AERONAUTICAL ENGINEERING

AERODYNAMICS OF FLIGHT

LIFT

THRUST

DRAG

WEIGHT

1. Weight force simply mg of the aeroplane

2. Drag the resistance to motion caused by the aircraft hitting the air in
front of it. In general this drag is affected by the frontal area of the
aeroplane, the aerodynamic shape of the body, wings and tailplane and
the velocity of the aircraft ie doubling velocity increases drag by 8 times
and the density of the air (or liquid if the body was moving through a
liquid). For studies of this type air (gas) and liquids are seen as fluids and
obey the same laws.
3. Thrust the forwards force driving the aircraft through the air
delivered by engines driving the propellers or jet engines pushing hot
gases out the back ie pushing air backwards to move forwards. Generally
the faster you go the more lift is created. Double speed increases lift 4
times.
4. Lift the force causing the aircraft to climb or holding it in the air,
generated by air travelling over the wings.
GLIDE ANGLE
If an aircraft descends un-powered (no engine ie no thrust) it will only be
subject to three of the forces ie. lift, drag and weight.
For a steady glide these forces must be in equilibrium ie. no resultant
force. If the thrust is reduced to zero the drag force on the plane will be
unbalanced causing the place to decelerate. The plane loses air speed and
eventually will fall from the sky. The pilot, however, is able to counteract
this by balancing lift, drag and weight with an angled descent. The glide
path allows the plane to maintain its air speed and thus create lift and
keeping the plane from falling form the sky.

Selecting the correct glide path will result in the weight force being
balanced by the resultant (produced by combining lift and drag). The
glide path relates to the drag of the plane, ie. the greater the drag the
steeper the glide angle. The glide angle is determined by the lift to drag
ratio.
A lift to drag ratio of 6:1 means the plane can glide 6 times as far as it will
descend. The higher the lift to drag ratio, the shallower the glide angle. ie.
can fly further.
tan = T/W D/L
Note if the angle of climb () is low, then
tan = T-D
W

FLUID MECHANICS
HYDROSTATIC PRESSURE
Hydrostatic pressure is the pressure of a stationary fluid. If an object is
placed in a fluid, the force due to the fluid pressure always acts
perpendicular to any surface with which it is in contact.
Note the hydrostatic pressure is the same in every direction in a fluid at
a given depth. (the pressure acts at right angles to the surface of the
object). However when the depth of a fluid varies so does the Hydrostatic
pressure. The deeper you go the greater the pressure.
PRESSURE = FORCE / AREA
= pgh
P = Po + pgh

PASCALS PRINCIPLE
Blaise Pascal developed the following principle pressure applied to a
confined liquid is transmitted equally throughout the liquid. (This
principle allows lifting devices to generate large amounts of force from
the application of a much smaller force.)
We know that the pressure at the bottom of a container is greater than the
pressure at the top and is independent of the shape of the container. Also
the pressure is the same at all points at the same depth. If we increase the
pressure at a surface by forcing a piston into the fluid, then the increases
in pressure is the same throughout the liquid.
This principle of hydrostatic pressure is applied to lifting devices through
hydraulic systems.
If we apply a force to a small cylinder (piston) the same pressure increase
must occur in the larger cylinder (ram).
Note: Pressure = Force/Area
Pressure in large cylinder (ram) = pressure in small cylinder
F2/A2=F1/A1
Therefore the force that can be created in the large cylinder (ram)
F2 = F1A2/A1
The force applied to the piston (effort) causes pressure on the ram (load)
and forces it up. The volume of the effort piston forced into the oil must
equal the volume of the load piston (ram) pushed out of the coil. (r2h =
R2H)
VR = distance moved by EFFORT / distance moved by LOAD = h/H
Since
Therefore

r2h = R2H
h/H = R2/r2 = D2/d2

Eg 1: A 100N force is applied to a 20mm2 piston in the small cylinder.

Determine the force on the 100mm2 ram in the large cylinder.
F2 = F1A2/A1
= 100 x 100 / 2
= 500N
Eg 2: A hydraulic system has a 10mm diameter piston connected to a
20mm diameter ram. If a force of 200N is applied to the smaller piston,
calculate the MA of the system and the load that could be moved at the
ram.
VR = D2/d2

= 400/100
=4
MA = VR
VR = Load/Effort
4 = Load/200
Load = 800N
Hydraulic Rams
A hydraulic ram usually consists of a cylinder with a moving piston. If
hydrostatic pressure is applied to the cylinder (pressure acts at right
angles) it will cause the piston to move.

Hydraulic rams can be one way or two way. One way rams provide force
in one direction to lift the object and rely on the weight of the object to
force the fluid from the ram. Examples include small car jacks and tip
tricks. Two way rams provide force in two directions. Examples include
excavators and telescoping cranes.
In a car hoist air pressure acts against a hydraulic fluid (oil) to raise and
lower the hoist. The oil reservoir has a greater diameter than the cylinder
used to raise the vehicle meaning that small displacements in the oil
reservoir result in large height changes in the car.
A Ford Cortina of mass 750kg is to be raised on a hydraulic hoist. The
diameter of the piston (ram) below the car is 200mm and the small piston
in the driving cylinder is 50mm.
Calculate the:
(i) oil pressure in the system when the vehicle is being supported
1800mm above the ground.
Pressure = Load/Area
= 7500/31415
= 0.24MPa
(ii) force applied to the small cylinder
VR = D2/d2 = 40000/2500 = 16
MA = LOAD/EFFORT
16 = 7500/E
E = 468.8N

(iii) height the car is raised when the driving piston travels forwards
1200mm.
VR = Distance E/Distance L
16 = 1200/DL
DL = 75mm
(iv) A hydraulic jack has the dimensions as shown. Assuming it is 100%
efficient, determine;
1. The effort force required to lift the 600kg mass.
2. The number of times the lever must be pumped to lift the 600kg
load by 100mm if the effort piston has a stroke of 15mm.
Effort
300
50
600
kg

30

1) VR Lever System
VR = dE / dL
= 300/5
=6
VR Hydraulic System
VR = D^2 / d^2
= 900/25
= 36
VR of system = 36 x 6
= 216
MA = VR
216 = L/E
E = 27.8N

2) VR = dE / dL
36 = E/100
E = 3600
moves 15mm
3600/15
= 240 times
In a bottle jack a handle is used to force the hydraulic fluid. The longer the
handle, the more the mechanical advantage. Lift can be generated by the use of
Hydraulic fluids (oils) or Pneumatic fluids (gases).
Archimedes Principle
The buoyant force on a body immersed in a fluid is equal to the weight of the
fluid displaced by that object. It is used to determine the density of a material.
The difference between the pressure at the top and the bottom of a submerged
object produces a net force upwards, which is the force of buoyancy. This is why
objects way less in water than they do in air.