The flight path direction and the relative wind are along the
same line.
 The mean chord line is at a geometric angle of attack  with
respect to flight path direction.
 There are FOUR forces acting on the airplane.
Level and Unaccelerated Flight

dV
 F  T cos T  D  W sin   m dt
V2
 F  L  T sin T  W cos   m r
c

 Level means the flight path is along the horizontal ( =0)

 Unaccelerated means the airplane is flying at constant speed
 Entire weight of airplane is perfectly balanced by lift (L = W)
 Engines produce a net thrust that is equal to drag (T = D)
 T cos T  D ; L  T sin T  W
 For most airplanes,  T is small enough such that cos T  1
T  D; L W
Thrust Required for Level and Unaccelerated Flight

T  D  T  D  q SCD
L W L  W  q SCL

W W
TR  
 
T CD
   CL  L
W CL  C  D
 D

 TR is thrust required for an airplane to fly at a given

velocity in level and unaccelerated flight

 Notice that TR is minimum when the airplane is at

maximum L/D
 L/D is an important aero-performance quantity
Thrust Required for Level and Unaccelerated Flight

 Select a flight speed, V∞

 Calculate CL from
W
CL 
q S

 Calculate CD from
C L2
CD  CD,0 
eAR
TR vs. V∞ curve for an airplane
at a given altitude  Calculate CL/CD
 Finally, calculate TR

The engine must produce this W W

TR  
THRUST to fly at the selected V∞  CL
 C 
  
L
D
at a given altitude  D
Lift-to-Drag Ratio
 L/D ratio is a measure of aerodynamic efficiency of an airplane.
 Thus, the aerodynamic efficiency should lead to minimum TR.
 Further, L/D is a function of .

Lift-to-drag ratio vs.  curve TR vs. V∞ curve for an airplane

for an airplane at a given altitude

 Thus, when an airplane is flying at the velocity for minimum

TR, it is simultaneously flying at the  for maximum L/D.
  Different points on TR curve correspond to different 

1
L W   V2 SCL  q SCL
2
 C L2 
D  q SCD  q S  C D , 0  
 eAR 

 At high V∞, (point a), most of the required lift is obtained from high
q∞, and thus, CL and  are small. Under the same condition, D is
large as q∞ is large.
 As we move towards left, q∞ decreases, CL and therefore  must
increase to support the given airplane weight.
 At low V∞, (point b), q∞ is low, and thus, CL is large. At these
conditions, CD,i increases rapidly, more rapidly than q∞ decreases;
and D and hence TR increase.
Condition for Minimum TR

TR  D  q SCD  q S  CD ,0  CD ,i 
CL2
TR  q SCD ,0  q S
 eAR
Zero-Lift TR Lift-Induced TR
(Parasitic Drag) (Induced Drag)

~ V 2

~ 1/V2
 Thrust Required vs. Flight Speed
CL2
TR  q SCD ,0  q S
 eAR
W2 At point of minimum TR, dTR/dV∞=0
TR  q SCD ,0 
q S eAR
dTR  dTR  dV 
Now,   
dq  dV  dq 

At point of minimum TR,

dTR dTR
0  0
dV dq
dTR W2
  SCD ,0  2 0 At Minimum Thrust Required
dq q S eAR Zero-Lift Drag = Drag due to lift
W2 CL2
CD ,0  2 2   C D ,i Hence, the curves for zero-lift and lift-induced
q S  eAR  eAR
TR intersect at the velocity for minimum TR
 CD ,0  CD ,i (i.e., for maximum L/D)
Thrust Required and Thrust Available

 Thrust Required (TR):

Associated with the
aerodynamics and
weight of the
airplane.
Thrust available curve for piston engine-propeller combination

 Thrust Available (TA):

Associated with the
airplane engine
(piston-prop, turbojet,
turbofan, etc.)
Thrust available curve for a turbojet engine
Power Required – Level and Unaccelerated Flight

W
PR  TRV  V
 CL 
 C 
 D

1 2W
L W  V2 SCL  V 
2  SCL
W 2W
PR 
 CL   SCL
 C 
 D
Remark: Recall
3 2
2W C 1 here that TR varies
PR  D

 SC 3
 C 32  inversely as CL/CD.
L
 L C 
 D
  TR 
W

W

PR varies inversely as CL3/2/CD.

