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Fundamentals of Theoretical and Experimental Aerodynamics

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Prof Arnab Roy
Department of Aerospace Engineering
IIT KHARAGPUR
Lecture 1 : Introduction on Aerodynamics-its relevance and applications
CONCEPTS COVERED

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 Defining Aerodynamics

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 Approaches

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 Relevance and Objectives
 Applications
 KEY POINTS

 Air flow

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 Aircraft

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 Forces and Moments

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 Experimental Theoretical and Computational Approach
 Wind Tunnel
 Defining Aerodynamics
 The subject ‘Aerodynamics’ relates to the study of flow of air past an aircraft or any other
object of interest like train, automobile, building etc. Aerodynamics is an important branch of
Aerospace Engineering.
 The term ‘air’ is used in a generic sense. It basically means the flowing gaseous medium which
could be air, helium or any other gas depending on the situation.
 An aircraft is a body which is able to fly because of aerodynamic forces and moments generated

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by the action of air flowing past it. This flow of air can occur during the flight of an aircraft
through the atmosphere. The forces and moments are produced through the pressure

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distribution and skin friction acting on the surface of the body.

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 While designing an aircraft, motion of air flow past a scaled down model of the aircraft is
studied in the test section of a wind tunnel. This helps to assess the forces which would occur
on the actual aircraft.
 Aircrafts are most often much heavier than air but can still remain afloat while flying in air
by generating adequate aerodynamic forces and moments. Development of such vehicles
helped achieve human flight in the atmosphere.
 Approaches taken for performing an aerodynamic study
 There are three major components or approaches in modern aerodynamic studies.
1) Theoretical (analytical or semi analytical)
2) Experimental and
3) Numerical computation- Computational fluid dynamics (CFD)

 The different approaches are often meant to complement and validate each other while

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studying an aerodynamic problem.

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 Each approach has its own advantages and disadvantages. Usually the most effective

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approach is to amalgamate both experimental and theoretical/ CFD investigation in a
viable manner to solve a particular problem.
 Theoretical solution

 Exact or analytical solution of governing equations

 Often restricted to simple geometries

 Assumptions which may not very well cater to all real world situations. Due to these
assumptions, the solutions thus generated have to be carefully applied to analyze a flow
problem.

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 A comparison with experiments or numerical simulations which try to replicate the actual

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problem would reveal the range over which the theoretical solution is satisfactory.

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Examples:
Solution of Laplace equation: potential flow over a cylinder or an airfoil
Solution of Linear Wave equation: propagation of sound waves or acoustic waves
Blasius solution of boundary layer (BL) equations: incompressible BL on flat plate
Couette flow, Hagen Poiseuille flow solution of Navier Stokes Equations
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Experimental studies are conducted in wind tunnels. Wind

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tunnels are used to perform aerodynamic measurements on
scaled down models of prototypes. Measurement of pressure

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on model surface, forces and moments acting on the model,
wake survey, flow visualization etc are performed to obtain
valuable understanding of the flow problem. Appropriate
model positioning system and measurement instrumentation
have to be arranged to perform these experiments.
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Numerical solution
 Relevance and Objectives
 To study the flow physics. This is done by studying flow velocity distribution around the
body and in its wake.
 To quantify the aerodynamic forces and moments acting on the body.
 To optimize the shape and sizing to generate desirable flow features and generate
appropriate aerodynamic forces and moments.
 Maximize the lift to drag ratio to maximize aerodynamic efficiency. Lift is on the credit
side and drag is on the debit side of the aerodynamic balance sheet.

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 Use the aerodynamic surfaces to generate adequate forces and moments to maneuver
the aircraft.

