Aircraft Stability and Control

BEng. Aeronautical Engineering

1
Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION 2
ABSTRACT 3
APPROACH 4
RESULTS 5
CONCLUSION 8
REFERENCE: 9


2
Introduction

How well an airplane flies and how easily it can be controlled are subjects studied in
aircraft stability and control. By stability, it means the tendency of the airplane to
return to its equilibrium position after it has been disturbed.
The disturbance may be generated by the pilots control actions or b y atmospheric
phenomena. The atmospheric disturbance can be wind gusts, wind gradients, or
turbulent air. An airplane must have sufficient stability that the pilot does not become
fatigued by constantly having to control the airplane owing to external disturbance.
Although airplanes with little or no inherent aerodynamic stability can be flown, they
are unsafe to fly, unless they are provided artificial stability by way of an electronical
device called a stability augmentation system (SAS). According to [Nelson 1989] Pg.
39.

Static Stability, stability is property of an equilibrium state. To disccuss stability we
must first define what is meant by equilibrium. If an airplane is to reain in steady
uniform flight, the resultant force as well as the resultant moment about center of
gravity must both be equal to zero. An airplane statisfying this requirements is said to
be in a state of equilibrium of flying at a trim condition. On the other hand, if the
forces and moments do not sum to zero, the airplane will be subjected to translation
and rotational accelerations. [Nelson 1989]

Dynamic stability deals with the time history of the vehicles motion after it initially
responds to its static stability. For example, consider an airplane flying at an angle of
attack such that its moments about the center of gravity are zero. The airplane is
therefore in equilibrium at angle of attack; in this situation it is trimmed, and angle
of attack is called the trim angle of attack. [1]









3
Abstract

The motion of an airplane in free flight can be extremely complicated. The airplane
has three translational motions (vertical, horizontal, and transverse), three rotational
motions (pitch, yaw, and roll) and numerous elastic degrees of freedom. Therefore we
need to make some Assumptions. We assume that the aircrafts motion consist of
small deviations from its equilibrium flight condition. The motion of the aircraft can
be analyzed by separating the equations into two groups. The X-force, Z-force and
pitching moment equations comprise the longitudinal equations, and the Y-force,
rolling and yawing moment equations are called the lateral equations. This report
covers only the sensitivity analysis and control on longitudinal stability. These
equations from each group (longitudinal and lateral equations) must not be coupled.
































4
Approach

Phugoid (long period) mode is described as a gradual interchange of potential and
kinetic energy about the equilibrium altitude and airspeed. The long-period mode is
characterized by changes in pitch attitude, altitude and velocity at a nearly constant
angle of attack. Neglecting the pitching moment equation and assuming that the
change in angle of attack is zero can obtain an approximation to the long-period
mode. Based on the assumptions the homogeneous longitudinal state equations are
presented in matrix form.

The eigenvalues of the long period approximation are obtained by solving the
equation.The frequency and damping ratios for the long-period motion can be
expressed according to Nelson:


The frequency of oscillation and the damping ratio are inversely proportional to the
forward speed and the lift/drag ratio. To improve the damping of the of the phugoid
motion, the designer would have to reduce the lift-to-drag ratio of the aircraft. This
would degrade the performance of the aircraft. An approximation to the short-period
mode of motion can be obtained by assuming delta u as zero and dropping the X-force
equation. The expression for the short period is:


Equation (4.62) Nelson
Equation (4.69) and (4.70) Nelson
Nelson (4.75) Equations
5



Results


Figure 1. Cmq = -9.96 CD = 0.05



Nelson (4.80 and 4.81) Equations
6

Figure 2. Cmq=-9.96 CD = 1.05


Figure 3. Cmq = -9.96 CD = 1.55



7

Figure 4. Cmq = -4.96 CD = 0.05

Figure 5. Cmq = -16.96 CD = 0.05


8

Figure 6. Cmq = -0.96 CD = 0.01

The characteristic equation is a fourth degree. Therefore we see the four lines with
different color. The solution of the characteristic equation yields the eigenvalues. We
have here always the imaginary part and two different real parts. The following figure
shows the main points. The meeting point between the two roots in the center
represents a constant bank angle for example. It could be a motion of spiral. From the
origin of the coordinate system the two root locus points moving away.

Conclusion

In this analysis, the short-period approximation was found to be in closer agreement
with the exact solution than the phugoid approximation. In general, the short-period
approximation is the more accurate approximation. The short period is also stabile
and suitable damped. If the real roots are negative then the terms will tend to decay to
zero and be stable, while positive roots will result in terms that grow exponentially
and become unstable.


9
Reference:

[1] Flight Mechanic course: Dr Martin Kellet

[2] Robert C. Nelson: Flight Stability and Automatic Control, Aerospace and
Mechanical Engineering