School of Engineering.

Aerospace & Aviation

AERO2356 Aerodynamics and Flight Mechanics

Assignment 2: Boundary Layers and
Aircraft Longitudinal Stability
Semester Two 2017
Date Provided: Monday 19-Aug-2017
Submission Deadline: Monday 13-Sep-2017
Marked and Returned: Monday 20-Sep-2017
Estimated time for completion: 10h (does not include time for reading & learning notes).

This is a GROUP Assignment worth 15% of the total AERO2356 course assessment.

Form your own groups on Blackboard but they MUST be no more than 5 and no less than 3 students.

A PDF document containing the solutions must be submitted to the AERO2356 Blackboard site by 23:59 on the date of
the submission deadline specified above.

Boundary Layers (Total 50 Marks)

Details of working must be shown when answering questions A1, A2 and A3
Question A1 (9 Marks)
Consider the following polynomial approximation for the velocity profile of a steady laminar boundary layer
developing in a zero pressure gradient with a freestream velocity U1:

U / U1 = a + bη + cη 2 + dη 3 , where η = y / δ .

A1(a) Apply appropriate boundary conditions and determine the coefficients, a, b, c and d. (3 marks)

A1(b) Evaluate the growth rate with streamwise distance of the boundary layer thickness, the
displacement thickness and the momentum thickness. (4 marks)

A1(c) What is the shape factor of the profile? (2 marks)

A1(d) Use the Momentum Integral equation (provided in the class notes) to derive an expression
for the development of the local skin friction coefficient with streamwise distance. (4 marks)
 AERO2356 Assignment 2: Boundary Layers and Aircraft Longitudinal Stability

Question A2 (17 Marks)

Flow through a porous wall surface is known to produce a stable boundary layer.
Wall suction has been considered for many years as a means of Laminar Flow Control
Consider the boundary developing over a porous surface in a zero pressure gradient, as shown below:

A2(a) Apply the following boundary conditions

u = 0, v = −v0 , for y = 0 and

∂u
= 0, u = U1 , for y = ∞ , to show that
∂y

∂ 2u ∂u
the two-dimensional laminar boundary layer equations reduce to ν = −v0 for fully
2
∂y ∂y
developed steady flow in a zero pressure gradient, with constant, uniformly distributed
suction with velocity, v = −v0 , through a porous surface as shown in the diagram above.

∂u
Note that = 0 for fully developed flow. (4 marks)
∂x

A2(b) The asymptotic suction velocity profile is provided below for fully developed flow.
Show that this profile satisfies the boundary conditions used to derive the result in part (a) from
the two-dimensional laminar boundary layer equations.

u
= 1 − exp ( −v0 y / ν ) (4 marks)
U1

A2(c) Show that the displacement thickness, δ* and momentum thickness, θ, are constant
for the asymptotic suction velocity profile. (5 marks)

A2(d) Show that the local skin friction coefficient of the asymptotic suction profile is constant

and independent of viscosity and is given by c f = 2cq

− v0
where cq is known as the Suction Coefficient, defined by cq = . (4 marks)
U1

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 AERO2356 Assignment 2: Boundary Layers and Aircraft Longitudinal Stability

Question A3 (24 Marks)

δ δ*
Determine each of the following quantities: Rx , C f Rx and Rx for each of the boundary layer
x x
velocity profiles specified in (a-d) below, where η = y / δ and each boundary layer is developing in zero
pressure gradient.

U
A3(a) = 2η − η 3 (6 marks)
U1

U 3 1
A3(b) = η − η3 (6 marks)
U1 2 2

U π 
A3(c) = sin  η  (6 marks)
U1 2 

U
A3(d) = 1 − exp( −10η ) (6 marks)
U1

Continued over page

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 AERO2356 Assignment 2: Boundary Layers and Aircraft Longitudinal Stability

Longitudinal Stability and Control (50 Marks)

Question B1: Longitudinal Stability and Control (25 Marks)

A wing-body model is tested in a wind tunnel with a flow of 100 m/s at standard sea-level conditions.
The wing area is 1.5 m2 and the mean aerodynamic chord length is 0.45 m.
Measurements of lift force, L, and moment about the center of gravity, M CG are made using the wind tunnel force
balance.

B1(a) When the lift is zero, the moment about the center of gravity is measured to be, M CG = −12.4 Nm .

