Minimum Power, Minimum Drag

Dr. M. Turner

Spring Semester
Ways of measuring airspeed

V (VTAS ) “True” airspeed i.e. speed of air “hitting“ aircraft

VEAS Equivalent airspeed - an airspeed equivalent to that at sea level
VGS Ground speed - velocity of aircraft as seen from ground

Ground Speed:
◮ VGS is speed of aircraft from observer
on ground’s perspective VTAS
◮ It is the projection of true-airspeed on
a plane parallel to the ground VGS
◮ Ground-speed adjusted by head-wind
and tail wind:
GROUND

VGS = V + VTW VGS = V − VHW

Equivalent airspeed
Equivalent Airspeed:
◮ Various crucial speeds depend on air density, ρ
⇒ these speeds vary with altitude!
◮ VEAS sometimes more convenient
◮ Makes various speeds independent of altitude
e.g. stall speed, minimum drag speed etc.

Example: variation of true airspeed stall with altitude

00
11
00
11
00
11 Vs = 154.42 m/s
12000m 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
1111111111111111111111111111111111111111111

00
11
00
11
0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
1111111111111111111111111111111111111111111
6000m Vs = 106.06 m/s

111
000
111
000
2000m 11111111111111111111111111111111111111111111
00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000Vs = 85.86 m/s
Equivalent airspeed

2
Main idea: make VEAS altitude independent: ρ0 VEAS = ρV 2
(ρ0 : air density at sea level) ρ0 2
ρ VEAS = ρV 2
ρ

Letting σ = ρ/ρ0 2
ρσ −1 VEAS = ρV 2

√
Hence VEAS = σV
√
V = σ −1 VEAS

Stall speed

ρ
r
mg mg
r r
√
VEAS,S = σVS = =
ρ0 ρSCL,max ρ0 SCL,max
Drag in straight-and-level flight
No lift drag independent of lift Increases with airspeed
Lift dependent drag dependent on lift Decreases with airspeed

Assuming lift balances weight: L = mg (straigt-level-flight)

ǫL2 ǫm2 g 2
1 2
= 1 2
2 ρV S 2 ρV S
Drag = Required Thrust

AIRCRAFT
DRAG

TOTAL DRAG

VE ,MD
NO−LIFT
“minimum drag”
DRAG
speed

LIFT DEPENDENT DRAG

EQUIVALENT AIRSPEED
VS VE,MD
Calculating minimum drag
VE ,MD - in some sense an “optimal“ airspeed
◮ In straight-level flight L = mg : Hence
L D
D=D = mg
L L
◮ As D = 12 ρ0 CD SVEAS
2
and L = 21 ρ0 CL SVEAS
2

CD
D= mg
CL
◮ ⇒ Drag is minimised when CD /CL is minimised
Using CD = CD0 + ǫCL2 necessary condition for minimum:

CD0 + ǫCL2
 
d(CD /CL ) d
=
dCL dCL CL
   2
d CD0 d ǫCL
= +
dCL CL dCL CL
= −CD0 CL−2 + ǫ = 0
Calculating minimum drag
◮ Thus we have lift coefficient at minimum drag
r
CD0
CL,MD =
ǫ
◮ Also, as s
2mg
VE =
ρ0 CL S
substituting for CL = CL,MD gives
s   14
2mg ǫ
VE ,MD =
ρ0 S CD0

Implications
◮ Ratio CD0 /ǫ is an important consideration in VE ,MD

◮ VE ,MD decreases with S (contributor to lift-inducted drag)

Power and drag
Power used to overcome drag: Pr = DV
!
1 2 ǫm2 g 2 VEAS
Pr = ρ0 VEAS SCD0 + 1 2
√
2 2 ρ0 VEAS S
σ
√ 1 3 ǫm2 g 2
σPr = ρ0 VEAS SCD0 + 1
2 2 ρ0 VEAS S

TOTAL POWER
NO−LIFT
POWER

VE ,MP
“minimum power”
speed

LIFT DEPENDENT POWER

EQUIVALENT AIRSPEED
VE,MP
Calculating minimum power
In straight level flight L = mg , so:
CD
Pr = DV = mgV
CL
s s !
CD 2mg 2mg
= mg NB V =
CL ρSCL ρSCL
s
2 CD
= (mg )3/2 3/2
ρS C L

Thus, as m, g , S are constants, minimum power when

CD
!
is minimum d CD
CL
3/2 i.e. 3/2
=0
dCL CL

Thus s
r  1/4
3CD0 2mg ǫ
CL,MP = VE ,MP =
ǫ ρ0 S 3CD0
Maximum speed
Jet aircraft Propeller aircraft
TOTAL DRAG
TOTAL DRAG

THRUST

Max. excess
T,D thrust
T,D

Max. excess
thrust

EQUIVALENT AIRSPEED
VMAX EQUIVALENT AIRSPEED V MAX

◮ Maximum speed is when THRUST = DRAG

◮ Acceleration is maximum at point of maximum excessive thrust i.e.
T −D
= V̇
m
◮ Jet typically has larger maximum excessive thrust and higher
intersection of thrust and drag curves