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In 2022 I TA'd for a Flight Dynamics course. As part of the course, the students are tasked with building a glider, like mine. However, the simplest way to calculate glider mass properties was to port everything from the aerodynamic design tool over to a CAD package and back for dynamic analysis. The instructor recommended I find a simpler method for mass properties determination, and gave some key pointers.
I developed a method for calculating the inertia of an aircraft by summing individual component properties. This is not novel, and has been studied and frequently used for aircraft mass properties analysis. What IS new is the development of analytic equations for the mass properties of a symmetric constant density wing.
How does it work?
How does it work?
All mass properties calculations are simply volume integrals over the region of a given body. Assuming constant density, these integrals can be solved analytically.
This was done for wings and propellers, resulting in sets of equations for the mass, center of gravity, and moments and products of inertia.
These properties can be calculated for a geometry with linear taper, constant sweep, constant dihedral, linear thickness changes, and arbitrary airfoil thickness distribution.
Is there a mass properties calculator that uses this method?
Is there a mass properties calculator that uses this method?
Yes! You can find a python implementation of this method on my GitHub here (with documentation).
The USU AeroLab tool MachUp now features this mass analysis method, allowing for complete aerodynamic and mass properties development.
I presented this work at SciTech 2023 -- Moulton, B. C., and Hunsaker, D. F., “Simplified Mass and Inertial Estimates for Aircraft with Components of Constant Density,” AIAA SciTech 2023 Forum, January 2023, AIAA-2023-2432 DOI: 10.2514/6.2023-2432
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