High Speed Aerodynamics

Speeds
An aeroplane is descending from FL 390 to ground level at maximum speed. The limit(s) in
speed is (are):
initially MMO (Maximum Mach Operating), then VMO (Maximum Operating
Speed) below a given flight level -> Aerodynamic limitations at high altitude (stall) and
structural limitations at low altitude
Descent = VMO
Climb = MMO
The MMO is most limiting at high altitudes, which is when it is most useful for us to refer to
our speed in Mach No., whereas at lower altitudes, the VMO is most limiting, and we should
use IAS/CAS instead. The point where this crossover happens is called
the crossover/changeover altitude. A common altitude for this is around 28.000 ft, but it
depends on the aircraft and conditions.
In cruise, and generally at higher levels, for the same VMO, the TAS and Mach number
increase due to the decrease in density. Therefore, at high levels, it is very unlikely that you
reach the VMO. But let’s suppose you’re trying to reach the VMO (just to illustrate this
relationship). By accelerating to reach the VMO, which is an IAS, your TAS and your Mach
number will increase, and you will most likely reach your MMO before the VMO.
In the same way, at low levels close to the ground, the IAS and the TAS are very close
because of the higher density, therefore the VMO becomes the limiting speed. To reach the
MMO at a low level, you will need to drastically increase your TAS, which is impossible as you
will reach the VMO and damage your structure way before.
As the altitude increases, the speed of sound...
decreases in the troposphere.
The Local Speed of Sound is defined by:
LSS=38.95∗√(T(K))
In the troposphere, as altitude increases, the temperature decreases, therefore the LSS
also decreases. Pressure waves ‘propagate’ from their source, that is, each air molecule is
rapidly vibrated in turn and passes on the disturbance to its neighbour. The speed of
propagation of small pressure waves depends upon the temperature of the air ONLY. The
higher the temperature, the higher the speed of propagation.
The speed at +15°C is 340 m/s or 661 kt.

Above the tropopause, temperature remains constant. Local Speed of sound being only
dependant on temperature, will not change.
-> when Mach number and LSS are constant => TAS must also remain the same.
The term “compressibility” means that there are changes in the _____ of the free stream
airflow.
Density
 State that compressibility means that density can change along a streamline, and that
this occurs in the high subsonic (from Mach 0.4), transonic, and supersonic flow.
Effect on Mach Number of Climbing at a Constant IAS:

- Temperature decreases with increasing altitude, so the speed of sound will decrease as
altitude is increased.
- If altitude is increased at a constant IAS, the TAS increases.
- Therefore, the Mach number will increase if altitude is increased at a constant IAS. This is
because TAS gets bigger and LSS gets smaller.

As the climb continues, an altitude will be reached at which the flight crew must stop flying at
a constant IAS and fly at a constant Mach number, to avoid accidentally exceeding MMO.

Effect on TAS of descending at a constant Mach Number:

- Temperature increases with decreasing altitude, so the speed of sound will increase as
altitude is decreased.
- If altitude is decreased at a constant Mach Number (M = TAS/LSS), the TAS increases. This
is because LSS gets bigger.

As the descent continues, an altitude will be reached at which the flight crew must stop flying
at a constant Mach Number and fly at a constant IAS, to avoid accidentally exceeding
VMO.

Machmeter
- measures the airspeed relative to the speed of sound
- Mach number can be determined using dynamic pressure and static pressure
- (Pitot = total pressure - static) / static = Dynamic pressure / local factor = Mach
number
With increasing mach number, in the transonic range, the coefficient of drag first increases
and then decreases.

Flow Speed ranges

Subsonic = zero - Mcrit
Transonic = Mcrit – ca. M 1.3 -> both subsonic and supersonic speeds exist in the flow
around the airplane
Supersonic = M 1.3 – M5
The transonic speed region is located between MCRIT and MDET (Detachment Mach
number). In this region, ML (local Mach number) is both subsonic and supersonic.
ML (Local Mach number) is the actual speed of the flow over a surface.
Maintaining a constant Flight Level and IAS, an aircraft flies into a colder airmass.
Choose the correct statement:
Mach number stays constant.
Mach number = True Air Speed (TAS) / Local Speed of Sound (LSS)
LSS = 38.96 √ Absolute Temperature (K)
IAS = 1/2 p V2 (Where V = TAS)
When flying into a colder airmass, density "p" increases. In order to maintain IAS
constant, TAS (V) must decrease.
LSS will decrease in colder air.
As both TAS and LSS decreases, Mach number will not change.
Temperature changes do not affect the Mach number (changes in LSS are canceled out by
changes in TAS).

