8.

2 AERODYNAMICS

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Effect of Shapes on Streamlined
Flow

(a) Flat Plate 100% Resistance (b) Sphere 50% Resistance

(c) Ovoid 15% Resistance (d) Streamlined 5% Resistance

STREAMLINED
Boundary Layer

Unaffected airflow

Each layer experience retardation

until some distance away from
surface
Next layer slowed down but not stop

Airflow nearest the surface come to rest

STREAMLINED
Boundary Layer

STREAMLINED
Separation and turbulence at
various AOA

STALLING
 AERODYNAMIC TERM

Stagnation point
Velocity = 0m/s

Wing tip vortices

 Airfoil Shape
 Symmetrical – no lift at zero angle of
attack
 Asymmetrical – lift created even at small
angle of attack

AIRFOIL
 Airfoil Shape
• Medium and high speed aircraft – much less
curvature  lift comes from their additional
speed through the air.
• Low speed aircraft – cambered  not for high
speed (excess lift as well as drag)

AIRFOIL
 CAMBER (CURVE)
• Camber  curvature of an aerofoil (wing)
above and below the chord line

Camber (curvature) of an aerofoil

PRODUCTION OF LIFT
 AIRFOIL @ AEROFOIL
• Any surface which produces a reaction (lift) as air
passes over it
• The airfoil should provide this reaction (lift),
whilst having a shape which presents the least
possible resistance, or drag, to its passage
through air

AIRFOIL
T/C AND FINENESS RATIO

Thicness/Chord ratio = CD
AB
 MEAN AERODYNAMIC CHORD
• Average distance between leading and
trailing edge of wing
• Mean chord = Wing Area
Wing Span
 ANGLE OF ATTACK
• The acute angle formed between the relative
wind striking an airfoil and the chord line.
• Increasing the angle from zero degree to a
maximum (between 15 degrees and 18 degrees)
will increase lift, but will also increases drag.

CENTER OF PRESSURE
 ANGLE OF INCIDENCE
o Angle formed by the
intersection of the wing
chord line and the horizontal
plane or longitudinal axis of
aircraft
o Positive Angle of Incidence
(AOI) – leading edge higher
than trailing edge
o Correct AOI  low drag +
longitudinal stability
o ‘Wash out’ – higher AOI at
wing root than at wing tip
o ‘Wash in’ – higher AOI at
wing tip than at wing root

ANGLE OF INCIDENCE
 WASH IN AND OUT
• Wash in :
– Angle of incident increase from root to tip
– Tip will stall 1st
• Wash out :
– Angle of incident decrease from root tip
– Root will stall 1st
 CENTER OF PRESSURE (c.p)
 The position whereby the resultant force (lift)
cuts through chord line and considered to act
Total Lift
 Shape of airfoil and angle of attack influence the
c.p location and direction Position of lines denotes
direction of lift
Length of line denote
magnitude of lift

Direction
of
airflow

Center of Pressure

CENTER OF PRESSURE
 CENTER OF PRESSURE (c.p)
o Position of c.p varies during flight as the angle of attack
(AOA) altered
a. Increase AOA – c.p moves forward
b. Decrease AOA – c.p moves backward
o In normal flight the AOA usually between 2˚ and 4˚
(seldom below 0˚ or above 16˚)
Small AOA Medium AOA Large AOA

Nose Heavy Balance

CENTER OFFlight
PRESSURE Tail Heavy
WING SHAPE
 ASPECT RATIO
• Ratio of aircraft wingspan to its mean
chord length
 PRODUCTION OF LIFT
 To keep flying  aircraft
must produce a force equal
to its own weight
 Greater force – to lift the
aircraft from the ground
 Force (lift) is provided by the
wing
 The production of lift is
based on Bernoulli’s theory

PRODUCTION OF LIFT
 Lift

Weight
 Bernoulli’s theorem

• Air velocity increase – the pressure decreases

(and vice versa)
• The total energy of a moving fluid is made up of
three forms of energy:
 Potential Energy – due to height or position
 Kinetic Energy – due to motion
 Pressure Energy – due to pressure
• In a streamline flow of an ideal fluid, the sum of all
those energy is constant

Potential + Kinetic + Pressure = Constant

PRODUCTION OF LIFT
 Venturi Effect
• A short circular tube
with large opening at
both the front and rear
end + restrictor
between the opening
• Venturi is a convergent/
divergent duct
• Bernoulli’s Theory is
being proven by
passing a streamline
flow of air through a
venturi duct