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 Study the aerodynamic effect of the atmospheric disturbances like turbulence and gust.
 Study the deformation of the flexible aerospace structure under the aerodynamic and

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inertial loads.
 In high speed flows assess the aerodynamic heating and design appropriate heat shields
for protecting the body (e.g., rocket, reentry capsule). This heating is produced due to
shock waves and viscous dissipation in the boundary layer.
 Study the chemically reacting flow that occurs in extremely high temperature conditions
produced on rockets and reentry vehicles
 Applications
Fixed and Rotary Aircraft aerodynamics

Spacecraft aerodynamics- atmospheric flight during ascent and reentry into earth’s atmosphere

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Fixed, rotary and flapping wing Micro Air Vehicles and Unmanned Air Vehicles

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Aerodynamics of ground based vehicles- automobile, racing car, bus, truck, high speed train

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Aerodynamics of ground based structures- high rise building, tower, chimney, bridge, wind turbine

Sports Aerodynamics Aerodynamics of natural flyers

REFERENCES

1. Fundamentals of Aerodynamics: J. D. Anderson Jr., McGrawHill

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2. Introduction to Flight: J. D. Anderson Jr., McGrawHill

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3. Low Speed Wind Tunnel Testing: J. B. Barlow, W. H. Rae, Alan Pope, Wiley-Interscience
4. A First Course in Aerodynamics: A. Roy, Ventus Publishing, Denmark

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(https://bookboon.com/en/a-first-course-on-aerodynamics-ebook)
 CONCLUSIONS

In this first lecture we discussed about the definition of aerodynamics; the approaches

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taken to perform aerodynamic studies; relevance and objectives of an aerodynamic

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study and the myriad applications of aerodynamics.

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Fundamentals of Theoretical and Experimental Aerodynamics

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Prof Arnab Roy
Department of Aerospace Engineering
IIT KHARAGPUR
Lecture 2 : Atmosphere
CONCEPTS COVERED

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 Concept of the Standard Atmosphere

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 Geometric, Absolute and Geopotential altitude

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 Temperature distribution- Isothermal and Gradient regions
 Using Equation of State to obtain pressure and density variation
 KEY POINTS

 Atmospheric vehicles

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 Properties of the atmosphere
 Definition of geometric, absolute and geopotential altitude

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 Temperature variation with altitude

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 Isothermal and gradient regions of atmosphere
 Lapse rate
 Perfect gas equation of state
 Pressure and density variation with altitude
 Aerospace vehicles include aircrafts, helicopters, unmanned air vehicles (UAVs), balloons etc. These vehicles fly
within the sensible atmosphere and rely on the air available in earth’s atmosphere for fulfilling their mission.

 Rockets travel through the earth’s atmosphere after liftoff from the earth’s surface. Space vehicles like the space
shuttle or reentry vehicle encounter the earth’s atmosphere when they return from space. Planetary probes
encounter atmospheres of other planets like Venus, Mars etc.

 Therefore while designing aerospace vehicles properties of the atmosphere must be taken into account.

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 The STANDARD ATMOSPHERE gives mean values of temperature, pressure, density and other properties of the
atmosphere purely as a function of altitude.

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 The earth’s atmosphere is a dynamic system which is continuously evolving through flux
exchange and transport. Thus, at a given altitude the properties depend on latitude, longitude,

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time of the day, season, local weather conditions etc.
 Standard Atmosphere is based on a large amount of data acquired from experimental balloons
and sounding-rocket experiments and combined with a mathematical model for representing
the average properties of the atmosphere as function of height.
 This standardizes the procedure for defining the properties of the atmosphere through a table
of values.
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REFERENCE

1. Introduction to Flight: J. D. Anderson Jr., McGrawHill

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 CONCLUSIONS

In this lecture we studied about the concept of the standard atmosphere. We learnt

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about geometric, absolute and geopotential altitude and their application in standard

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atmosphere calculations. Temperature distribution within the standard atmosphere was
studied, including the several isothermal and gradient regions. Application of the

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equation of state for a perfect gas was demonstrated to obtain pressure and density
variation as a function of altitude.
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Fundamentals of Theoretical and Experimental Aerodynamics

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Prof Arnab Roy
Department of Aerospace Engineering
IIT KHARAGPUR
Lecture 3 : Flow velocity, pressure, skin friction
CONCEPTS COVERED

 Random molecular motion



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Directed or bulk motion
 Static, dynamic and stagnation pressure

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 Control volume and moving fluid element

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 Continuum and free molecular flow
 Density
 Temperature and kinetic energy
 Velocity vector, steady flow and streamline
 Fluid friction and velocity gradient
 KEY POINTS

 Pressure

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 Density
 Temperature

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 Flow velocity

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 Skin friction
 External aerodynamics deals with air flow around a body, e.g., flow past a wing,
aircraft, rocket, building, cricket ball etc. Internal aerodynamics deals with air flow
through a body, like flow through a pipe, nozzle, diffuser, duct, gas turbine engine
etc

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 Concepts related to flow velocity, pressure, skin friction and other aerodynamic
quantities are applicable identically to both external and internal aerodynamics.