Mach (Verhältnis Geschwindigkeit des Flugzeugs zur Schallgeschwindigkeit)

- remains constant if CAS + pressure altitude remain constant (auch bei ändernder
Static Air Temperature/SAT -> both TAS and LSS increase/decrease mit ändernder T -
> höher: höhere TAS, um IAS gleichzuhalten + LSS wird höher; T niedriger:
niedrigere TAS, um IAS gleichzuhalten + LSS wird weniger)
Assuming ISA conditions and a climb above the tropopause at constant Mach number and
aeroplane mass, the:
IAS decreases
-> M = TAS/LSS -> T = const. above Tropopause -> LSS = const. -> since M is also const ->
TAS = must remain the same as well

Density and pressure continue to decrease with increasing altitude (also above the
tropopause).

IAS = 1/2 p V2 (Where V = TAS)

When density "p" decreases in a climb and TAS remains contant => IAS decreases.

 Es werden weniger Teilchen verdrängt mit zunehmender Höhe und TAS constant
-> IAS sinkt
During a descent at a constant Mach number (assume zero thrust and standard atmospheric
conditions):

the angle of attack will decrease.

L=1/2 ρ TAS2 S CL

- LSS (= Temperature) increases with decreasing altitude -> M = TAS/LSS -> if M is

constant, TAS must increase as well
- To maintain Lift constant (with increasing TAS), Cl must decrease -> AoA must
be decreased

Assuming ISA conditions and a descent above the tropopause at constant Mach number and
aeroplane mass, the: lift coefficient decreases.

1. Figure out TAS -> Mach number = TAS/LSS

We know that Mach is constant from the question. And we know that LSS is constant because
temp is constant above tropopause --> TAS must be constant also.
2. Figure out IAS = (TASXTAS)x 0.5x density
- TAS is constant and we know that density increases when descending.
That means that IAS increases.
3. Figure out Cl -> L = Cl x 0.5p x v2 x s.
we know that, p increases (as we said), v – IAS increases, to keep Lift constant we must
decrease the cl and this is the answer

Merksatz zu diesen Beispielen:

CL = AoA
Climb = Increase
Descent = Decrease
Why are fuselages curved?
Area rule -> reduces wave drag -> bigger cross-sectional area = fuselage must be reduced
Assuming ISA conditions and a descent above the tropopause at constant Mach number and
aeroplane mass, the...
IAS increases
Above the tropopause the temperature is constant, so the speed of sound will remain the same
-> with constant Mach so will TAS.
The Indicated Airspeed is defined by dynamic pressure:

IAS=1/2∗ρ∗TAS2
Descending through the tropopause, density (ρ) will increase. Looking at the IAS formula,
with a constant TAS, increasing density will increase IAS.
Transonic speed regime – critical AoA decreases due to compressibility
When an aircraft accelerates above approximately M0.4, the effects of compressibility begin
to occur. The easiest way to understand this is by remembering that the aircraft produces
pressure waves ahead of it (its wings in this context) which "tell the air that the wing is
coming", so the air can begin to move out of the way. These pressure waves can only move at
the speed of sound though, so as the aircraft itself starts going faster, the air gets less and less
time to move away from the oncoming wing. This leads to a more aggressive uplift of air just
ahead of the wing leading edge at high subsonic speeds, and this takes some energy out of the
airflow (amongst some other effects). Together, these lead to a stall at lower angles of attack
than usual.

Therefore, when accelerating into the transonic regime, the wing's critical angle of attack
(angle at which it stalls) reduces due to the compressibility effects ahead of the wing.

Supercritical aerofoils -> aeroplane may fly at a greater Mach number and, initially, only
experience a slight increase in drag.

The TAS at which the first particle of air becomes sonic (exactly Mach 1) is called MCRIT,
and is the beginning of the transonic speed regime. Above this speed, shockwaves will
begin to form on various parts of the airframe.
There are many ways to delay MCRIT and the shock stall, one of which is to fly with
a supercritical wing. A supercritical aerofoil has a much flatter top surface, which not only
increases MCRIT and MDD (drag divergence)* but also creates a weaker shockwave when
one is formed, just above MCRIT. The shockwaves on a supercritical aerofoil quickly move
to the trailing edge, making the shock stall a much smaller effect. For civilian applications,
the main benefit is the faster speed that can be flown, before drag increases due to wave drag.
M D D (drag divergence Mach number) is a speed which comes just above M C R I T , where the
drag begins to increase rapidly with increase in speed. This is what we really want to
make higher, and using a supercritical aerofoil does exactly that.

