AAE321 Lecture Note
AAE321 Lecture Note
INTRODUCTION TO AERODYNAMICS.
Aerodynamics is a sub-field of fluid dynamics and gas dynamics, and many aspects of aerodynamics
theory are common to these fields. The term aerodynamics is often used synonymously with gas
dynamics, the difference being that "gas dynamics" applies to the study of the motion of all gases, and is
not limited to air.
Aerodynamics is the study of the interaction of air with a solid body where there is some relative motion
between them.
Aerodynamics is primarily concerned with the forces of drag and lift, which are caused by air passing over
and around solid bodies. Engineers apply the principles of aerodynamics to the designs of many different
things, including buildings, bridges and even soccer balls; however, of primary concern is the
aerodynamics of aircraft and automobiles.
Aerodynamics comes into play in the study of flight and the science of building and operating an aircraft,
which is called Aeronautics. Aeronautical engineers use the fundamentals of aerodynamics to design
aircraft that fly through the Earth's atmosphere.
(for detailed information: Refer FUNDAMENTALS OF AERODYNAMICS – JOHN.D.ANDERSON)
Studying the motion of air around an object allows us to measure the forces of lift, which allows an
aircraft to overcome gravity, and drag, which is the resistance an aircraft “feels” as it moves through the
air. Everything moving through the air (including airplanes, rockets, and birds) is affected by
aerodynamics.
APPLICATION OF AERODYNAMICS: INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL AERODYNAMICS
Aerodynamics is an applied science with many practical applications in engineering. No matter how
elegant an aerodynamic theory may be, or how mathematically complex a numerical solution may be, or
how sophisticated an aerodynamic experiment may be, all such efforts are usually aimed at one or more
of the following practical objectives;
1. Internal Aerodynamics: is the study of flow of air through passages in solid (duct, pipe, or
enclosed system). That is; determination of flows moving internally through ducts like the flow in
the wind tunnel, Combustion Chamber.
2. External Aerodynamics: Is the study of flow of air around solid objects of various shapes. (e.g flow
around aircraft, Automobile etc)
AERODYNAMICS DEFINITIONS.
AIRFOILS
An airfoil is any surface, such as a wing or rotor blade, designed to produce lift when air passes over it.
Air passing over the upper surface of a foil produces two-thirds of a foil's lift by creating a lower
pressure.
One third of the foil's lift is produced by the higher pressure of air on the foil's under surface. Relative
wind is the air flowing opposite and parallel to the direction of airfoil motion. When an aircraft is at rest,
relative wind does not exist, only wind created by nature. Relative wind, shown in figure 1, is created by
the motion of the aircraft traveling through the air using its own power to reach its desired speed.
Figure 1: Relative Wind.
An airfoil is a surface designed to obtain a desirable reaction from the air through which it moves. Or An
airfoil is a streamlined shape designed to produce lift as it moves through the air
Thus, we can say that any part of the aircraft which converts air resistance into a force useful for flight is
an airfoil. The blades of a propeller are so designed that when they rotate, their shape and position
cause a higher pressure to be built up behind them than in front of them so that they will pull the
aircraft forward. The model of a wing (Figure 2) gives an excellent example of streamlines around airfoil
Although the top surface of the conventional wing profile has greater curvature than the lower surface,
the principal thing is the larger density of streamlines above the wing. The larger density of streamlines
means the greater velocity of air.
According to Bernoulli’s principle an increase in the speed of the fluid occurs simultaneously with a
decrease in pressure or a decrease in the fluid's potential energy. This is equivalent to the principle of
conservation of energy. This states that in a steady flow the sum of all forms of mechanical energy in a
fluid along a streamline is the same at all points on that streamline.
Types of Airfoil
There are three types of airfoils: Positively cambered, symmetric and negatively cambered.
Positively cambered airfoils have the mean camber line above the chord line. A positively cambered
airfoil produces lift at zero angle of attack.
A symmetric airfoil has zero camber, which indicates that the mean camber line and the chord line are
the same. A symmetric airfoil produces no lift at zero angle of attack.
A negatively cambered airfoil has the mean camber line below the chord line and will produce negative
lift at zero angle of attack.
An asymmetrical airfoil is designed to have unequal cambers. This type of airfoil has the characteristic of
a rapid movement of center-of-pressure travel.
The shape of a wing (Figure 3) consequently affects the efficiency of the wing. Airfoil section properties
differ from wing or aircraft properties because of the effect of the wing planform. A wing may have
various airfoil sections from root to tip, with taper, twist, and sweepback. The resulting aerodynamic
properties of the wing are determined by the action of each section along the span.
