Aircraft Design

- The Design Process

For more detailed notes please refer to

www.rmcs.cranfield.ac.uk/aeroxtra
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Dr Derek

Recommended
Further Reading
D.Howe Aircraft Conceptual Design Synthesis
D.Raymer Aircraft Design, A Conceptual
Approach
J.Roskam Airplane Design, Parts 1-8
E.Torenbeek Synthesis of Airplane Design
L.Jenkinson, P.Simpkin & D.Rhodes Civil Jet
Aircraft Design
D.Stinton The Design of the Aeroplane
S.Brandt, J.Stiles & R.Whitford Introduction to
Aeronautics A Design Perspective
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Design Process - Overview

Basic & general requirements.

Feasibility study.
Detail requirements & specification.
Design phases Roskam/Raymer models
Project synthesis process (Howe model).
Configuration, flight regime & powerplant, fuselage
layout, wing configuration, lift, drag & mass
representations, performance representation, parametric
analysis & optimization

Analysis of detailed design.

Detail design phase.
Testing, certification & project life cycle.
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Basic Requirements
New design launched when perceived requirement
arises for aircraft beyond capability of those
existing.
Usually due to:
aircraft approaching end of its useful life.
design overtaken by technological developments.

Identification of need may originate from:

manufacturing organization (especially if civil).
potential operator (especially if military).
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Basic Requirements (Cont.)

Initial basic requirements statement often brief,
including class of aircraft and major performance
characteristics.
Initial statement usually refined after consultations
with appropriate operators and major
manufacturers.

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General Requirements
Result of many years of previous experience
applicable to various classes of a/c.
Act as:
guide to designers.
basis for eventual clearance of a/c for
intended operators.

Most important for civil/general

aviation are:
FAR 25/23 (US), JAR 25/23 (Europe)
(Federal or Joint Airworthiness
Requirements)
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General Requirements (Cont.)

FAR and JAR written in
identical format with only a few
subtle differences eventual aim
is for commonality.
For military a/c use:
DEF STAN 00-970 (UK), MIL
SPECS (US)
MIL SPECS being replaced with
requirements defined by individual
manufacturers (Lockheed Martin,
Boeing).
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Feasibility Study
Follows basic requirement to assess whether
need can be met with existing technology or
not.
|Needed due to complexity of aeronautical
projects.

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Feasibility Study (Cont.)

Also used for other purposes:
how best to meet basic requirement (adaptation of
existing a/c, major modification of existing a/c,
completely new design (highest risk & cost)).
concept/configuration comparison studies also
undertaken.
review and revision of basic requirement performance
characteristics.
likely output is definition of detailed set of
requirements (specification).
initial cost estimation.
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Detail Requirements /
Specification
Covers many aspects, though not all significant
for project synthesis process phase.
Performance

Range with basic payload mass.

Alternative range/payload combinations (+ reserves).
Max (or max normal) operating speed.
Take-off & landing field length limitations.
Climb performance (time to height, ceiling, etc.).
Manoeuvre & acceleration requirements.

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Detail Requirements /
Specification (Cont.)
Operations

Size & mass limitations (runway loading).

Crew complement.
Occupant environment (pressure, temperature).
Navigation/communications equipment.
Payload variation & associated equipment.
Maintenance targets.
Stealth aspects (military a/c).
Extended engine failed allowance (ETOPS) civil.

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Detail Requirements /
Specification (Cont.)
General

Growth potential.
Cost targets, availability.
Airframe life.
Airworthiness requirements (JAR 25, etc.).

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Detail Requirements Example

C-5 Specific Operational Requirement June 1963
(Selected Items)

Basic design mission: 100,000 to 130,000 lb for 4000 nm

Alternate mission: 50,000 lb for 5500 nm
Load factor: 2.5
Maximum design payload: 130,000 150,000 lb
Cruise speed: > 440 kts (TAS)
Cruise ceiling: > 30,000 ft
Take-off at max TOW: < 8000 ft
Take-off at 4000 nm weight: < 4000 ft
Landing with 100,000 lb & fuel reserves for 4000 nm: < 4000 ft

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Detail Requirements Example

C-5 Specific Operational Requirement
June 1963 (Selected Items) (Cont.)
Cargo compartment: length 100 110 ft,
width 16 17.5 ft, height 13.5 ft.
Cargo landing: straight through, one full
section, one 9x10ft, truck bed floor height
desirable.
Powerplant: 6 x turbofans.
Reliability: 95% probability of completing
10 hr mission.
Availability: June 1970.