 CL
 C 
  
L
D
 D
Power Required – Level and Unaccelerated Flight

Remark: The PR curve resembles qualitatively the TR curve.

At the velocity of minimum PR , the airplane is flying at the 
that corresponds to a maximum CL3/2/CD.
Power Required – Level and Unaccelerated Flight

PR  TRV  DV  q SCDV  q S  CD ,0  CD ,i V

CL2
PR  q SCD ,0V  q SV
 eAR
Zero-Lift PR Lift-Induced PR

Zero-Lift PR ~ V 3

Lift-Induced PR ~ 1/ V
 Condition for Minimum PR

PR  TRV  DV  q SCDV  q S  CD ,0  CD ,i V

CL2
PR  q SV CD ,0  q SV
 eAR
1 W2 2W
PR  V SCD ,0 
3
CL 
1
2 V S eAR V2 S
2
At point of minimum PR,
dPR
0
dV
dPR 3 2  1 
  V S  CD ,0  CD ,i   0
dV 2  3 
1
 CD ,0  CD ,i
3
1
At Minimum Power Required: Zero - lift Drag =
3
Lift - induced Drag
Power Required vs. Flight Speed

At point 1: Condition for minimum TR: CD ,0  CD ,i

 V min P V min T
R R

1
C D , 0  C D ,i
3

CD ,0  CD ,i
Power Available

PA  P PA  TAV
 Effect of Altitude
At Sea-level At Altitude

2W 2W
V0  VAlt 
0 SCL  Alt SCL
2W 3CD2 2W 3CD2
PR ,0  TRV0  PR , Alt  TRVAlt 
0 SCL3  Alt SCL3
CL2
Assume CL is fixed, and hence, CD  CD ,0  is also fixed.
 eAR

VAlt 0 0
   VAlt  V0
V0  Alt  Alt
PR , Alt 0 0
and   PR , Alt  PR , 0
PR , 0  Alt  Alt
Effect of Altitude
 Effect of Altitude

Propeller-driven Airplane Jet-propelled Airplane

Climbing Performance
 Steady flight along a straight path inclined at an angle  .
  = Angle of climb.

T  D  W sin 
L  W cos 
Rate of Climb
T  D  W sin 
TV  DV  WV sin 
TV  DV
 V sin 
W Vertical velocity
Rate of Climb = R / C  V sin 
Power Required at Level-flight
TV  DV (for small , neglect W)
R/C 
W Power Available
Excess Power

W  EP max
EP   R / C max 
 W
W
Excess Power (at a given altitude)

Propeller-driven Airplane Jet-propelled Airplane

 EP is different at different V∞
 There is a V∞ at which the EP is maximum. At this point,
 EP max
 R / C max 
W
Time to Climb

R / C  V sin   Vc  Vertical component of Airplane’s velocity

= Rate of change of altitude
dh  Vc

dt
dh
 dt 
R/C  Time to climb from h1 to h2
h2 h2
dh dh
t 
h1
R/C
 
0
R/C
h2
dh
 tmin 
0 
R / C max
Gliding Flight
 Descending without engine power is known as gliding.
 Forces acting on the airplane are Lift, Drag and Weight.
 Thrust is zero because power is off.
  = Angle of glide.
 T 0
D  W sin 
and L  W cos 

sin  D
 
cos  L
1 L
tan   R  h cot   h  
 
L
D
D
L
Rmax  h cot   h  
   f ( L / D)  D max
 Smallest  occurs at (L/D)max.
Variation of EP – Absolute and Service Ceiling
 As altitude increases, maximum EP decreases.
 In turn, the maximum R/C decreases.