Efficiency of a wing is measured in terms of the lift over drag (L/D) ratio. This ratio varies with the angle
of attack but reaches a definite maximum value for a particular angle of attack. At this angle, the wing
has reached its maximum efficiency. The shape of the airfoil is the factor which determines the angle of
attack at which the wing is most efficient; it also determines the degree of efficiency. Research has
shown that the most efficient airfoils for general use have the maximum thickness occurring about one-
third of the way back from the leading edge of the wing. High-lift wings and high-lift devices for wings
have been developed by shaping the airfoils to produce the desired effect. The amount of lift produced
by an airfoil will increase with an increase in wing chamber. Camber refers to the curvature of an airfoil
above and below the chord line surface. Upper chamber refers to the upper surface, lower camber to
the lower surface, and mean camber to the mean line of the section. Camber is positive when departure
from the chord line is outward, and negatives when it is inward. Thus, high-lift wings have a large
positive camber on the upper surface and a slight negative camber on the lower surface. Wing flaps
cause an ordinary wing to approximate this same condition by increasing the upper chamber and by
creating a negative lower chamber. It is also known that the larger the wingspan as compared to the
chord, the greater the lift obtained. This comparison is called aspect ratio.
Airfoils Properties
1. The mean camber line (MCL) is a line halfway between the upper and lower surface of an airfoil.
The most forward and rearward points of the mean camber line are the leading edges and
trailing edges, respectively. The major design characteristic of an airfoil is the mean camber line.
2. The chord line of an airfoil is an infinitely long, straight line which passes through its leading and
trailing edges.
3. Chord is an imaginary line from the leading edge to the trailing edge of an airfoil or is the precise
measurement between the leading and trailing edges measured along the chord line. Chord will
typically vary from the wingtip to the wing root.
4. The root chord (𝐶𝑅 ) is the chord at the wing centerline
5. Tip chord (𝐶𝑇 ) is measured at the wingtip
6. The average chord (c) is the average of every chord from the wing root to the wingtip.
7. The camber of an airfoil is the maximum distance between the mean camber line and the chord
line, measured perpendicular to the chord line.
Figure;
ANGLE OF ATTACK
The angle of attack is the angle at which an airfoil passes through the air. This angle is measured
between the chord of the airfoil and the relative wind, as shown in figure 5.
Increasing the angle of attack deflects the airstream and causes an upward pressure on the underside of
the airfoil. This in turn increases the speed of the airflow over the topside of the airfoil. As air-flow-
speed increases, pressure on the foil's top side is further reduced. The upward pressure on the foil's
underside and pressure reduction on the top side combine to furnish lift.
Angle of incidence (fixed-wing aircraft) is the angle between the airfoil chord line and the longitudinal
axis or other selected reference plane of the aircraft.
Angle of incidence (rotary-wing aircraft) is the angle between the chord line of a main or tail rotor blade
and the plane of rotation (tip path plane). It is usually referred to as the blade pitch angle.
For fixed airfoils, such as vertical fins or elevators, the angle of incidence is the angle between the chord
line of the airfoil and a selected reference plane of the helicopter.
STALL
As the angle of attack is increased, lift is also increased up to a certain angle. Beyond this angle airflow
can no longer follow the contour of the airfoil's upper surface, as shown in the sequences in figure 6.
After the burble point the airfoil goes full stall.
Figure 6: Stall Angle
Dihedral Angle
Dihedral angle is the angle between the span wise inclination of the wing and the lateral axis. More
simply, it is the upward slope of the wing when viewed from the front, that is; The upward inclination of
the wing to the plane through the lateral axis
Anhedral Angle
The downward inclination of the wing to the plane through the lateral axis
Figure 8: Anhedral angle
As the air flows over the upper surface of an airfoil, its speed or velocity increases and its pressure
decreases. An area of low pressure is thus formed. There is an area of greater pressure on the lower
surface of the airfoil, and this greater pressure tends to move the wing upward. This difference in
pressure between the upper and lower surfaces of the wing is called lift. Three-fourths of the total lift of
an airfoil is the result of the decrease in pressure over the upper surface. The impact of air on the under
surface of an airfoil produces the other one-fourth of the total lift. An aircraft in flight is acted upon by
four forces (Fig. 9):
1. Gravity, or weight, the force that pulls the aircraft toward the earth;
2. Lift, the force that pushes the aircraft upward;
3. Thrust, the force that moves the aircraft forward;
4. Drag, the force that exerts a braking action
What Is Weight?
Gravity is a force that pulls everything down to Earth. Weight is the amount of gravity multiplied by
the mass of an object. Weight is also the downward force that an aircraft must overcome to fly. A
kite has less mass and therefore less weight to overcome than a jumbo jet, but they both need the
same thing in order to fly lift.
What Is Lift?
