Flight Dynamics Analyses of a Propeller-Driven Airplane (II): Building a High-Fidelity Mathematical Model and Applications

Abstract

This paper is the second in a series and aims to build a high-fidelity mathematical model for a propeller-driven airplane using the propeller's aerodynamics and inertial models, as developed in the first paper. It focuses on aerodynamic models for the fuselage, the main wing, and the stabilizers under the influence of the wake trailed from the propeller. For this, application of the vortex lattice method is proposed to reflect the propeller's wake effect on those aerodynamic surfaces. By considering the maneuvering flight states and the flow field generated by the propeller wake, the induced velocity at any point on the aerodynamic surfaces can be computed for general flight conditions. Thus, strip theory is well suited to predict the distribution of air loads over wing components and the viscous flow effect can be duly considered using the 2D aerodynamic coefficients for the airfoils used in each wing. These approaches are implemented in building a high-fidelity mathematical model for a propeller-driven airplane. Flight dynamic analysis modules for the trim, linearization, and simulation analyses were developed using the proposed techniques. The flight test results for a series of maneuvering flights with a scaled model were used for comparison with those obtained using the flight dynamics analysis modules to validate the usefulness of the present approaches. The resulting good correlations between the two data sets demonstrate that the flight characteristics of the propeller-driven airplane can be analyzed effectively through the integrated framework with the propeller and airframe aerodynamic models proposed in this study.

A Comparative Study of Transcription Techniques for Nonlinear Optimal Control Problems Using a Pseudo-Spectral Method

“…The important results closely related to this paper are summarized in this section. Firstly, the optimal takeoff trajectory of the propeller-driven airplane considering the regulatory requirements has been analyzed using the high fidelity mathematical model [15,16]. In addition, the optimum moon landing problems with varying altitudes of the parking orbit and the rotorcraft autorotational landing problems are investigated through [17,18], respectively.…”

Flight Dynamics Analyses of a Propeller-Driven Airplane (I): Aerodynamic and Inertial Modeling of the Propeller

“…[14]. The major approaches used to build the math model in this study will be summarized briefly for the sake of completeness.…”