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 Pressure
 Let us consider a surface immersed in a fluid. It is drawn somewhere in the middle of the fluid
region. Its location is fixed.

 At an instant of time it encloses a small volume of the fluid which may or may not be in a state
of ordered motion or bulk motion (flow). We can call this as a control volume.

 The molecules of the fluid confined within this control volume are in a state of constant

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random molecular motion irrespective of the state of ordered or bulk motion. This pressure is
defined as static pressure.

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 Pressure is the normal force per unit area exerted on this surface due to the time rate of

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change of momentum of the gas molecules impacting on or crossing this control volume
surface.

 The pressure produced by the ordered motion is called dynamic pressure. The sum of the static
and dynamic pressure is the stagnation pressure or total pressure. Both static and stagnation
pressure can be measured by experimental means.
 If a solid surface is wetted by air, either in an external or internal aerodynamic situation, the solid surface feels the
pressure exactly in the same way as the control volume surface due to impact of molecular collisions of air molecules
with the solid surface. Pressure at a point on a solid surface and can vary from one location to another, thereby giving
rise to a pressure distribution on the body surface.

 Pressure is more appropriately defined at a point in the fluid. This becomes a more accurate
estimate as the control volume shrinks to a point.

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 Consider a point P1 in a volume of fluid. Let
dA = elemental area at P1

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𝒅𝑭
dF = force on dA due to pressure 𝒑 = 𝐥𝐢𝐦
𝒅𝑨→𝟎 𝒅𝑨
Then, the pressure at point P1 in the fluid is defined as

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 From the above equation it is clear that the pressure p is the limiting form of the force per unit
area, where the area of interest has shrunk to nearly zero at the point P1. Pressure is thus a
point property and can have a different value from one point to another in the fluid or from
one point on a solid surface to another. It is a scalar. Its SI unit is N/m2 which is also called
Pascal.
 When we shrink the control volume and make it extremely small the concept of continuum and free molecule flow
come into the picture.
 Consider the flow over a circular cylinder of diameter d. The fluid consists of large number of molecules which are
moving about in random motion. The mean distance that a molecule travels between collisions with neighboring
molecules is defined as the mean-free path λ. If λ is orders of magnitude smaller than d, then the flow appears to the
body as a continuous medium. This is because the molecules impact the body surface so frequently that the body
cannot distinguish the individual molecular collisions. The body surface feels the fluid as a continuous medium. Such
flow is called continuum flow.

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 When λ is of the same order as d, the gas molecules are spaced far apart. Collisions with the
body surface occur infrequently and therefore the body surface can feel each molecular impact

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distinctly. Such flow is called free molecular flow. Reentry capsules when entering the
atmosphere encounter free molecular flow at the extreme outer edge of the atmosphere. The

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air density is so low at those altitudes (refer standard atmosphere calculations) that λ becomes
of the order of the capsule dimension. Most practical aerodynamic applications involve
continuum flows.
 In the pressure equation we assume that the control volume is sufficiently small such that we
can define the pressure at a point. Simultaneously, we assume that the flow sustains its
continuum behavior within the small control volume.
 Density
 After pressure, another relevant aerodynamic variable is density, which is defined as the mass per unit
volume.

 Like pressure, density is also a point property that can vary from point to point in the fluid.

 Density can change due to change in pressure or change in temperature, or both.

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 Consider a point P1 in the fluid. Let
dv = elemental volume around P1

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𝒅𝒎
dm = mass of fluid inside dv 𝝆 = 𝐥𝐢𝐦
𝒅𝒗→𝟎 𝒅𝒗
Then, the density at point P1 is

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 It is clear from the above equation that density ρ is the limiting form of the mass per unit
volume. Here the volume can be interpreted as that of the control volume which was
discussed earlier. The volume of interest has shrunk to nearly zero around point P1.