Mach buffet = exceeding Mmo

To avoid accidentally exceeding Mmo —> Stop flying at constant IAS and fly at constant
Mach number

To avoid accidentally exceeding Vmo —> Stop flying at Mach number and fly constant IAS
at the CHANGEOVER Altitude
IAS = const; encountering cold air mass -> Mach speed stays constant (IAS = 1/2 ρ TAS2 – as
T reduces, density goes up -> TAS must be reduced to keep IAS constant -> LSS also declines
when T reduces -> M = TAS/LSS (both go down) -> Mach Number remains constant as
well)
Assuming ISA conditions and a climb below the tropopause at constant Mach number and
aeroplane mass, the:
lift coefficient increases -> T decreases with increasing altitude -> LSS will decrease -> TAS
must decrease as well to keep M constant -> L=1/2∗ρ∗TAS2∗S∗CL -> to maintain Lift
constant, Cl increases
Apart from an overspeed warning, are there any other indications of the overspeed that may
be apparent to the pilots?
a slight vibration is felt through the fuselage structure, otherwise the aeroplane observes
normal behaviour.
 when faced with this situation, the pilot would be wise to descend in order to increase
the buffet margin so that the aircraft remained within limits.
How can the critical Mach number of a conventional aerofoil section be reduced?
- Increase the leading edge radius, which speeds up the air down.
- Increase the thickness to chord ratio, which speeds up the air down.

- As far as the first example, increasing the leading edge radius, gives the aerofoil a
thicker, more rounded leading edge, which increases the airflow acceleration. The
MCRIT decreases when the airflow over the upper surface of the wing is given faster
acceleration and its speed will then reach M=1 at a slower aircraft speed.

Shock waves

A shock wave on a lift generating wing will:

-> move slightly forward in front of an upward deflecting aileron
-> move aft when aileron deflects downward
A Downwards deflecting aileron will increase the camber, thus moving the shock wave
rearwards. The opposite happens with an upwards deflecting aileron.
Thicker wing with a large amount of camber has a lower critical Mach number than a thin
wing with little camber because the airflow over its upper surface accelerates to a higher
speed than it would over a thin wing. Deflecting a control surface upward decreases camber,
this will arrest the aft movement of the shockwave (or, in fact, move it slightly forward) due
to the increase in MCRIT.
-> move aft as Mach number is increased
-> move forward as Mach number is decreased

The airflow may be subsonic at the leading edge of the wing but can be accelerated to become
supersonic by the trailing edge of the wing.
At speeds less than Mach 0.75 all the airflow over the wing is subsonic and as the airplane
accelerates the first shockwave will form on the upper surface at the wing root.
When the air over the upper surface of the wing becomes sonic, a shockwave forms because
the pressure waves over the rear of wing at the wing root are attempting to move forward and
meet the air moving aft from the leading edge at exactly the same speed but in the opposite
direction. The meeting point is usually just aft of the point of maximum camber because
this is where the air over the upper surface of the wing is accelerating at the greatest rate.
The meeting point of the two air-pressure waves is the shockwave and is where the
airflow changes from being sonic or supersonic to become subsonic. Air passing through
the shockwave experiences an increase of pressure, temperature, and density.
If the airplane speed continues to increase the area of supersonic air on top of the wing
spreads backward towards the trailing edge, resulting in the shockwave moving aft.
What effect will shockwave induced separation have on a T-Tail horizontal stabiliser?
No noticeable effect. -> T-Tail, turbulent layer goes right under, so no effect. If normal
stabilizer, then buffet.
At normal flying speeds, the pitch angle of the aircraft to maintain level flight is such that the
T-Tail is far above the wake of the main wing, so when in the transonic speed range, the
reducing downwash of the main wing will not really affect the tailplane, as it would do a
conventional tailplane.
So for this question, we believe that the downwash will not change by a noticeable amount,
and there will be little to no buffet on the horizontal stabiliser, due to its distance from the
wake of the man wing.
We must remember that the main wing is the first place on the aircraft that forms a
shockwave, so the separation will cause the main wing to have a turbulent wake. This is what
we believe the examiner is asking about, not when the tailplane itself forms a shockwave.
The lower shock wave…
moves aft and reaches the trailing edge first
/ moves aft more quickly than the upper
The curvature of the underside of a wing is usually less than that of the upper surface,
therefore the acceleration of the airflow is less, consequently the airflow does not become
sonic until the aeroplane is travelling at a higher airspeed.
At lower airspeeds the only shockwave occurs on the upper surface and first appears at the
wing root. At speeds above this, a shockwave forms beneath the lower surface of the wing
ahead of the upper surface shockwave.
The shock wave on the lower surface usually forms at a higher free stream Mach number than
the upper surface shock, but it reaches the trailing edge first.
The meeting point of the two pressure waves occurs nearer the trailing edge.

