AIRCRAFT STABILITY AND CONTROL

Sub Code : 10AE73 IA Marks : 25

Hrs/ Week : 04 Exam Hours : 03
Total Hours : 52 Exam Marks : 100

PART B

Unit 6 07 Hrs

Dynamic Longitudinal Stability

Definition of Dynamic longitudinal stability: types of modes of motion: long or phugoid motion,
short period motion. Airplane Equations of longitudinal motion, Derivation of rigid body
equations of motion, Orientation and position of the airplane, gravitational and thrust forces,
Small disturbance theory.

Aircraft Equations of Motion

A system is said to have static stability when, after being given a small disturbance, it has a
tendency to return to the equilibrium position. To analyse the static stability, the moments
brought about immediately after the disturbance are only to be considered. However, for a
system to be dynamically stable it must finally return to the equilibrium position. Thus, to
examine the dynamic stability, the motion following a disturbance or an intended control input
needs to be analysed. This motion is called response. However, an airplane is a system with six
degrees of freedom and obtaining the response is a difficult task. Presently, computer programs
are available to analyse response of such systems. However, in this chapter the equations of
motion are derived and simplified forms are obtained. Subsequently, the conditions that ensure
dynamic stability are deduced without solving the equations.

The treatment of dynamic stability can be divided into the following topics.

(a) Derivation of the equations of motion, in vector and scalar forms, for a rigid body.
(b) Axes systems used for describing airplane motion.
(c) Equations of motion in stability axes system.
(d) Equation of motion with small perturbation.
(e) Linearization and decomposition of small perturbation equations.
(f) Stability derivatives.
(g) Solution of the equations of motion for longitudinal motion.

The rigid body equations of motion are obtained by applying the Newton’s second law, which
states that the summation of all external forces acting on a body is equal to the time rate of
change of momentum of the body; and the summation of the external moments acting on the
body is equal to the time rate of change of the moment of momentum (i.e., angular

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momentum). The time rates of changes of linear and angular momentum are referred to an
absolute or inertial reference frame.

The airplane is treated as a rigid body which is translating as well as rotating. This motion is
decomposed as:
(a) translation of the CG of the airplane with reference to an inertial frame which is
taken as a frame fixed at a point on the earth and
(b) rotation with respect to the inertial system of a body axes system, attached to
the airplane. The linear velocity, vector and the angular velocity vector are
resolved along the body axes system.

It may be pointed out that the use of a body axes system has the advantage that the moments
of inertia and products of inertia calculated with respect to this system would remain almost
constant. They (moments of inertia) may change slightly during the flight due to the
consumption of fuel or deflection of control surfaces.

Newton’s second law can be expressed in the following vector equations:

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where, H is the moment of moments.
The vector equations can be rewritten in the scalar form as follows:

Force Equation

Consider the airplane shown below. Let ‘δm’ be an element of mass of the airplane, ‘V’ be the
velocity of the elemental mass relative to the absolute or inertial frame and ‘δF’ be the
resulting force acting on the elemental mass. Then, as per Newton’s second law:

The total external force acting on the airplane:

Let ‘V​c​’ be the velocity of the center of mass of the airplane. ‘​dr​ ​/d​t’ is the velocity of the
element relative to the center of mass of the airplane. Then,

Therefore,

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If we assume that the mass of the vehicle is constant, the above equation can be rewritten as:

Since ‘r’ is measured from the center of mass, the summation ‘Σ r δm’ is equal t zero.
Therefore:

The equation above relates the external fore on the airplane to the motion of the vehicle’s
center of mass.

If the reference frame (the inertial frame, in this case) is not rotating, then as the aircraft
rotates, the forces on the airplane with reference to the reference frame will vary with time.

It can be shown that the derivative of an arbitrary vector ​A referred to a rotating body frame
​ ​ can be represented by the following vector identity:
having an angular velocity ω

where, the subscripts ​I​ and ​B​ refer to the inertial and body fixed frames of references.

Hence,

Moment Equation

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For the differential element of mass,

The velocity ‘V​c​’ is a constant with respect to the summation and can be taken outside the
summation sign.
i.e.,

The first term on the right hand side of the above equation is zero because the term (Σ r δm)
=0
Hence,

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Therefore,

The summations in these equations are the mass moment and the products of inertia of the
airplane and are defined as:

i.e.,

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If the reference frame (the inertial frame, in this case) is not rotating, then as the aircraft
rotates, the moments and products of inertial will vary with time.

Recall,

Recall,

We assume that the ​xz plane is the plane of symmetry of the airplane. By proper positioning of
the body axis system, one can make the products of inertia ​I​yz​ = ​I​xy​ = 0. With this assumption:

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Orientation and Position of the Airplane

The equations of motion have been derived for an axis system fixed to the airplane (i.e., Body
Axis System). But, the position and orientation of the airplane cannot be described relative to
the moving body axis frame. The orientation and position of the airplane can be defined in
terms of a fixed frame of reference (i.e., Inertial Axis System). It is assumed that at time ​t = 0,
both the reference frames coincide.
The orientation of the airplane can be described by three consecutive rotations, namely,
yawing, pitching and rolling, in that order. These angular rotations are called as ​Euler Angles.​

Let (x​f​, y​f​,z​f​) represent the fixed frame reference axes. (x​b​, y​b​, z​b​) represent the body reference
axis system. At time t = 0, both the axes systems coincide.