Lift is the push that lets something move up. It is the force that is the opposite of weight. Everything
that flies must have lift. For an aircraft to move upward, it must have more lift than weight.
A hot air balloon has lift because the hot air inside is lighter than the air around it. Hot air rises and
carries the balloon with it.
A helicopter's lift comes from the rotor blades. Their motion through the air moves the helicopter
upward.
Lift for an airplane comes from its wings.
What Is Drag?
Drag is a force that pulls back on something trying to move. Drag provides resistance, making it hard
to move. For example, it is more difficult to walk or run through water than through air. Water
causes more drag than air. The shape of an object also affects the amount of drag. Round surfaces
usually have less drag than flat ones. Narrow surfaces usually have less drag than wide ones. The
more air that hits a surface, the more the drag the air produces.
What Is Thrust?
Thrust is the force that is the opposite of drag. It is the push that moves something forward. For an
aircraft to keep moving forward, it must have more thrust than drag. A small airplane might get its
thrust from a propeller. A larger airplane might get its thrust from jet engines. A glider does not have
thrust. It can only fly until the drag causes it to slow down and land.
Axes of an Aircraft
Whenever an aircraft changes its attitude in flight, it must turn about one or more of three axes. Fig.
4-1 shows the three axes, which are imaginary lines passing through the center of the aircraft. The
axes of an aircraft can be considered as imaginary axles around which the aircraft turns like a wheel.
At the center, where all three axes intersect, each is perpendicular to the other two. The axis which
extends lengthwise through the fuselage from the nose to the tail is called the longitudinal axis. The
axis which extends crosswise, from wing tip to wing tip, is the lateral axis. The axis which passes
through the center, from top to bottom is called the vertical axis.
Finally, an aircraft moves about its vertical axis in a motion which is termed yaw. This is a horizontal
movement of the nose of the aircraft. Roll, pitch, and yaw - the motions an aircraft makes about its
longitudinal, lateral, and vertical axes - are controlled by three control surfaces. Roll is produced by
the ailerons.
Aerodynamic forces and Moments
The only mechanisms nature has for communicating a force to a body moving through a fluid are
pressure and shear stress distributions on the body surface. Pressure acts normal (perpendicular) to
the body while sheer stress acts tangential to the surface. When integrated over the entire surface,
the resultant vector is the aerodynamic force. The aerodynamic force (AF) is the net force that
results from pressure and shear stress distribution over an airfoil, and can be broken down into two
components, lift and drag (Figure 1).
Lift (L) is the component of the aerodynamic force acting perpendicular to the relative wind.
Drag (D) is the component of the aerodynamic force acting parallel to and in the same direction as
the relative wind. Aerodynamic force can be expressed as the product of dynamic pressure (q),
surface area (S) of the airfoil, and a coefficient of aerodynamic force (CF). This coefficient represents
the shape and orientation of the surface area with respect to the relative wind.
There are eight factors that affect lift: density (ρ), velocity (V), surface area (S), compressibility,
aspect ratio (AR), viscosity (μ), angle of attack (α), and camber. Compressibility, aspect ratio,
viscosity, angle of attack, and camber are accounted for in the coefficient of lift. When an airfoil is
exposed to greater dynamic pressure (q), it encounters more air particles and thus produces more
lift. Therefore, lift is dependent upon the density of the air (i.e., the altitude) and the velocity of the
airflow. An increase in density or velocity will increase lift. Since lift is produced by pressure, which is
force per unit area, it follows that a greater area produces a greater force. Therefore, an increase in
wing surface area produces greater lift.
DRAG
Drag is the component of the aerodynamic force that is parallel to the relative wind, and acts in the
same direction. The drag equation is the same as the aerodynamic force equation, except that that
the coefficient of drag (CD) is used.
𝐷 = 𝑞𝑆𝐶𝐷 = 1⁄2 𝜌𝑉 2 𝑆𝐶𝐷
Figure 2 Resultant aerodynamic force and the components into which it splits
Figure 2, illustrates the geometrical relationship between the resultant aerodynamic force, 𝑅, and its
components. The lift, 𝐿, is perpendicular to the freestream flow direction. The drag, 𝐷, is parallel to
the freestream flow direction. Therefore, by resolving 𝑁 and 𝐴 into their components along these
directions,
we have;
𝐿 = 𝑁 cos𝛼 − 𝐴 sin 𝛼, and 𝐷 = 𝑁 sin 𝛼 + 𝐴 cos𝛼.