The overall direction of the airflow remains the same, but as it passes through the shock wave,
the following changes take place:
Air Temperature - Increases (due to compression)
Static Pressure - Increases (due to compression)
Total Pressure - Decreases (Normal shockwave suffers greater loss than an oblique
shockwave)
Air Density - Increases (Oblique shockwave has less compression)
LSS - Increases (due to the temperature increase)
Speed of Airflow - Decreases to less than Mach 1 (normal shockwave). Decreases but still
above Mach 1.0 (oblique shockwave).
Regarding a normal shock wave on the upper surface of a wing, as Mach number increases
towards Mach drag divergence...
the shock wave moves aft and the coefficient of lift increases. -> an den Graphen denken
(Cl increases in front of the shock wave)
 at speeds between M0.75 and drag divergence Mach number CL increases. This is
due to the pressure distribution over the airfoil resulting from the aft movement of the
shockwave.
As the aircraft approaches drag divergence, its increasing speed causes both the coefficient of
lift (CL) and coefficient of drag (CD) to increase, with CL continuing to rise until the point of
shock stall. Additionally, the shockwave moves aft as the Mach number increases.
Behind the shockwave, the air density increases. The temperature rises, this results in a higher
LSS behind the shockwave.

Whenever supersonic airflow is slowed to subsonic speed without a change in direction,

a ‘normal’ shock wave will form as a boundary between the supersonic and subsonic region.
This means that some compressibility effects will occur before the aircraft reaches Mach 1.0.
Tuck under, or Mach tuck, is an effect where the aircraft tends to pitch downward as the
airflow around the airfoil reaches supersonic speeds.
It occurs well before reaching Mach 1 speed.
Mach tuck can be caused by two things; a rearward movement of the center of pressure (CP)
and a decrease in wing downwash at the tailplane.
Both of these conditions cause a pitch down effect, as they generate a (bigger) positive
moment aft of the CG.
What is the impact of a change in Angle of Attack (AoA) on a normal shock wave at a
constant Mach number?
The intensity of the shock wave increases as AoA increases.
As we increase the AoA the speed over the top of the wing increases, so therefore the intensity
of the shockwave increases along with it.
 A higher angle of attack decreases MCRIT and therefore, increases the shock wave
intensity.
 They behave like induced drag. Increase with a higher AoA
Increasing mass increases shock wave intensity.
 to counteract the higher mass, when flying at a constant mach, the angle of attack must
be increased to produce the required lift to maintain a given altitude. The intensity of a
shock wave will, consequently, increase with the increased angle of attack. This
happens due to higher velocities over the profile.
 Thin/heavy person jumping into swimming pool
When a profile reaches the speed of sound, what kind of shock wave is produced at the point
of maximum speed?
Straight/right shock wave -> The shock wave acts perpendicular, or normal, to the surface,
and is more commonly referred to as a normal shock wave. Notably, this occurs where
the flow changes from supersonic back to subsonic.
perpendicular - normal shockwave -> form at an angle of 90° to the wing surface
Inclined (geneigt)/at an angle - oblique shockwave
At the front - bow
When Mach number is increasing, the shock wave -> increases, its length increases, and it
moves downstream.
If you increase speed -> shock wave moves backwards = Downstream
- The word downstream simply means "In the direction of movement", so with
increasing Mach, the Shockwave Will move with the direction of the airflow, thus
moving DOWNSTREAM. And upstream is the opposite.
Where does the boundary layer separation due to shock wave interaction occur on the
wing?
Along the upper surface of the wing, just before the trailing edge.
 initially the shockwave and boundary layer separation occur on the upper surface of
the wing, approximately half-way along, then move backwards as the speed increases.
A smaller shockwave also occurs on the underside of the wing near the trailing edge at
slightly higher speeds, also moving towards the trailing edge as the aircraft accelerates
further.
For this question, consider high speed aerodynamics. An aeroplane accelerates from low
speed to a speed just below MCRIT in straight and level flight. What changes to the airflow
around the aeroplane can you expect to take place?
The total pressure will increase slightly due to compressibility of the air which, for
example, gives an artificially high reading of CAS.
 One of the consequences of compressibility effects is that the total pressure of the
airflow increases. This increase in total pressure can lead to an artificially high
reading on instruments like the airspeed indicator. CAS measures the pressure
differential between the pitot tube (which senses ram air pressure) and static pressure.
At high speeds, the ram air pressure component becomes significant, causing CAS to
read higher than TAS.

Effects of exceeding the critical Mach number (MCRIT)

In transonic flight the ailerons will be less effective than in subsonic flight because:
aileron deflection only partly affects the pressure distribution around the wing.
  The shock wave separates the wing in two parts; ailerons only affect the back part ->
so only partly and not the whole
The shockwave moves slightly aft when an aileron is deflected downwards. This
effectively diminishes the result of deflecting the control surface because only the airflow
passing over the control surface is modified.
This effect is exacerbated (verschärft) when the shockwave reaches the trailing edge of the
aerofoil and the control effectiveness is decreased even further.

When the speed over an aerofoil section increases from subsonic to supersonic, its
aerodynamic centre:
moves from approximately 25% to about 50% of the chord.