 The SI unit for density is kg/m3.

 Temperature
 Temperature is a very important variable in high-speed aerodynamics. The temperature T of a
gas is directly proportional to the mean kinetic energy of the molecules of the gas. Therefore as
the flow velocity increases, the temperature

 If KE is the mean molecular kinetic energy, then temperature is given by KE = 3/2kT , where k is
the Boltzmann constant.

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 Therefore, we can visualize a high-temperature gas as one in which the molecules and atoms

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are randomly moving about at high speeds, whereas in a low-temperature gas, the random
motion of the molecules is relatively slow.

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 Temperature is also a point property, which can vary from point to point in the gas.

 SI unit for temperature is Kelvin, K.

 Temperature can be measured by experimental means.

 Flow velocity
 Aerodynamics is concerned with motion of air and other gases. Therefore flow velocity is a very important aspect of
aerodynamics.
 If a rigid solid object is in translational motion, then all parts of the solid essentially translate at the same velocity. If
the solid object is flexible, significant deformation of the solid may occur during the motion in which cases different
portions may translate with different velocities.
 When a fluid is in motion, one portion of the fluid may be traveling at a different velocity from another.

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In an external flow past a body, the fluid undergoes acceleration which varies from point to point
depending on the shape of the body. In an internal flow through a passage the flow velocity changes as

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the passage cross sectional area changes along its length. The acceleration occurs under the influence of
different forces arising out of pressure gradient, viscous stresses, etc.

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 When air flows over an airfoil, let us follow a specific infinitesimally small element of mass called a fluid
element, and watch this element move with time.

Streamline is a curve whose tangent at any point is in

the direction of the flow velocity vector at that point.
 Both the speed and direction of this fluid element can vary as it moves from point to point in the fluid
region.
 Let us fix our eyes on a specific point in the fluid region, say, P, like we did when defining the control
volume. We shall assume that this point P lies on the path that would be followed by the fluid element
that we are tracking. The velocity of the fluid at P can then be defined as the velocity of the
infinitesimally small fluid element as it sweeps through P.
 The flow velocity V has both magnitude and direction; hence, it is a vector quantity. This is in contrast to
p, ρ, and T , which are scalar variables. 𝑉 = 𝑢𝑖 + 𝑣𝑗

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 The moving fluid element traces out a fixed path in space. If the flow is not changing or fluctuating with
time, the flow is steady.

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 If you introduce a new fluid element at the same point from where we were tracking the old fluid

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element, the new fluid element will trace the same path as that of the old one and eventually sweep
through P with the same velocity (magnitude and direction) when crossing P.
 For steady flow the path traversed by the fluid element is called a streamline of the flow.
 Velocity is a point property and can vary from point to point in the flow.
 SI unit for flow velocity is m/s.
 Flow velocity can be measured by experimental means.
 Fluid friction & skin friction
 Fluid friction is a force that restricts the movement of the fluid either within itself or of another body moving
through the fluid. When there is a fluid flow around a body, the frictional force which is felt by the body is
called skin friction. The frictional force acts on the body surface and therefore the term ‘skin’ is used to
indicate that it is a surface force.
 Consider two adjacent streamlines p and q. The streamlines are an infinitesimal distance, dy, apart. At point
1 on streamline p the flow velocity is V; at point 2 on streamline q the flow velocity is slightly higher, V + dV.
You can imagine that the fluid layers between the streamlines p and q are rubbing against each other due to

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the velocity difference dV. The streamline q and, due to friction, exerts a force of magnitude dFfriction on
streamline p acting tangentially toward the right. Furthermore, imagine this force acting on an elemental

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area dA, where dA is perpendicular to the y axis and tangent to the streamline p at point 1.