PRODUCTION OF LIFT
Venturi Effect

PRODUCTION OF LIFT
 Venturi Effect
INLE CENTRE (THROAT) OUTLET
T
Airspeed normal Airspeed maximum Airspeed
Pressure normal Pressure minimum decrease
Pressure increase
(equal to inlet
area)

PRODUCTION OF LIFT
 Camber (Curved)
• Airflow around the cambered wing behave exactly as
airflow in a venturi tube

PRODUCTION OF LIFT
Airflow on wing (Lift distribution)
Increased Speed
Decreased Speed
70% of Total Lift

Decreased Speed
Increased Speed
30% of Total Lift

PRODUCTION OF LIFT
 STREAMLINED
 Streamline – shape or contour that presents a
minimum resistance to the air
 A perfect streamlined form is similar to the top
view of a fish
 Air flows around non-streamlined object  air
swirls into eddies  streamline distorted 
disappear
 Airstream becomes turbulent
 Streamline air appears as smooth parallel lines

• Smoke jets – introduce smoke into air  to

observe and illustrate movement of air around
object
STREAMLINED
Effect of Shapes on Streamlined
Flow

STREAMLINED
 DRAG

As an aircraft passes through the air, the air

offers a resistance to the passage.
This resistance, is known as ‘Drag’.
(Resistance to forward motion)
The total amount of drag on an aircraft is
made up of many types of drag forces.
• Common type of drag:-
i. Form drag
ii. Parasite drag
iii. Induced drag

DRAG
 DRAG
RESISTANCE TO FORWARD MOTION

DRAG
 FORM DRAG
 Caused by the shape or form of the aircraft
• Reducing form drag
• Streamlining – aircraft shaped to produce least
resistance to the airflow
• For least resistance  object length between 3-4
times greater than maximum thickness
• Fineness ratio – ratio between length and
maximum thickness

DRAG
 PARASITE DRAG
 A combination of many different drag forces
 Any exposed object on an aircraft offers some
resistance to the airflow, and the more objects
in the airstream, the more parasite drag
Reducing parasite drag
• reducing the number of exposed parts to as few
as practical and streamlining their shape.

DRAG
 Streamlining

• Fixed landing gear

 SKIN FRICTION DRAG
A type of parasite drag most difficult to reduce
Air particles in contact with surface of the aircraft
Reducing skin friction
glossy flat finishes
eliminating protruding rivet heads, roughness, and other
irregularities.

DRAG
 INDUCED AND TOTAL DRAG
• Lift created by the airfoil also created drag 
induced drag

• Just as lift increases with an increase in angle of

attack, induced drag also increases as the angle
of attack becomes greater.

TOTAL DRAG

DRAG
 THRUST AND WEIGHT
• Thrust is forward force produce by engine
• Determine by size and type use in
propulsion system
• Weight is a mass of aircraft act vertically
downward
• Determined by size and material used in
aircraft
 FORCES ACTING ON AIRCRAFT IN
THRUST FLIGHT
• The aircraft’s propelling force
• Arranged symmetrically to the
centre line
• Act parallel to the line of flight
WEIGHT@ GRAVITY
Acts vertically downwards
through
the Centre of Gravity
FORCES ACTING ON AIRCRAFT IN FLIGHT
LIFT
Acts at right angle to the line of
flight & through the Centre of
Pressure of the wings
DRAG
• Opposes the forward motion
• Regarded as a rearward
acting force
 LIFT AND DRAG COEFFICIENT
• Theoritical value base on
airfoil shape
Lift = CL x 1/2ρv2 x S
Drag = CD x 1/2ρv2 x S

IDEAL ANGLE
 POLAR CURVE
• Drag Polar is the relationship between the
lift and its drag interm on coefficeient
 STALL

‘Sudden lost of lift’

i. Increase AOA – separation moves forward
(turbulent)
– Insufficient pressure drop on upper surface  no
pressure differential to create lift
ii. Increase to higher AOA – excessive turbulence
– Drag increase higher than lift created
Critical Angle of Attack – airflow separate +
turbulence
Critical AOA = 15˚ and above

STALLING
 AIRFOIL CONTAMINATION
• Any contamination on wing will affect its
performance
• Need to provide method to remove the
contamination during flying
• Type of contamination :
– Ice
– Snow
– Frost