Introduction To Aerospace Engineering

Introduction to Aerospace science
History of flight
The First Aeronautical Engineers
On Thursday, December 17, 1903.77 characters: Orville and

Wilbur Wright and five local witnesses. The action: Poised,
ready to make history, is a flimsy, odd-looking machine,
made from spruce and cloth in the form of two wings, one
placed above the other, a horizontal elevator mounted on
struts in front of the wings, and a double vertical rudder
behind the wings (see Fig. 1.1). A 12-hp engine is mounted
on the top surface of the bottom wing, slightly right of center.
To the left of this engine lies a man— Orville Wright—prone
on the bottom wing, facing into the brisk and cold December
wind. Behind him rotate two ungainly looking airscrews
(propellers), driven by two chain-and-pulley arrangements
connected to the same engine. The machine begins to move
along a 60-ft launching rail on level ground. Wilbur Wright
runs along the right side of the machine, supporting the wing
Figure 1.1 Three views of the Wright Flyer /, 1903.
tip so that it will not drag the sand.
The machine flies unevenly, rising suddenly to about 10 ft, then ducking quickly toward the
ground. This type of erratic flight continues for 12 s, when the machine darts to the sand, 120
ft from the point where it lifted from the starting rail. Thus ends a flight that, in Orville Wright’s
own words, was “the first in the history of the world in which a machine carrying a man had
raised itself by its own power into the air in full flight, had sailed forward without reduction of
speed, and had finally landed at a point as high as that from which it started.”
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Fundamental physical quantities of a flowing gas
The shape of an airplane is designed to encourage the airflow over the surface to produce a
lifting force in the most efficient manner possible. (You will also begin to appreciate that the
design of an airplane is in reality a compromise between many different requirements, the
production of aerodynamic lift being just one.) The science that deals with the flow of air (or, for
that matter, the flow of any gas) is called aerodynamics, and the person who practices this
science is called an aerodynamicist. The study of the flow of gases is important in many other
aerospace applications, for example, the design of rocket and jet engines, propellers, vehicles
entering planetary atmospheres from space, wind tunnels, and rocket and projectile
configurations. Even the motion of the global atmosphere and the flow of effluents through
smokestacks fall within the realm of aerodynamics. The applications are almost limitless.
Pressure
The force per unit area on your palm is defined as the pressure. The pressure exists basically
because air molecules (oxygen and nitrogen molecules) are striking the surface of your hand
and transferring some of their momentum to the surface. More precisely, Pressure is the normal
force per unit area exerted on a surface due to the time rate of change of momentum of the gas
molecules impacting on that surface. Common units of pressure are newtons per square meter,
dynes per square centimeter, pounds per square foot, and atmospheres. Abbreviations for
these quantities are N/m2, dyn/cm2, lb/ft2, and atm, respectively.
Density
The density of a substance (including a gas) is the mass of that substance per unit volume.
Density will be designated by the symbol 𝜌. The value of p can vary from point to point in the
gas. Common abbreviated units of density are kg/m3, slug/ft3, g/cm3, and lbm/ ft3.
Temperature
Consider a gas as a collection of molecules and atoms. These particles are in constant motion,
moving through space and occasionally colliding with one another. Since each particle has
motion, it also has kinetic energy. If we watch the motion of a single particle over a long time
during which it experiences numerous collisions with its neighboring particles, then we can
meaningfully define the average kinetic energy of the particle over this long duration. If the
particle is moving rapidly, it has a higher average kinetic energy than if it were moving slowly.
The temperature T of the gas is directly proportional to the average molecular kinetic energy.
In fact, we can define T as follows: Temperature is a measure o f the average kinetic energy o
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f the particles in the gas. If KE is the mean molecular kinetic energy, then temperature is given
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by KE = 2 kT, where k is the Boltzmann constant.
The value of k is 1.38 x 10 -23 J/K, where J is an abbreviation for joule.

Common units of temperature are the kelvin (°K), degree Celsius (°C), degree Rankine (°R),
and degree Fahrenheit (°F).
Flow Velocity and Streamlines

The concept of speed is commonplace: It represents the distance traveled by some object per
unit time. the concept of the velocity of a flowing gas is somewhat more subtle. First, velocity
connotes direction as well as speed. To designate velocity, we must quote both speed and
direction. For a flowing gas, we must further recognize that each region of the gas does not
necessarily have the same velocity; that is, the speed and direction of the gas may vary from
point to point in the flow. Hence, flow velocity, along with p, 𝜌 , and T, is a point property. As
long as the flow is steady (as long as it does not fluctuate with time), a moving fluid element is
seen to trace out a fixed path in space. This path taken by a moving fluid element is called a
streamline of the flow.
The source of all aerodynamic forces

the most practical consequence of the flow of air over an object is that the object experiences
a force, an aerodynamic force, such as your hand feels outside the open window o f a moving
car. Subsequent chapters discuss the nature and consequences of such aerodynamic forces.
The purpose here is to state that the aerodynamic force exerted by the airflow on the surface
of an airplane, missile, etc., stems from only two simple natural sources:
1. Pressure distribution on the surface
2. Shear stress (friction) on the surface
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Aircrafts
An aircraft is a machine that is able to fly by gaining support from the air. It counters the force
of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases
the downward thrust from jet engines. Common examples of aircraft include airplanes,
helicopters, airships (including blimps), gliders, and hot air balloons.
Aircraft classification
Aircraft can be classified into various types based on the mode of classification.
Aircraft
Lighter than air Heavier than air

(Aerostat) (Aerodyne)
Airship Free Balloon Kite Balloon Engine driven Without engine
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Introduction to Aerospace science

On Thursday, December 17, 1903.77 characters: Orville and

The value of k is 1.38 x 10 -23 J/K, where J is an abbreviation for joule.

Flow Velocity and Streamlines

The source of all aerodynamic forces

Lighter than air Heavier than air

Airship Free Balloon Kite Balloon Engine driven Without engine

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