At another angle of attack, the force balance measurements give, L = 3675 N and M CG = 20.67 Nm .
Calculate the location of the aerodynamic center, (3 marks)
and the moment coefficient about the aerodynamic center. (3 marks)

B1(b) A lead mass is added to the rear of the model which moves the center of gravity rearward
by 20% of the mean wing chord. Calculate M CG when L = 4000 N. (4 marks)

B1(c) The lead mass is removed and a horizontal tail without an elevator is added to the model.
The distance from the airplane center of gravity to the aerodynamic center of the tail is 1.0 m.
The area of the tail is 0.4 m2 and the tail-setting angle is 2.0°. The tail has a lift-curve slope
of 0.12 per degree. Experimental measurements give the downwash in terms of angle of attack,
ε = 0.42α , i.e. the downwash is zero for zero angle of attack, ε0 = 0
For the case where the angle of attack, α = 5.0°, and the lift, L= 4134 N:

(i) Calculate M CG (4 marks)

(ii) Determine whether the model possesses longitudinal static stability (4 marks)

(iii) Calculate the location of the neutral point and the static margin if h = 0.26 . (4 marks)

B1(d) An elevator is added to the horizontal tail with the property ∂ CL / ∂δ E = 0.04 per degree.
T

Calculate the elevator deflection angle required to trim the aircraft at an angle of attack of 8.0°. (3 marks)

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 AERO2356 Assignment 2: Boundary Layers and Aircraft Longitudinal Stability

Question B2: Longitudinal Stability and Control (25 Marks)

A Fokker 70 aircraft is trimmed for steady level flight at a speed of 200 m/s (TAS) at an altitude of 10,000 m above
sea level where the air density, ρ = 0.41351 kg.m-3.

Relevant characteristics of the aircraft are tabulated below:

Mass 33,500 kg Wing/body lift curve slope, aWB 5.8 per rad

Wing area, S 95.0 m2 Tailplane lift curve slope, a1 3.6 per rad

Wing mean aerodynamic chord (MAC), c 4.0 m Elevator lift curve slope, a2 1.8 per rad

Tailplane area, ST 23.5 m2 Elevator tab lift curve slope, a3 0.4 per rad
Downwash angle at tail
Elevator MAC, cE 2.3 m 0.45α eff
aerodynamic centre, ε
Elevator area, SE 7.5 m2 Tailplane setting angle, iT −2°

Wing/body pitching moment coefficient Tailplane pitching moment curve

−0.06 −0.08
about the aerodynamic centre, CMoWB slope, b1
Distance from wing leading edge to WB Elevator pitching moment curve
1.8 m −0.05
aerodynamic centre, hoWB c slope, b2
Distance from wing leading edge to CG of Elevator tab pitching moment curve
0.5 m −0.10
aircraft, hc slope, b3
Distance from wing body aerodynamic
15.0 m Elevator to stick gearing, gE 2 rad/m
centre to tailplane aerodynamic centre, l

B2(a) Calculate the lift coefficient of the aircraft. (3 marks)

B2(b) Calculate the lift coefficient of the tailplane (Assume dynamic pressure is same at tail and wing) (4 marks)

B2(c) Calculate the lift force produced by the tailplane. (3 marks)

B2(d) Determine angle of attack of the tailplane with the tab undeflected. (6 marks)

B2(e) Determine the elevator angle required to trim the aircraft with the tab undeflected. (6 marks)

B2(f) Determine the stick position required to trim the aircraft with the tab undeflected. (3 marks)

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Scan the completed Group Statement of Contribution and include with the submission

Group Statement of Contribution: Group Number:

This Group Statement of Contribution has been developed to ensure all group members contribute more or less
equally to the report.
You will need to discuss with your fellow members how the 100% will be apportioned across the team members.
Each group member must provide an Estimate of Contribution in the appropriate table below with all signatures
Note: The total % across all group members MUST equal 100%.
This will be factored into your individual marks only if there is a significant disproportionality between the
contributions of individual team members.
Small variations will NOT be factored into the allocation of group marks.

Group Member ONE

Print Name: ID:

Estimate of Contribution towards Report (0-100%):

Group Member Signature:

Signatures of Other Group Members:

1 3

2 4

Group Member TWO

Print Name: ID:

Estimate of Contribution towards Report (0-100%):

Group Member Signature:

Signatures of Other Group Members:

1 3

2 4

1
Scan the completed Group Statement of Contribution and include with the submission

Group Member THREE

Print Name: ID:

Estimate of Contribution towards Report (0-100%):

Group Member Signature:

Signatures of Other Group Members:

1 3

2 4

Group Member FOUR

Print Name: ID:

Estimate of Contribution towards Report (0-100%):

Group Member Signature:

Signatures of Other Group Members:

1 3

2 4

Group Member FIVE

Print Name: ID:

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Group Member Signature:

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1 3

2 4