Calculus Without TearsAn Airplane SimulatorIntroductionAn airplane simulation illustrates how differential equations, and Newton's Second Law of motion, both familiar to readers of CWT, are used to study motion. And, it gives us an opportunity to use multi-variable functions, and vectors, to analyze familiar phenomena. The primary technique of the simulation is the method of computing numerical solutions to differential equations covered in CWT Vol. 2 Chapter 2, i.e. we use our favorite formula distance = velocity * time. VectorsA vector is a directed line segment, like an arrow. It has a length, also called its magnitude, and a direction. Below we will simulate an airplane flying in two-dimensional space (three is more complicated), and we will use two-dimensional vectors to represent the airplane's velocity, the thrust of the airplane's engine, lift, and drag. We will specify a vector by specifying its two components, that is its component in the horizontal (x) direction, and its component in the vertical (y) direction. For example the velocity vector with x component 5 and y component 0 represents a velocity of magnitude 5 in the x direction. A velocity vector with x component 0 and y component 5 represents a velocity of magnitude 5 in the y direction. A velocity vector with x component 6 and y component 6 represents a velocity of magnitude (62+ 62)1/2 = 8.5 and direction π/4 radians as shown in the diagram. The direction of a vector is specified by the angle it makes with the x axis. The components of the vectors in the diagram are
The AirplaneThe airplane control surfaces are shown in the diagram below. We will simulate the effect of only one of these control surfaces, the elevators on the tail of the airplane. When the pilot pulls back on the joystick or steering yoke of the plane, the elevators tilt up, causing a downward force on the tail of the plane which causes the nose to pitch up. If the pilot pushes the joystick or steering yoke forward, the elevators tilt down causing an upward force on the tail which causes the the nose of the plane to pitch down. The Motion of a Rigid ObjectThink of a baseball thrown by a pitcher: as it travels toward the catcher, the ball 'as a whole' is moving in a more or less straight line, but, the ball is also spinning, so that at any instant the different points in the ball are travelling at different speeds and different directions! Fortunately, it is possible to decompose the motion of a rigid body into two parts, the motion of one point, the center of mass, and the rotation of the object about its center of mass. Thus, we can accurately describe the motion of the ball by specifying at each instant the location of the center of mass and the rotation of the ball about its center of mass. To specify a rotation in 3-dimensional space it is necessary to specify an axis of rotation as well as the amount of rotation. The axis of rotation can change from moment to moment, and it is a tricky business to keep track of it. However, if we restrict the motion of our airplane to two dimensions, x (forward/backward) and y (up/down), then the axis of rotation will be fixed (the z or pitch axis), and we can specify the motion of the plane by specifying the motion of the center of mass and the rotation about the center of mass expressed as an angle. If a force acts on a rigid body, and the direction of the force is along the line throught the point of application thru the object's center of mass, then it will cause the
object to accelerate according to Newton's Second Law of Motion, and that's it. However, if the force is not directed through the center of mass it will also cause the object to rotate. Suppose the center of mass of the object shown to the left is at point p, and a force f is applied to the object. This force will cause the entire object, including point p, to accelerate according to Newton's Second Law of Motion. The force f also produces a torque at point p and an angular acceleration about p according to Newton's Second Law for rotation, which is
An object's moment of inertia depends on how the object's mass is distributed about the center of mass. We will assume that the plane's center of mass is located 1/3 of the way back from the nose, and that the plane's moment of inertia about this point is given by 1/20 * m*L2 where m is the mass of the airplane and L is the plane's length (for a discussion of moments of inertia see Common Moments of Inertia) Airplane Dynamics, Abbreviated, Part 1, the Differential EquationsThe trajectory of the airplane is a solution to the DE given by Newton's Second Law of Motion, that is, F = m*A. If p(t) = (px(t), py(t)) is the trajectory of the airplane's center of mass, then px(t) satisfies the DE
If α(t) is the pitch angle of the airplane, then α(t) satisfies the DE given by Newton's Second Law for rotation, that is,
So, if we know the airplane's initial position, velocity, pitch, and pitch rate, and we are able to calculate F(t) and T(t) as time progresses, then we can subdivide time into small subintervals of length h, calculate px''(0), py''(0), and α''(0), use these values to calculate px'(h), py'(h), and α'(h), then use these values to calculate px(h), py(h), and α(h). and we're on our way to calculating a solution to the DEs above, that is, the airplane's trajectory. We repeat this process to generate a numerical solution through time. This is exactly the same thing that we did in CWT Vol. 2 Chapter 2. Remember that the calculations in CWT Vol. 2 Chapter 2 are based on our favorite formula distance = velocity * time, and its more general form, change = rate of change * time. An Interlude, Simulating a Rigid Body Tumbling in SpaceLet's stop right here and simulate the motion of our plane as it moves through space acted on only by the force of a small thruster located on the plane's tail and pointing downward. We'll assume that we're in outer space so that there is no gravity, drag or lift (to make it easy). Initialize constants and the initial state
A graph of the object's trajectory, that is, p(t) = (px(t), py(t)) plotted as a function of time, would require a 3-dimensional graph, which is more than we want to attempt right now. So, instead we will plot py(t) on the y axis and px(t) on the x axis. This graph shows the where the object went as time progressed, but it does not show speed.
We can also plot the object's pitch angle as a function of time, this graph shows that the object rotated (30 / 2*pi) = 4.77 times.
Aircraft Dynamics, Abbreviated, Part 2, Calculating Forces and TorquesNow it's time for the hard work, so, we may cheat a little. The forces acting on an airplane in flight are shown in the diagram below. In addition to the forces shown, we will also model the effect of elevator activation, that is, a force applied at the tail of the airplane resulting in a torque about the plane's pitch axis. For simplicities sake, our plane will be two-dimensional and fly in two-dimensional space. Thus, our plane looks like the diagram below: The x coordinate will represent the aircraft's horizontal position and the y coordinate the aircraft's altitude. We'll describe the aircraft's trajectory and attitude by specifying for each instant in time the x and y coordinates of the aircraft's center of mass (cm), and the aircraft's pitch angle, that is, the angle between the aircraft's centerline and the x axis. The 'state' of the aircraft at a particular instant will consist of the aircraft's
The Forces and Torques Acting on the AirplaneEach force acting on the airplane is represented by a vector, and we'll have to calculate the the magnitude and direction of these vectors. Gravity -
Thrust -
Lift and Drag -
Note that the centerline of the airplane does not necessarily line up with the airplane's velocity vector. The angle between these vectors is called the airplane's angle of attack. Typically an airplane flies with a small, non-zero, angle of attack. When the pilot pulls back on the joystick or steering yoke, the tail goes down and hence the angle of attack increases, increasing lift, and the plane goes up. The diagram to the left shows the relationship between CL and angle of attack for a typical airplane. We have all the information available to use the above model, but, we don't want to go there. So, we'll use an easier model, that is, we'll assume just enough lift to cancel gravity, and assume a constant drag. This is a cop out, but, complicated flight dynamics are not our focus here. Elevator Torque -
We will assume that all the forces (except that caused by the elevator) are directed through the planes center of mass and do not create any torques on the plane. The program will vary the elevator torque to simulate pilot control. Let's FlyWe 'fly' the simulator by running the program. The only control is the elevator which is programmed below.
py(t) is plotted on the y axis and px(t) on the x axis in the graph below:
Hey, what did you expect, a party with special hats and noisemakers ?
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