Let (x​1​, y​1​, z​1​) be the interim body axis orientation after the first rotation (i.e., yaw), (x​2​, y​2​, z​2​) be
the body axis orientation after the second rotation (i.e., pitch) and (x​b​, y​b​, z​b​) be the body axis
orientation after the third rotation (i.e., roll). The three rotation angles are ψ (yaw angle), θ
(pitch angle) and φ (roll angle).

The velocity components along the three axes of the fixed frame axis system are denoted by
dx​ /​dt​ , ​d​y/​d​t and ​dz​ /​dt​ . Subsequent velocity elements after each rotation are denoted by (u​1​, v​1​,
z​1​), (u​2​, v​2​, z​2​) and (u, v, w).

After the first rotation (i.e., yawing by angle ψ),

After the second rotation (i.e., pitching by angle θ),

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After the third rotation (i.e., rolling by angle φ),

All the equations can be clubbed together and written in the matrix form as given below. The
equation gives absolute velocity in terms of Euler angles and velocity components in the body
frame. Shorthand notations like C​ψ ≡ cosψ, S​ψ ≡ sinψ etc have been used in the following
equation:

Integration of the equation above yields the airplane’s position relative to the fixed frame of
reference.

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Gravitational Forces

The gravitational force acting on the airplane acts through the center of gravity of the airplane.
As the body axis system is fixed to the center of gravity, the gravitational force will not produce
any moments. It will contribute to the external forces acting on the airplane and will have
components along the respective body axes.

(F​x​)​gravity​ = - mg sinθ
(F​y​)​gravity​ = mg cosθ sinφ
(F​z​)​gravity​ = mg cosθ cosφ

Thrust Forces

The thrust force due to the propulsion system can have components that act along each of the
body axis directions. In addition, the propulsive forces can also create moments if the thrust
does not act through the center of gravity of the airplane.

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Small-Disturbance Theory

Airplane equations of motion can be linearised using small-disturbance theory. Here, we

assume that the motion of the airplane consists of small deviations about a steady flight
condition. This theory cannot be applied to problems in which large amplitude motions are to
be expected (e.g., spinning or stalled flight). However, in many cases the small-disturbance
theory yields sufficient accuracy for practical engineering purposes.

All the variables in the equations of motion are replaced by a reference value plus a
perturbation or disturbance.

u = u​0​ + ∆u v = v​0​ + ∆v w = w​0​ + ∆w

X = X​0​ + ∆X Y = Y​0​ + ∆Y Z = Z​0​ + ∆Z

p = p​0​ + ∆p q = q​0​ + ∆q r = r​0​ + ∆r

L = L​0​ + ∆L M = M​0​ + ∆M N = N​0​ + ∆N

δ = δ​0​ + ∆δ

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For convenience, the reference flight condition is assumed to be symmetric straight and level
flight and the propulsive forces are assumed to remain constant. Further, we align the x axis so
that it is along the airplanes velocity vector.

i.e., v​0​ = w​0​ = 0

p​0​ = q​0​ = r​0​ = 0
φ​0​ = ψ​0​ = 0

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The change in aerodynamic forces and moments are functions of the motion variables like ∆u,
∆w and so on and so forth. The most important aerodynamic variables for conventional airplane
motion analysis are given below:

Longitudinal Motion (Stick Fixed)

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Aircraft Model

Aircraft can be mathematically modelled as a mass (the aircraft mass itself), spring (stabilisation
action provided by stabilisers etc) and damper (provided the medium, i.e., air) system.

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The differential equation for the system can be written as:

The above equation is non-homogeneous, second order differential equation with constant
coefficients. The response of the system is called as forced response. If the forcing function is
zero, then the equation becomes homogeneous and the response of the system is known as
the free response. The general solution of the nonhomogeneous differential equation is the
sum of the homogeneous and particular solutions. The homogeneous solution is the solution of
the homogeneous equation without any forcing function. The particular solution is a solution
that when substituted into the left hand side of the equation yields the nonhomogeneous or
right hand side of the equation. We will restrict our discussion to the free response of the
system.

Where, C​1​ and C​2​ are arbitrary constants determined from the initial conditions of the problem.

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The type of motion that occurs if the system is displaced from its equilibrium position and
released depends on the value of λ. Λ depends on the physical constants of the system,
namely, m, c and k.

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Recall the differential equation of motion of the system:

The differential equation can be rewritten as:

The characteristic equation can be written as:

The roots of the equation are:

The real part of λ (i.e., η) governs the damping of the response and the imaginary part of λ
(i.e., ω) is the damped frequency.

