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ESDU Challenge: Fighter Aircraft Wing Design

Posted June 20, 2014 12:00 AM by SavvyExacta
Pathfinder Tags: ESDU

In this new series from IHS ESDU, challenge questions will be posted for the community. Some questions may require calculations and others are general knowledge questions.

Here's the first question:

In the design of a fighter-type aircraft a wing is proposed with quarter-chord sweepback of 50 degrees and an aspect ratio of 4. Will it exhibit pitch-up or pitch-down behaviour at high angle of attack?

And the answer is:

Pitch-up. You can find more information in Sketch 5.1 of ESDU 01005, if you're an ESDU subscriber.


Visit the IHS ESDU website for more information about the validated design methods, or to request a trial subscription.

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Guru

Join Date: Apr 2011
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#1

Re: ESDU Challenge: Fighter Aircraft Wing Design

06/20/2014 6:05 AM

It seem like it should pitch down at high angles of attack.

.

As the flow detaches at the root of the wing, the resulting vorticity down the sweep of the wing should help flow stay attached further aft. With lift reduced on the forward portion but maintained at the rear, it seems likely to exhibit pitch down behavior.

.

If it isn't already apparent, this is not a field in which I am well versed, so this isn't much above a WAG on my part. I am interested to see if intuition is helpful or misleading here.

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Guru
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#2

Re: ESDU Challenge: Fighter Aircraft Wing Design

06/20/2014 7:39 AM

Not my field at all. My thinking though, is that at a high angle of attack the wing is at a steep angle to the air and lift is almost all due to ram pressure on the bottom of the wing. With a sweep back, the larger surface area at the rear means the rear of the wing will have more pressure on it than the front, thereby generating a pitch-down force (torque).

[And I have a feeling that aircraft designers will laugh at my explanation!]

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Guru

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#3

Re: ESDU Challenge: Fighter Aircraft Wing Design

06/21/2014 6:00 AM

Pitch down as the lift is greater on the trailing edge of the wing.

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Guru

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#4

Re: ESDU Challenge: Fighter Aircraft Wing Design

06/21/2014 9:09 AM

I would hope pitch down, for stability.

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