Aerospace engineering fundamentals and applications
Aerodynamics studies how air flows around objects and the forces generated:
# Lift equation
L = 0.5 * rho * V**2 * S * Cl
# Drag equation
D = 0.5 * rho * V**2 * S * Cd
# Reynolds number (laminar vs turbulent flow)
Re = (rho * V * L) / mu
Where ρ = air density, V = velocity, S = wing area, Cl/Cd = coefficients.
# Thrust required for level flight at constant altitude
TR = W * (Cd0 + (K * Cl**2)) / Cl
# Turn rate for coordinated turn
n = 1 / cos(bank_angle) # load factor
# Range equation (Breguet)
R = (V / SFC) * (L/D) * ln(W_start / W_end)
# Stress-strain relationship (Hooke's Law)
sigma = E * epsilon
# Von Mises stress for yielding criteria
sigma_vm = sqrt(0.5 * ((s1-s2)**2 + (s2-s3)**2 + (s3-s1)**2))
# Factor of Safety
FoS = Ultimate_Stress / Working_Stress
# Orbital velocity
v = sqrt(mu / r)
# Escape velocity
v_esc = sqrt(2 * mu / r)
# Period of circular orbit
T = 2 * pi * sqrt(a**3 / mu)
| Tool | Purpose |
|---|---|
| ANSYS Fluent | CFD analysis |
| STAR-CCM+ | Multi-physics simulation |
| NASA OpenVSP | Vehicle preliminary design |
| AVL | aerodynamic prediction |
| JSBSim | flight dynamics simulation |