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Magnitude of Type of root Time response
damping ratio
ζ>1 Two negative distinct real roots Over damped exponentially decaying
motion
ζ=1 Two negative equal real roots Critically damped exponentially
decaying motion
0<ζ<1 Complex roots with a real part Under damped exponentially
negative decaying sinusoidal motion
ζ=0 Complex roots with a real part zero Undamped sinusoidal motion (pure
harmonic motion)
0 > ζ > -1 Complex roots with a positive real Exponentially growing sinusoidal
part motion
ζ < -1 Two positive distinct real roots Exponentially growing motion

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Pure Pitching Motion

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Consider the case in which the airplane’s center of gravity is constrained to move in a straight
line at a constant speed but the airplane is free to pitch about its center of gravity. As per
Newton’s second law:

Σ M​cg​ = I​y​ Ӫ

The pitching moment and the pitch angle can be expressed in terms of an initial reference value
indicated by a subscript 0 and perturbation by ∆ symbol.
i.e.,
M = M​0​ + ∆M
θ = θ​0​ + ∆θ

If M​0​ = 0, then the pitching moment equation reduces to:

∆M = I​y​ ∆Ӫ
Also,
∆M = ​fn​ (∆α, ∆ά, ∆q, ∆δ​e​)

The above equation can be expanded in terms of perturbation variables by means of a Taylor
series:

= I​y​ ∆Ӫ

If we align the body and fixed frames so that they are aligned at ​t = 0, the change in angle of
attack and pitch angle are identical.
i.e., ​.. .. . .
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 ∆α = ∆θ ; ∆α = ∆θ and ∆θ = ∆q =∆α

The real part of λ (i.e., η) governs the damping of the response and the imaginary part of λ
(i.e., ω) is the damped frequency.

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Note that when as the system damping ratio is increased, the maximum overshoot of the
response diminishes.
The period of oscillation is related to the imaginary part of the root as follows:

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 Dynamic Stability

Dynamic stability is concerned with the subsequent motion of the system following a
disturbance. In other words, it is depicted by the time-response of the system following a
disturbance. Dynamic stability maybe classically defined as the time history of the aircraft as it
eventually regains equilibrium flight conditions after being disturbed. If the system eventually
returns to its initial condition it is called as ​dynamically stable​. If the system diverges further
and further away from the equilibrium state with time, then it is ​dynamically unstable.​ The
system is ​dynamically neutral if it oscillates on either side of the initial equilibrium state with
the same amplitude.

Dynamic stability modes ​could either be ​an oscillatory or periodic motion or ​an aperiodic or
non-oscillatory motion.​

Oscillatory or periodic motion

After a disturbance a system may oscillate with respect to time, the amplitude of the
oscillations:
(a) either growing (i.e., dynamically unstable); 0 > ζ > -1
(b) or does not change (i.e., dynamically neutral); ζ=0
(c) or decay (i.e., dynamically stable); 0 < ζ < -1

All types of oscillations will have a periodic time (and a frequency). Note that all the three cases
are ​statically stable.​

Aperiodic or non-oscillatory motion

If the time-response to a disturbance to a system is non-oscillatory, then four possibilities exist.

(a) A divergence (i.e., dynamically and statically unstable); 0 > ζ > -1 and two positively
distinct real roots.
(b) A constant displacement (i.e., dynamically and statically neutral)
(c) Critically damped subsidence (i.e., dynamically and statically stable); ζ = 1 and
two negative equal roots.
(d) Over damped subsidence (i.e., dynamically and statically stable); ζ > 1 and two
negative distinct roots.

Longitudinal modes

Oscillating motions can be described by two parameters, the period of time required for one
complete oscillation, and the time required to damp to half-amplitude, or the time to double
the amplitude for a dynamically unstable motion. The longitudinal motion consists of two
distinct oscillations, a long-period oscillation called a phugoid mode and a short-period
oscillation referred to as the short-period mode.

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Phugoid (longer period) oscillations

The longer period mode, called the "phugoid mode" is the one in which there are
large-amplitude variations of air-speed, pitch angle, and altitude, but almost no angle-of-attack
variation. The phugoid oscillation is really a slow interchange of kinetic energy (velocity) and
potential energy (height) about some equilibrium energy level as the aircraft attempts to
re-establish the equilibrium level-flight condition from which it had been disturbed. The motion
is so slow that the effects of inertia forces and damping forces are very low. Although the
damping is very weak, the period is so long that the pilot usually corrects for this motion
without being aware that the oscillation even exists. Typically the period is 20–60 seconds. This
oscillation can generally be controlled by the pilot.

Short period oscillations

With no special name, the shorter period mode is called simply the "short-period mode". The
short-period mode is a usually heavily damped oscillation with a period of only a few seconds.
The motion is a rapid pitching of the aircraft about the center of gravity. The period is so short
that the speed does not have time to change, so the oscillation is essentially an angle-of-attack
variation. The time to damp the amplitude to one-half of its value is usually on the order of 1

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second. Ability to quickly self damp when the stick is briefly displaced is one of the many
criteria for general aircraft certification.

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