Spacecraft and Aircraft Dynamics

Matthew M. Peet
Illinois Institute of Technology

Lecture 11: Longitudinal Dynamics

Aircraft Dynamics
Lecture 11

In this Lecture we will cover:

Longitudinal Dynamics:
Finding dimensional coefficients from non-dimensional coefficients
Eigenvalue Analysis
Approximate modal behavior
I short period mode
I phugoid mode

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Review: Longitudinal Dynamics

Combined Terms
u + g cos 0 = Xu u + Xw w + Xe e + XT T
w + g sin 0 u0 = Zu u + Zw w + Zw w + Zq + Ze e + ZT T
= Mu u + Mw w + Mw w + Mq + Me e + MT T

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Force Coefficients
Force/Moment Coefficients can be found in Table 3.5 of Nelson

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Nondimensional Force Coefficients

Nondimensional Force/Moment Coefficients can be found in Table 3.3 of Nelson

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State-Space

From the homework, we have a state-space representation of form

u
u
 
w   w   e
= A + B

T
q
q

Where we get A and B from Xu , Zu , etc.

Recall:

Eigenvalues of A define stability of x = Ax.

A is 4 4, so A has 4 eigenvalues.
Stable if eigenvalues all have negative real part.

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Natural Motion

We mentioned that A is
Stable if eigenvalues all have negative real part.

Now we say more: Eigenvalues have the form

= R I
If we have a pair of complex eigenvalues, then we have two more concepts:
1. Natural Frequency:
q
n = 2R + 2I
2. Damping Ratio:

d=

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R
n

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Natural Frequency
Natural frequency is how fast the the motion oscillates.
Closely related is the

Definition 1.
The Period is the time take to
complete one oscillation
=

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2
n

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Damping Ratio
Damping ratio is how much amplitude decays per oscillation.
Even if d is large, may decay slowly is n is small
Closely related is

Definition 2.
The Half-Life is the time taken for the
amplitude to decay by half.
=

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.693
|R |

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State-Space
Example: Uncontrolled Motion

C172: V0 = 132kt, 5000f t.

u
.0442 18.7
0
32.2
u
w .0013 2.18
w
.97
0

q = .0024 23.8 6.08
0 q
0
0
1
0

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State-Space
Example: Uncontrolled Motion

Using the Matlab command [u,V] = eigs(A), we find the eigenvalues as

Phugoid (Long-Period) Mode
1,2 = .0209 .18
and Eigenvectors
1,2
Short-Period Mode

.2826
.1717
.0748 .1685

=
.9131 0
.1103
.1038
3,4 = 4.13 4.39

and Eigenvectors
3,4

0
1
.0002 .0000001

=
.001 .0000011
.0055
.0008

Notice that this is hard to interpret. Lets scale u and q by equilibrium values.
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State-Space
Example: Uncontrolled Motion

After scaling the state by the equilibrium values, we find the eigenvalues
unchanged (Why?) as
Phugoid (Long-Period) Mode
1,2 = .0209 .18
but clearer Eigenvectors

1,2

.629
.0213
.0218 .0007

=
.0016 .0001
.138
.765

Natural Frequency: n = .181rad/s

Damping Ratio: d = .115
Period: = 34.7s
Half-Life: = 33.16s
Motion dominated by variables u and .
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Modal Illustration

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State-Space
Example: Long Period Mode

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State-Space
Example: Uncontrolled Motion

Using the Matlab command [u,V] = eigs(A), we find the eigenvalues as

Short-Period Mode
3,4 = 4.13 4.39
and Eigenvectors
3,4

.0049
.004
.655 .409

=
.396 .495
.006
.0423

Natural Frequency: n = 6.03rad/s

Damping Ratio: d = .685
Period: = 1.04s
Half-Life: = .167s
Motion dominated by variables w and q.

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Modal Illustration

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State-Space
Example: Short Period Mode

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State-Space
Modal Approximations

Now that we know that longitudinal dynamics have two modes:

Short Period Mode
Phugoid Mode (Long-Period Mode)

Short Period Mode:

fix u = 0 and w = 0.
study variation in and q.
Similar to Static Longitudinal Stability

Long Period Mode:

fix q = 0 and w = 0.
study variation in and u.

Now we develop some simplified expressions to study these modes.

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Short Period Approximation

For the short period mode, we have the following dynamics:
#
#  "
 w  "
Ze
Z
w
1
u
u
u0 +
u0 =
0
0
e
M +Z
q
M + Mu 0Z Mq + M
q
Me + u0 e
 

+ Bsp e
= Asp
q
To understand stability, we need the eigenvalues of Asp .
Eigenvalues are solutions of det(I Asp ) = 0.

Thus we want to solve

det(I Asp ) = 2 (Mq +

Z
Z Mq
+ M ) + (
M ) = 0
u0
u0

We use the quadratic formula (Lecture 1):

r
Z 2
Z
1
1
Z
(Mq + M +
3,4 = (Mq + M +
)
) 4(mq
M )
2
u0
2
u0
u0
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Short Period Approximation

Frequency and Damping Ratio

3,4

1
1
Z
= (Mq + M +
)
2
u0
2

(Mq + M +

Z 2
Z
) 4(mq
M )
u0
u0

This leads to the Approximation Equations:

Natural Frequency:

sp = Mq

Z
u0

Damping Ratio:

dsp =

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1 Mq + M +
2
sp

Z
u0

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Short Period Mode Approximations

Example: C127

Approximate Natural Frequency:

r
481 431
+ 27.7 = 6.10rad/s
sp =
219
True Natural Frequency:
sp = 6.03rad/s

Approximate Damping Ratio:

dsp =

4.32 2.20 1.81

= .683rad/s
2 6.10

True Damping Ratio:

dsp = .685rad/s
So, generally good agreement.
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Long Period Approximation

Long period motion considers only motion in u and .

  
 
Xu g u
u
=
Zu0u
0

This time, we must solve the simple expression

det(I A) = 2 Xu

Zu
g=0
u0

Using the quadratic formula, we get

1,2 =

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Xu

q
Xu2 + 4 Zuu0 g
2

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Long Period Approximation

1,2 =

Xu

q
Xu2 + 4 Zuu0 g

2
This leads to the Approximation Equations:
Natural Frequency:

lp =

Damping Ratio:

dlp =

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Zu g
u0

Xu
2lp

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Long Period Mode Approximations

Example: C127

Approximate Natural Frequency:

lp = .181rad/s
True Natural Frequency:
lp = .208rad/s

Approximate Damping Ratio:

dlp = .115rad/s
True Damping Ratio:
dlp = .106rad/s
So, generally good, but not as good. Why?

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Conclusion

In this lecture, we covered:

How to find and interpret the eigenvalues and eigenvectors of a state-space
matrix
I
I

Natural Frequency
Damping Ratio

How to identify
I Long Period Eigenvlaues/Motion
I Short Period Eigenvalues/Motion
Modal Approximations
I Phugoid and Short-Period Modes
I Formulas for natural frequency
I Formulae for damping ratio

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