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 The local shear stress, τ , at point 1 is
𝒅𝑭𝒇𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏
𝝉 = 𝐥𝐢𝐦
𝒅𝑨→𝟎 𝒅𝑨

 The shear stress τ is the limiting form of the magnitude of the frictional force per unit area, where the area of
interest is perpendicular to the y axis and has shrunk to nearly zero at point 1. Shear stress acts tangentially along
the streamline. For aerodynamic problems, the value of the shear stress at a point on a streamline is proportional
to the spatial rate of change of velocity normal to the streamline at that point. The constant of proportionality is

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defined as the viscosity coefficient, μ. Hence,
𝑑𝑉

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𝜏=𝜇
𝑑𝑦

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 where dV/dy is the velocity gradient. μ is a function of the temperature of the fluid. In regions
of a flow field where the velocity gradients are small, τ is small and the influence of friction
locally in the flow is small. On the other hand, in regions where the velocity gradients are
large, τ is large and the influence of friction locally in the flow can be substantial. Additionally
if the viscosity coefficient is large, that would increase the friction.
 The SI unit for shear stress is N/m2 and skin friction force is N. They can be measured.
REFERENCES

1. Fundamentals of Aerodynamics: J. D. Anderson Jr., McGrawHill

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 CONCLUSIONS

- The concepts of pressure, density, temperature, flow velocity and fluid friction-skin
friction was discussed in this lecture. Additionally, the assumptions of continuum flow

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was discussed. These are vital aspects which form the basis for analysing aerodynamic

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flows.

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Fundamentals of Theoretical and Experimental Aerodynamics

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Prof Arnab Roy
Department of Aerospace Engineering
IIT KHARAGPUR
Lecture 4 : Generation of aerodynamic forces and moments on an aircraft
CONCEPTS COVERED

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Forces acting on an aircraft in steady level flight
 Genesis of weight, lift, thrust and drag forces

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 The factors that influence lift force- flow turning, angle of attack, flow velocity, lifting area,

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density
 Pressure and shear stress distribution on airfoil and axial and normal forces
 Angle of attack, lift and drag force, pitching moment
 Thrust equation
 KEY POINTS

 Lift

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 Drag
 Thrust

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 Weight
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Resultant force and pitching moment
 Axial and normal force
 Angle of attack, lift and drag forces
 Pressure and shear stress
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Newton’s Laws of Motion
1.An object at rest remains at rest, and an object in motion remains in motion at constant speed and in a straight line unless
acted on by an unbalanced force.
2. The acceleration of an object depends on the mass of the object and the amount of force applied.
3. Whenever one object exerts a force on another object, the second object exerts an equal and opposite on the first.
Weight
 W=mg

 The total weight of the aircraft comprises of the aircraft empty weight + fuel + payload (passenger,
luggage etc in a passenger aircraft)

Lift

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 Most of the lift force is generated by the wings

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𝟏
 Lift Force= Lift coefficient (Cl) ⨯ 𝟐 𝝆𝑽𝟐 ⨯ wing area

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 The lift coefficient is usually determined experimentally and is a function of the shape of
the wing, the flow velocity (Reynolds numbers) etc.
 Many factors influence the lift that an aircraft can generate including (a) shape and size (b)
velocity and inclination to flow (c) mass, viscosity, compressibility of air flowing past the
aircraft
 Lift is directly proportional to wing surface area.
 Lift generation from a wing section or airfoil is due to the flow turning

The two dimensional wing section or airfoil is an efficient aerodynamic shape which produces much larger lift than drag
due to its streamlined shape.

Higher turning of the flow will produce

greater lift. This feature is very

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important for attaining stability and
control of the aircraft during different

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phases of its flight

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  Ineffective flow turning due to flow
separation beyond stall angle.
 Adverse pressure gradient causes flow
separation.
 Having a curved airfoil section or
inclining it at an angle to the flow does
not provide guarantee of desired lift!!
 The flow needs to remain attached to
the airfoil surface to turn effectively.

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Larger angle of attack

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produces greater flow turning
and therefore larger lift.