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Aircraft Design Phases

(Raymer/Roskam Models)
Conceptual Design
All major questions asked and answered.
will it work?
what does it look like?
what requirements drive the
design?
what trade-offs should be
considered?
what should it weigh and cost?
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Aircraft Design Phases

(Raymer/Roskam Models)
Conceptual Design (Cont.)
No correct solution and process involves great
deal of compromise, iteration and trade-offs.
Illustrated when different teams are requested to
submit designs based upon an initial basic
requirement or specification all will be
different and the customer can then choose
accordingly.
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JSF Conceptual Designs

(a)

(b)

(a) Lockheed-Martin X-35 successful

(b) Boeing rejected after demonstrator
flights
(c) McDonnell-Douglas rejected after
concept design phase
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(c)
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Aircraft Design Phases

(Raymer/Roskam Models)
Conceptual Design (Cont.)
Various activities to be covered include:

configuration possibilities
preliminary sizing (weight)
drag polar equation estimation
performance sizing & matching using W/S and T/W
relationships to optimally fix wing size and engine
thrust power
wing layout and high-lift devices
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Aircraft Design Phases

(Raymer/Roskam Models)
Conceptual Design (Cont.)
Followed by:

confirmation of configuration
fuselage sizing
propulsion selection & integration
empennage sizing
weight and balance analysis
stability analysis

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Aircraft Design Phases

(Raymer/Roskam Model)
Preliminary Design
Begins when major design changes are over.

configuration and major characteristics frozen.

lofting developed.
testing and development tools developed.
major items designed.
cost estimates refined.

Followed by detail design, production, testing and

certification phases.
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Project Synthesis Process

(Howe Model)
Considered as an extension of feasibility study.
Though a different aim to produce reasonably welldefined design to be offered to potential customers.
Requires considerably more thorough and detailed studies
than in feasibility work.
Forms bulk of undergraduate group project work.
Involves parallel working of many inter-related disciplines
with numerous trade-offs and optimization procedures.
Equivalent to Raymer/Roskam Conceptual Design phase.

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Project Synthesis Process

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Project Synthesis Process

Configuration Selection
First task is selection of one or more configurations.
Unconventional layouts only adopted if unusually
dominant requirement.
Usually well-established conventional layout for given
class of a/c.
Technological advances may render some concepts as
unsuitable for future (e.g. impact of flight control systems
and thrust vectoring on stability/control surfaces).
Optimum solution often not adopted due to lack of
experience, uncertain design data, customer reticence, etc.
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Project Synthesis Process

Flight Regime & Powerplant Selection
Set of operating conditions (Mach number, altitude)
usually defined in specification.
if only given in general terms then have to be
assumed in greater detail for synthesis process.
Flight regime directly defines powerplant type to be
used:
piston-prop, turbo-prop, turbofan, low bypass
turbofan, propfan, turbojet, ramjet, rocket, etc.
Powerplant selection also influences configuration.
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Project Synthesis Process

Fuselage Layout

Good starting point for synthesis process.

Often established independently of lifting surfaces.
Payload definition main driver and often specified.
Also crew provision affects forward fuselage design
and often known at outset.
Only overall dimensions required to make first
prediction of aircraft mass.
Geometry and size primarily derived with little use of
analytical methods so no single solution.
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Project Synthesis Process

Wing Configuration
Fundamental to aircraft performance.
Complex with large number of parameters to be
considered and refined during optimization process.
Major impact on lift, drag & mass of a/c design - all
should be considered when initially selecting layout.
Initial aim to produce layout with minimum number of
parameters for use in initial synthesis.
Soon leads to wing loading estimation and then wing
area once initial mass prediction is known.
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Project Synthesis Process

Lift, Drag & Mass Estimations
These are the primary characteristics determining a/c
performance for given powerplant & flight regime.
Can sometimes be estimated using typical values from
previous similar a/c (if information is available).
But preferable to use simple analytical expressions to
formulate initial values for use on first optimization.
More comprehensive methods necessary eventually.
High degree of interdependence with wing configuration.
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Project Synthesis Process

Performance Representation
Vital part of synthesis process done by expressing
various flight stages using equations.
Flight phases include:
take-off & initial climb, climb to operating altitude, ceilings,
cruise, operating/maximum speed, manoeuvres, descent,
approach & landing, baulked landing & missed approach.

