Aircraft Design – An Overview Aircraft Design Process

 Design – creating a plan or product that will

satisfy a set of requirements.
 Aircraft Design Process – creating an
aircraft that will satisfy a given civil or
military mission requirement
ID1100 – Assume product details
P. SRIRAM – Analyze performance
Department of Aerospace Engineering, – Verify if performance meets goals
IIT Madras
2

Design Examples (Prof. RKK)

Example Design Requirements Mech. Engg. Tools EE Software

Components Bolt, Nut, Screwdriver, Resistor, Small C

 150 passengers carrying capacity Screw Spanner Capacitor Program
– Each passenger weight (80 kg) + baggage +? Sub-
Sub- Brake, Gear Multi-
Multi-blade
assemblies Box screwdriver
 Cruise altitude 9-
9-12 km Modules Engine Swiss Knife
 Cruise speed about 1000 kmph Machines Bicycle Lathe
 Minimum range 5000 km Systems Automobile CNC
(Boeing 737: 110-
110-180 passengers, cruise Machine
850kmph @ 10km, range 5500km) Large Trains, Robotic Satellite Online
Systems Aircraft Assembly Station Reservations
850 kmph M ~ 0.7 at sea level, 0.85 at 10km Line
Huge / Transportatio Bucket
Complex n System, Wheel
3 Systems Big Building Excavator 4

Is a team always necessary?

Team Design Approach
(Burt Rutan’
Rutan’s designs)
 Why team design? Global
Flyer
– Very complex end product (2005)
– B747: 6 million parts; 75,000 drawings used
 Typical team composition SpaceShip One (2004)
– design requirements
– technology requirements
– budgeting
– scheduling
Voyager (1986) Beech Starship (1982)
5 6

1
 Lockheed Skunk Works Assignment
(small team)  Write a short report (single page – hand written
only) on an aircraft of your choice
U-2 (1955) – Essential features
– Unique / distinctive features (must have)
– Some essential dates (like design initiation, prototype,
first flight, service entry / retirement)
– Ref: Janes All the World’
World’s Aircraft (book), Wikipedia,
Airliners.net, Aircraft company web sites
– Writing must be original; verbatim copying from source
SR-71 (1966)
will get zero
 Due next week (Sep 8)

7 8

Typical Design Groups Aerodynamics Group

(courtesy: Prof. S.P. Viswanathan, Bell Helicopters)

 Aerodynamics – overall configuration

 Fuselage – cabin layout, seating etc.
 Empennage – tail / fin, stability & control
 Wing – wing and associated
 Stress or structural – structural layout
 Weight & balance – distribution, c.g. location
 Lofting – design drawings (geometry)
 Production – manufacturing & assembly
9 10

Aerodynamics Group Aerodynamics Group

sleek, streamlined, high performance sleek, streamlined, high performance

11
But where will the passengers sit? 12

2
 Fuselage Group Fuselage Group

now, passengers can fly in luxury

13 14

Fuselage Group Empennage Group

now, passengers can fly in luxury

But what about the Stability?
15 16

Empennage Group Empennage Group

excellent control and stability excellent control and stability

But what about control forces?
17 18

3
 Wing Group Wing Group

excellent lifting device

19 20

Wing Group Stress Group

excellent lifting device

But where are the engines? pax?
21 22

Stress Group Stress Group

that’s a sturdy airplane that’s a sturdy airplane

But will it fly?
23 24

4
 Weight & Balance Group Weight & Balance Group
Balsa wood Balsa wood
frames frames

Ultra-light Ultra-light
film film

lightest aircraft ever built

25 26

Weight & Balance Group Lofting Group

Balsa wood
frames

Ultra-light
film

lightest aircraft ever built

Did someone say 800kmph cruise?
27 28

Lofting Group Lofting Group

most accurate geometry specification most accurate geometry specification

Yes, but we also need performance
29 30

5
 Production Group Production Group

Least expensive to produce

31 32

Production Group Requirements of Design

 Payload
 Flight Performance
 Cabin Arrangement, Comfort
 Fuel consumption
 Purchase cost
 Maintenance costs
 Life (overhaul) requirements
 Operational safety
Least expensive to produce  Noise & chemical pollution (Concorde ozone)
But, we need simplicity & performance
33 34

Some Large Airplanes

Requirements of Design
 H-4 Spruce Goose
 Ground equipment compatibility (Airbus A380) – 180 tons, 1940’
1940’s
 Crew workload (A340, B777 ~18 hr flights)  B747
 Fire Safety (90 second evacuation)
– 330-
330-440 tons, `60’
`60’s
 Atmospheric hazards
 Proven technologies, materials  AN225
 Low manufacturing cost – 640 tons, `80’
`80’s
 High operational reliability (GE90 1/50,000hrs)  A380
– ETOPS ratings
 Easy fault identification, repairs – 560-
560-590 tons, 2000’
2000’s
 Quick turnaround on ground (Concorde brakes)

35 36

6
 Airbus A380 Requirements of Design
 Ground equipment compatibility (Airbus A380)
 Crew workload (A340, B777 ~18 hr flights)
 Fire Safety (90 second evacuation)
 Atmospheric hazards
 Proven technologies, materials
 Low manufacturing cost
 High operational reliability (GE90 1/50,000hrs)
– ETOPS ratings
 Easy fault identification, repairs
 Quick turnaround on ground (Concorde brakes)