Considering the given figure, the resolution of the differential pressure and shear stress forces into vertical
(normal force) and horizontal (axial force) components respectively gives
and
for the differential normal and axial forces respectively at point B on the lower surface. Therefore, by
integration from the leading edge to the trailing edge, the total normal force is obtained as
𝑇𝐸 𝑇𝐸
𝑁 ′ = − ∫𝐿𝐸 (𝑝𝑢 cos 𝜃 + 𝜏𝑢 sin 𝜃)𝑑𝑠𝑢 + ∫𝐿𝐸 (𝑝𝑙 cos 𝜃 − 𝜏𝑙 sin 𝜃)𝑑𝑠𝑙 (1 mark),
The following geometric relations are obtained from the diagram on the right.
𝐷
Drag coefficient: 𝐶𝐷 = 𝑞
∞𝑆
𝑁
Normal force coefficient: 𝐶𝑁 =
𝑞∞ 𝑆
𝐴
Axial force coefficient: 𝐶𝐴 = 𝑞
∞𝑆
𝑀
Moment coefficient: 𝐶𝑀 =
𝑞∞ 𝑆
The following geometric relations are obtained from the diagram on the right.
𝑑𝑥 = 𝑑𝑠 cos 𝜃
𝑑𝑦 = −(𝑑𝑠 sin 𝜃)
𝑆 = 𝑐(1)
Furthermore, the coefficients of normal and axial forces are respectively defined as
𝑁′
𝑐𝑛 ≡
𝑞∞ 𝑐
and
𝐴′
𝑐𝑎 ≡ 𝑞
∞𝑐
Therefore,
𝑁′
𝑐𝑛 =
𝑞∞ 𝑐
1 𝑇𝐸 𝑝𝑢 − 𝑝∞ 𝜏𝑢 1 𝑇𝐸 𝑝𝑙 − 𝑝∞ 𝜏𝑙
=− ∫ ( cos 𝜃 + sin 𝜃) 𝑑𝑠𝑢 + ∫ ( cos 𝜃 − sin 𝜃) 𝑑𝑠𝑙
𝑐 𝐿𝐸 𝑞∞ 𝑞∞ 𝑐 𝐿𝐸 𝑞∞ 𝑞∞
1 𝑇𝐸 𝑝𝑢 − 𝑝∞ 𝜏𝑢 𝑑𝑦𝑢 1 𝑇𝐸 𝑝𝑙 − 𝑝∞ 𝜏𝑙 𝑑𝑦𝑙
=− ∫ ( − ) 𝑑𝑥 + ∫ ( + ) 𝑑𝑥
𝑐 𝐿𝐸 𝑞∞ 𝑞∞ 𝑑𝑥 𝑐 𝐿𝐸 𝑞∞ 𝑞∞ 𝑑𝑥
1 𝑇𝐸 1 𝑇𝐸 𝑑𝑦𝑢 𝑑𝑦𝑙
= 𝑐 ∫𝐿𝐸 (𝐶𝑝,𝑙 − 𝐶𝑝,𝑢 )𝑑𝑥 + 𝑐 ∫𝐿𝐸 (𝑐𝑓,𝑢 𝑑𝑥
+ 𝑐𝑓,𝑙 𝑑𝑥
) 𝑑𝑥 .
Similarly,
𝐴′
𝑐𝑎 =
𝑞∞ 𝑐
1 𝑇𝐸 𝑝𝑢 − 𝑝∞ 𝜏𝑢 1 𝑇𝐸 𝑝𝑙 − 𝑝∞ 𝜏𝑙
= ∫ (− sin 𝜃 + cos 𝜃) 𝑑𝑠𝑢 + ∫ ( sin 𝜃 + cos 𝜃) 𝑑𝑠𝑙
𝑐 𝐿𝐸 𝑞∞ 𝑞∞ 𝑐 𝐿𝐸 𝑞∞ 𝑞∞
1 𝑇𝐸 𝑝𝑢 − 𝑝∞ 𝑑𝑦𝑢 𝜏𝑢 1 𝑇𝐸 𝑝𝑙 − 𝑝∞ 𝑑𝑦𝑙 𝜏𝑙
= ∫ ( + ) 𝑑𝑥 + ∫ (− + ) 𝑑𝑥
𝑐 𝐿𝐸 𝑞∞ 𝑑𝑥 𝑞∞ 𝑐 𝐿𝐸 𝑞∞ 𝑑𝑥 𝑞∞
1 𝑇𝐸 𝑑𝑦𝑢 𝑑𝑦𝑙 1 𝑇𝐸
𝑐𝑛 = ∫𝐿𝐸 (𝐶𝑝,𝑢 − 𝐶𝑝,𝑙 ) 𝑑𝑥 + ∫𝐿𝐸 (𝑐𝑓,𝑢 + 𝑐𝑓,𝑙 )𝑑𝑥
𝑐 𝑑𝑥 𝑑𝑥 𝑐