Recommended equations are specific to design process:

theoretically derived but modified with empirical data.
used to give early optimum values of wing loading and
thrust/weight ratio.

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Project Synthesis Process

Parametric Analysis 1st Stage
Brings together results of all previous tasks.
Combines wing and fuselage dimensions into overall a/c
layout.
Lift, drag and powerplant representations used in
performance equations to produce variations of wing
loading (W/S) and thrust/weight ratio (T/W) for each
performance requirement.
Comparison produces design space to meet all
requirements.
Suitable values for W/S (low) and T/W (high) selected.
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Project Synthesis Process

Parametric Analysis 2nd Stage
Selected values of wing loading and thrust/weight ratio
used to calculate aircraft mass.
Various combinations used to determine minimum (i.e.
optimum) mass value.
Yields referee design, which is then used as basis for
more detailed analysis and evaluation.
Revised wing size follows directly from procedure,
along with initial notional representations of
empennage and landing gear.
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Project Synthesis Process

Optimization
Essential feature of project process.
Target criterion imposed most usually mass but
sometimes cost.
Mass Optimization
Size & mass closely related.
Unusual for size constraints to drive design (exceptions
a/c operating from ships, large airliners with airport
gate restrictions).
Generally, lightest a/c is most efficient with greatest
development potential so useful optimisation criterion.
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Project Synthesis Process

Cost Optimization
Several possible aspects:
first cost
operating costs
life cycle costs

More difficult to obtain accurate cost predictions than

mass predictions.

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Project Synthesis Process

Analysis of Derived (Referee) Design
Involves use of better analytical tools, including:

size prediction for stability and control surfaces.

completion of landing gear layout.
improved estimation of lift, drag and mass characteristics.
revised performance calculations using improved input data
and more elaborate estimation methods.
reconsideration of stability & control requirements.
repetition of process until mass convergence.

Sensitivity studies involving variation of certain

parameters to identify critical design areas.
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Project Synthesis Process

Optimization Procedures
Graphical Techniques
Parametric study results plotted onto graphs and
superimposed, leading to design space which meets
various performance requirements.
Limited to number of parameters conveniently handled.
Mathematical Techniques
Can handle many parameters simultaneously, e.g. using
the multi-variable optimization (MVO) method.
Needs powerful computational packages.
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Other Activities
Many other activities often undertaken in typical
undergraduate group project, depending on a/c type but
typically:

Structural layout wing, fuselage, empennage.

Stress & structural analysis and materials selection.
Intake/exhaust design.
flight deck & avionics suite, weapons selection/integration.
passenger/payload compartment.
reliability & maintainability.
survivability & stealth, defensive aids suite.
hydraulics, pneumatics, electrics, ice protection, fire
detection/suppression, etc.

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Detail Design Phase

Most extensive phase of whole process.
Purpose is to verify earlier assumptions and
produce data needed for hardware manufacture.
Requires generation of many drawings (by
computer aided design nowadays).
Best solution required for performance,
manufacturing costs and operations.
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Testing
Ground and flight test hardware manufactured
from detail design phase.
Ground Testing
Includes wind tunnel tests, structural specimens
and systems rigs.
Flight Tests
To verify performance and flight characteristics of
actual aircraft.
Expensive so must be completed quickly.
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Certification
Operational flight clearance issued when calculations,
ground and flight testing of design demonstrate to
satisfaction of appropriate airworthiness authority that
all relevant requirements are met.
Customer also requires demonstration of performance
capabilities.

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Project Life Cycle

Design phase leading to certification may take up to a
decade.
Development costs rise with time taken to achieve
certification.
Manufacturer continues to support aircraft throughout
operational life can last 50 years+ for a successful
design.

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