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𝐿
𝐶𝑙 =  S is the wing planform area.
1 2  Lift force varies with the square of the velocity.
𝜌𝑉 𝑆
2  Lift force varies proportionately with density and wing area
 Greater angle of attack produces greater lift force for the
same values of density, velocity and wing area
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The moment produced by the airfoil has to
be balanced by an equal and opposite 𝐿 = 𝑁 cos ∝ −𝐴 sin ∝
moment by the tail section, otherwise the 𝐷 = 𝑁 sin ∝ +𝐴 cos ∝
airfoil will keep rotating!
REFERENCES

1. Fundamentals of Aerodynamics: J. D. Anderson Jr., McGrawHill

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2. F. M. White, Fluid Mechanics

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 CONCLUSIONS

-In this lecture we looked at forces acting on an aircraft in steady level flight. We discussed about

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the genesis of weight, lift, thrust and drag forces. Various factors which influence the lift force,

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namely, flow turning, angle of attack, flow velocity, lifting area, density etc were studied. Pressure
and shear stress distribution on airfoil and consequent axial and normal force generation was

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discussed. Angle of attack and its effect on lift and drag force, pitching moment generation was
discussed. The thrust equation for the propulsion device was discussed.
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Fundamentals of Theoretical and Experimental Aerodynamics

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Prof Arnab Roy
Department of Aerospace Engineering
IIT KHARAGPUR
Lecture 5 : Generation of aerodynamic forces and moments on an aircraft (cont’d)
 CONCEPTS COVERED

 Integration of pressure and shear stress to obtain forces and

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moments on an airfoil

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 Relation between Normal force, Axial force, Lift force and Drag force

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as a function of angle of attack
 Non dimensional coefficients for force, moment, pressure, skin
friction for 2D and 3D bodies
 KEY POINTS

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 Pressure and shear stress
 Normal and Axial Force

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 Pitching moment

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 Angle of attack, Lift and Drag forces
 Non dimensional coefficients
 Recapitulation of
(a) Pressure distribution and shear stress distribution
on an airfoil
(b) Formation of resultant force R and pitching
moment M
(c) Resolving R into Normal Force (N) and Axial Force
(A)
(d) Expressing Lift Force (L) and Drag Force (D) in
terms of N, A and angle of attack α

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 The aerodynamic forces and moments on a body are produced purely by the following:
1. Pressure distribution over the body surface

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2. Shear stress distribution over the body surface
 Even for the most complex body shape, the only mechanisms that nature deploys for
communicating a force to a body moving through a fluid are pressure and shear stress
distributions on the body surface.
 Both have dimensions of force per unit area (N/m2). Pressure p acts normal to the surface and
points into the surface, and τ acts tangential to the surface.
The net effect of the p and τ distributions integrated over the
complete body surface is a resultant aerodynamic force R and
moment M on the body.

In turn, the resultant R can be split into components, two sets

of which are shown in the adjacent figure. U∞ is the relative
wind, defined as the flow velocity far ahead of the body. The
flow far away from the body is called the freestream, and
hence V∞ is also called the freestream velocity.

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By definition,

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L = Lift force = component of R perpendicular to U∞
D = Drag force = component of R parallel to U∞

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The chord c is the linear distance from the leading edge to the
trailing edge of the body.
 𝐿 = 𝑁 cos ∝ −𝐴 sin ∝
𝐷 = 𝑁 sin ∝ +𝐴 cos ∝

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The moment produced by the airfoil has to be balanced
by an equal and opposite moment by the tail section,
otherwise the airfoil will keep rotating!

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 When R is split into components perpendicular and parallel to the chord. By definition,
N = Normal force = Component of R perpendicular to c

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A = Axial force = Component of R parallel to c
 The angle of attack α is defined as the angle between c and U∞. Hence, α is also the angle
between L and N and between D and A.

 The geometrical relation between these two sets of force components is given on the top right
corner.
 Integration of pressure and shear stress distributions over an airfoil.

 Obtaining expressions for N, A and M in terms of the integrals of p and τ distribution.

 Non dimensional or Dimensionless coefficients of forces, moments, pressure and skin friction.

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 Nomenclature of dimensionless coefficients for 2D and 3D bodies.

