MAE 384. Advanced Mathematical Methods for Engineers.

Homework Assignment 3. Due February 17.

1. Viscous losses in a pipe are expressed in terms of a friction factor, f . It is important to know the
frictional forces in pipe ow because they result in pressure loss which must be accounted for in
the piping system. For turbulent ow in pipes, the friction factor is calculated using the Colebrook
equation:
1
p =
f

2 log10

e=D
2:51
p
+
3:7
Re f

where e is the roughness height, D is the pipe diameter and Re is the pipe Reynolds number
(dimensionless). For e=D = 0:004 and Re = 2 105 , solve the equation for f . Use any of the methods
discussed in class (except MATLAB-provided functions). Solve until the relative approximation error
is

0:0001. Hint: Notice that, since f only appears as f

1=2 ,

you may want to dene z = f

1=2

and solve for z.

2. The gure shows a supersonic airow over a wedge in two dimensions.

For a given wedge angle, , and upstream Mach number, M1 , it is desired to nd the oblique

shock-wave angle, , and the downstream Mach number, M2 . The equations you need to solve for
these values are:
tan = 2 cot

and
M2 sin(
where

2 sin2
1
M1
2
M1 ( + cos 2 ) + 2

v
u 2
u M1 sin2 +
)=t 2
2
2
1 M1 sin

(1)

2
1

(2)

= 1:4 is the ratio of specic heats for air.

Using the MATLAB function fzero, nd the oblique-shock angle, , for M1 = 3 and

= 20 . (To

use the standard MATLAB trigonometric functions, the argument must be in radians.) Then nd
the upstream Mach number, M2 . Note that there are 2 solutions for

for these conditions. You

should try to nd both solutions. As a hint for determining a reasonable initial guess, note that any
solution for

must be bounded by the wedge angle, , on the low end and by =2 on upper end.

This calculation could be used to help design and analyze the nose cone on a supersonic aircraft.

3. The gure shows the forces acting on an aircraft ying in steady ight (no acceleration).

The steady-ight (or trim) equations can be expressed in a coordinate system aligned with the ight
path as
X

Fx = 0 = T cos
Fz = 0 =

T sin

My = 0 =

`W LW

W sin
+ W cos
`H L H

D
LW

(3)
LH

hT T

(4)
(5)

Note that hT is not shown in the gure, but it represents the vertical distance between the center
of gravity (the origin of the coordinates) and the thrust vector. In these equations,
T

thrust

aircraft weight

aircraft drag

LW

wing lift

LH = horizontal tail lift

ight-path angle
aircraft angle of attack
First, we must determine what is unknown. The unknown quantities depend on the problem to be
solved, but a typical situation may be that the aircraft properties are known and a certain ight
path and velocity are desired. For this case, W and

are known, but the rest of the values are not.

We therefore have three equations with ve unknowns.

To complete our set of equations, we introduce expressions for the lift and drag:
1 2
V S aW
2
1 2
D=
V S [CD0 + K
2

LW =

where

(6)
2

(7)

is in radians. We may assume that all the new variables introduced in these two equations

are known:
air density
V

aircraft velocity

aircraft wing area

aW

wing lift-curve slope

CD0

parasite drag coe cient

K = induced drag parameter

We are now faced with a set of ve nonlinear equations and ve unknowns, T , LW , LH , D, and .
The following table gives values for the aircraft and operating parameters typical of a 180-passenger
transport aircraft (Boeing 737-900) ying at an altitude of 31,000 ft.
W (N)

V (m/s)

735,000

235

(kg/m3 )
0.44

CD0

aW

S (m2 )

`W (m)

`H (m)

0.02

5.2

125

1.06

1.0

21.5

hT (m)
1:3

Solve the above ve equations for the ve unknowns. You may write your own Newton-Raphson
solver or use MATLABs built-in solver, fsolve.Use three dierent ight-path angles ( = 0; 6 ,
3 ). For initial guesses, keep in mind that the total lift approximately balances the weight, and
that the lift-to-drag ratio for an aircraft like this one runs around 15. The angle of attack usually
remains below about 12 (0.21 radians).
Note that the relative values of the unknowns will vary greatly in order of magnitude (check the
dierence between the expected wing lift LW vs. the angle of attack,

). This large variation in

variable magnitude will likely lead to a large variation in variable error, even if the relative errors
are similar in magnitude. This could mean that fsolve gives an unusual error message.
Solution to these equations will tell a designer how much thrust is required for the mission (and
therefore how big an engine is needed). Knowing the required thrust can also be used to determine
the amount of fuel used.