 The altitude at which the

max. R/C is zero is called as
the Absolute ceiling.
Absolute Ceiling

 There is an altitude at which the PA curve becomes

tangent to the PR curve (Point 1). At this point, the excess
power is zero; and hence max. R/C is zero. This altitude is
called as the Absolute ceiling.

 The altitude at which the max. R/C is 0.51 m/s (100 ft/min)
is called as the Service ceiling. It represents the practical
upper limit of steady and level flight.
Range & Endurance

o How far can an airplane fly?

o How long can an airplane we stay aloft?

 Range: The total  Parameters that

distance (measured with maximize range are
respect to the ground) different from those
traversed by airplane on that maximize
a tank of fuel. endurance.

 Endurance: The total  Parameters are again

time that an airplane different for propeller-
stays in the air on a tank powered and jet-
of fuel. powered airplanes.
Specific Air Range (SAR) & Specific Endurance (SE)

 SAR: The horizontal distance flown per unit weight flow

of fuel.

instantaneous distance flown dR

 SAR  
weight of fuel consumed dW

 SE: The time of flight per unit weight flow of fuel.

instantaneous time of flight dt

 SE  
weight of fuel consumed dW
Now, we can write
dR dW
V  ; and W f  
dT dt
Specific Fuel Consumption

Propeller-powered Airplane:
 Specific Fuel Consumption (C)
 Weight of fuel consumed per unit power per unit time

Wf  N 
C   
P  Ws 

Jet-powered Airplane:
 Thrust Specific Fuel Consumption (TSFC or simply, Ct)
 Weight of fuel consumed per unit thrust per unit time
Wf  N 
Ct   
T  Ns 
Propeller-driven Airplane Jet Airplane

dR dR dt dR dR dt
SAR      SAR    
dW dt dW dW dt dW
V V  W  V V
     c  Pf   
Wf c.P   W f ct  T
  DV  
V
 SAR   P 
 
c.D  ct  D
 L 1 L V
    
c.D W ct W D
 C 1 1 CL V
SAR   L  SAR   
c CD W ct CD W

Remark: For steady conditions, Remark: For steady conditions,

PA  PR  D.V   .P TA  TR
Range: Propeller-driven Airplane
dR
 SAR   ; dR   SAR dW
dW
W2
 CL 1
 R   c CD W dW
W1

 CL W1  CL  Winitial 
 ln   ln 
c CD W2 c CD  W final 


 For maximum range:

– Largest propeller efficiency, 
– Lowest possible C i.e., SFC
– Highest ratio of Winitial to Wfinal (with largest fuel weight)
– Fly at maximum L/D
Endurance: Propeller-driven Airplane

dR dt SAR
 SAR    V ; dt   dW
dW dW V
W2
 CL 1 dW
 E  t2  t1   
c CD W V
W1
3
 CL 2  1 1 
 2  S   
c CD  W W 
 2 1 

 For maximum endurance:

– Highest propeller efficiency, 
– Lowest possible C i.e., SFC
– Highest fuel weight Wf (=W1 – W2)
– Fly at maximum CL3/2/CD
– Fly at sea level.
Propeller-driven Airplane
V
SAR   SE 
dW
c.P c.P
W1 W1
V

R dW
c.P
dW E  c.P
W2 W2
Range: Jet Airplane
dR
 SAR   ; dR   SAR dW
dW
1 L V 1 L 2W dW
dR   dW  
ct W D ct D  SCL W
W2 1 1
 R  
2W 1 CL 2 dW
 S c CD W
2
2 1 CL 2
 S c CD
 W1  W2 
W1

 For maximize range:

– Minimum Ct i.e., TSFC
– Maximum fuel weight
– Flight at maximum CL1/2/CD
– Fly at high altitudes.
Endurance: Jet Airplane

dR dt SAR
 SAR    V ; dt   dW
dW dW V
W2
1 CL dW
 E  t2  t1   
ct CD W
W1
1 CL W1
 ln
ct CD W2

 For maximum endurance:

– Minimum thrust specific fuel consumption, ct
– Maximum weight of fuel Wf (=W1 – W2)
– Fly at maximum CL/CD
– E is independent of altitude.
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