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 CONCLUSIONS

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consequent normal force, axial force and pitching moment generation. Lift and drag forces can be

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expressed as a function of normal force, axial force and angle of attack. Non dimensional

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coefficients, their nomenclature for 3D and 2D bodies were discussed. Normal force, axial force
and pitching moment coefficients were expressed in terms of pressure coefficient, skin friction
coefficient, and surface geometry- slopes and x,y coordinates.
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Fundamentals of Theoretical and Experimental Aerodynamics

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Prof Arnab Roy
Department of Aerospace Engineering
IIT KHARAGPUR
Lecture 6 : Generation of aerodynamic forces and moments on an aircraft (cont’d)
Aircraft external shape and surfaces
CONCEPTS COVERED

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 Revisiting Non dimensional coefficients

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 Revisiting Lift and Drag forces and their dependence on angle of

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attack
 Thrust
 The aircraft external shape and surfaces
 Forces and moments acting on an aircraft
 KEY POINTS

 Non dimensional coefficients

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 Lift and drag

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 Thrust

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 Aircraft shape and control surfaces
 Pitching, rolling and yawing moment
 Side force
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Center of gravity

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 Drag

 Aerodynamic drag has different sources. Skin friction drag is produced by all the exposed
surfaces of the aircraft due to the surface shear stress distribution. Pressure drag is produced
due to imbalance of pressure between frontal and rear portions of the different surfaces of the
aircraft. A variant of pressure drag is produced on wings of finite span that is called as induced
drag. On high speed aircrafts, significant drag may be produced due to presence of shock waves,
which is called as wave drag.

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 When we are calculating the drag produced by the wing of the aircraft, then
𝟏
Drag Force= Drag coefficient (Cd) ⨯ 𝟐 𝝆𝑽𝟐 ⨯ wing area

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 From the above equation it is clear that drag force is directly proportional to wing surface area
and square of the velocity.

 The drag coefficient is usually determined experimentally. It is a function of the shape of the
body, the flow velocity (Reynolds number, Mach number) etc.
 Having a curved airfoil section or inclining it at an
angle to the flow does not guarantee sufficient lift
generation !!
 The flow needs to remain attached to the airfoil
surface to turn effectively and generate lift.

 Adverse pressure gradient on the upper surface of the

airfoil (leeward surface) increases as the angle of

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attack increases.
 Adverse pressure gradient causes flow separation.

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 Ineffective flow turning due to flow separation occurs
beyond stall angle.

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 Drag increases dramatically after stall.
 The L/D ratio indicates aerodynamic efficiency. It
remains high before stall. It reduces drastically after
stall.
Thrust

An air breathing gas turbine

engine: turbojet, or turbofan

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By deflecting different control surfaces the flow turning is altered thereby generating additional
forces and moments which can be used to control the orientation of the aircraft with respect to
the freestream. This helps the aircraft to perform desired maneuvers and consequently control
its flight path.
 Flaps and control surfaces are highlighted in the adjacent figure.
These are hinged surfaces and are usually located at the trailing
edge or rear edge of the wings and tail, that can be rotated up
or down.
 The function of a flap is to increase the lift force on the airplane.
Some aircrafts are designed with flaps at the leading edge (the
front edge) of the wings (called slats) as well as at the trailing
edge.

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 The ailerons are control surfaces that control the rolling motion of the airplane around the
fuselage. For example, when the left aileron is deflected downward and the right aileron is

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deflected upward, lift is increased on the left wing and decreased on the right wing, causing the
airplane to roll to the right.

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 The elevators are control surfaces that control the nose up-and-down pitching motion. When
the elevator is deflected downward, the lift on the tail is increased, pulling the tail up and the
nose of the airplane down. Similarly, when the elevator is deflected upward, the lift on the tail
is decreased, pulling the tail down and the nose of the airplane up.
 The rudder is a control surface that can turn the nose of the airplane to the right or left which is
called yawing.
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 CONCLUSIONS

In this lecture we revisited the non dimensional coefficients and dependence of lift and drag

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on angle of attack. We discussed about the basic thrust generation mechanism in an air
breathing engine. Aircraft shape and various control surfaces were studied. Pitching, rolling

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and yawing moment as well as lift, drag and side force act on an aircraft during flight. This

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was diagrammatically represented.
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