37 38

Design Team Structure
 Group members suggest their ‘best’
best’
 Chief designer has to select ‘overall best’
best’
– Goal is overall optimum design
– Multi-
Multi-disciplinary design / MDO
– What compromises to make?
Design Compromises
(conflicting requirements)
 Stability vs. maneuverability
– Air pressure in tires
 Helicopter blade radius
– Low ‘r’ sturdy blade structure (given blade area)
– May need higher 
– Hub force proportional to 

39 40

Evaluation of Design Choices Wing Mounted

 When several good (acceptable) design
choices are available, how do we pick the
‘right’
right’ one?
– e.g. Engine placement in an airplane
 Wing mounted
 Tail mounted
 Fuselage embedded
 Wing embedded

41 42

7
 Tail Mounted Wing Embedded
B-2

DH Comet

43 44

Fuselage Embedded Multi-disciplinary optimum choice

Wing Mounted Tail Mounted
Tejas (LCA)
Factor Weight score wtd. score score wtd. score

Cabin Noise 60 95
Maintainability 85 75
Fuel Line 95 50
Length
Team 90 50
HS Sea Hawk Experience
Overall Score 100

45 46

Multi-disciplinary optimum choice Multi-disciplinary optimum choice

Wing Mounted Tail Mounted Wing Mounted Tail Mounted
Factor Weight score wtd. score score wtd. score Factor Weight score wtd. score score wtd. score

Cabin Noise 20 60 1200 95 1900 Cabin Noise 45 60 2700 95 4275

Maintainability 30 85 2550 75 2250 Maintainability 35 85 2975 75 2625
Fuel Line 25 95 2375 50 1250 Fuel Line 10 95 950 50 500
Length Length
Team 25 90 2250 50 1250 Team 10 90 900 50 500
Experience Experience
Overall Score 100 8375 6650 Overall Score 100 7525 7900

47 48

8
Stages (Steps) in Aircraft Design Boeing 747
 60’
60’s design, still flying
 Preliminary Design (Configuration)  Lost Military tender to
 Detailed Design (Ready for Production) Lockheed C-C-5 Galaxy
 Prototype Fabrication
 Ground Testing
 Flight Testing
 Redesign based on testing experience
 Certification / Qualification
 Design Modification from field experience
49 50

In times of need …
Typical timescales (B747) (the case of the North American Aviation
P51 Mustang)
 1963 – concept originated
 1966 – first design ready
 1967 – production line launched
 1968 – first plane rolls off
 1969 – first flight
 1970 – certified, enters service
 1971 – first modified design (B747-
(B747-200)
 1986 – last B747-
B747-100 delivered
51 52

In times of need …
(the case of the North American Aviation Concorde
P51 Mustang)
 1939 – war breaks out in Europe
 1940 – Britain shopping for US planes
– March 1940 – NAA order for 320 planes
– October 1940 – first P51 Mustang rolls off
 178 days from concept to first flight
 Contractually, 120 days from order to prototype
 Actually achieved in 102 days!
– (prototype had no engine, no brakes, no gun mounts)

53 54

9
 Concorde Time line Innovative Design
 1962 – Anglo-
Anglo-French agreement
 Innovation (or new technology) can offer
 1965 – design completed
effective ‘compromise without compromise’
compromise’
 1969 – first flight
 Example
 1976 – commercial operation – Strong & Sturdy – steel structure
– 5000+ hrs of flight testing (B747 ~1500 hrs)  Steel density 7800 kg/m3, aluminium 2700 kg/m3
 1970’
1970’s oil embargo – Light – balsa wood + polymer films
– Concorde ~6 p-p-km/ltr B747-
B747-100~15 p-
p-km/ltr  Density ~ 1000 kg/m3
– “arrive before you leave”
leave”  Solution? New innovative material!
 2003 retired from service
55 56

Designing with Imagination and

Composite Materials
Creativity
 Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastics
 Piston Engines  Gas Turbines
– As strong as steel / aluminium
– Lighter, More Power, Lower Maintenance
– Density ~ 1500 kg/m3
 Helicopters for flexible deployment (VTOL),
Airplanes for speed and efficiency
Imagination and Creativity – Tilt Rotor
– Helicopter mode for flexibility
– Airplane mode for speed
– Took decades of development

57 58

Helicopter Speed Limitations

Example Helicopters

CH47 Chinook Bell 206 r=5.1m,

r=9.2m, 225 rpm 400 rpm
blade tip speed ~ 210 m/sec 59 60

10
 Tilt Rotor Concept Bell V-
V-22 in Helicopter Mode

 A significantly Different Design meant to

overcome inherent deficiency of existing
(helicopter) design
 Helicopter Speed Limit
v=r ± forward speed
– Blade tip speed v=
– Advancing tip speed not to exceed Mach~1
– Retreating side speed sufficiently > 0

61 62

V-22 – airplane mode History of Tilt Rotor – XV-3

 Bell’
Bell’s Initial Tilt rotor Design
(earlier tilt wing designs)
 Single-
Single-Engine
 First Flight – August 1955
 More than 250 test flights
over seven years.
 Completed more than 100
full conversions from
helicopter to fixed-
fixed-wing
mode.
 Proved feasibility of tilt rotor
flight.
63 64

XV-15 Tilt Rotor Current Tilt Rotor – V22

 Contracted by the U.S. Army and NASA in 1973  STOL/VTOL
 Maximum GW of 15,000 lbs  Gross weight (lbs):57k/53k
 2 Aircraft built and used for
test and demonstration  Useful load (lbs):24k/20k
purposes  Internal fuel (lbs):7,700
 Demonstrated tilt rotor  Speed :340 kt (630kmph)
technology maturity and
provided the necessary  Dry tank range:770 nm
confidence that led to the  Passengers:24
most extensive U.S.
government tilt rotor
program.

65 66

11