Aerospace¶
solid pillar 1
Applied aerospace disciplines — the domain physics layered on top of fluids and foundations.
Pages¶
| Page | Covers |
|---|---|
| Aircraft design | The sizing loop, constraint diagrams, weight growth, the limits of regression |
| Aerodynamics | Circulation, thin airfoil and lifting-line theory, drag decomposition, compressibility |
| Flight mechanics | Performance, Breguet range, static margin, the five dynamic modes |
| Propulsion | Thrust, Brayton cycle, propulsive efficiency and bypass ratio, rockets |
| Structures and aeroelasticity | Thin-walled sections, buckling, divergence, flutter, fatigue |
| Turbomachinery | Euler equation, velocity triangles, stage loading limits, stall and surge |
| Aeroacoustics | Lighthill's analogy, FW-H, velocity scaling, rotor noise |
| Rotorcraft | Momentum theory, BEMT, forward-flight asymmetry, autorotation |
| Wind energy | Betz limit, BEM with corrections, wakes, Weibull resource |
| Space environment and orbits | Two-body motion, \(J_2\), delta-v, drag, the space hazard set |
| Experimental methods | The measurement chain, bias vs precision, tunnel corrections, flight test |
One idea that recurs¶
Move a lot of mass slowly rather than a little mass quickly. It appears as propulsive efficiency and bypass ratio, as disk loading in hover, and inverted as the Betz limit. Three subjects, one momentum argument — worth recognising, because a result derived in one transfers directly to the others.
Aeroacoustics arrives at the same place from a fourth direction: jet noise scales as \(U^8\), so the quiet engine and the efficient engine are the same engine. When four independent lines of reasoning converge on one design choice, that is usually the real constraint.
One more, about measurement¶
Experimental methods sits slightly apart — it is pillar 10 rather than pillar 1, and it is the only page here about how you would know any of this is true. The rest of the site is theory and computation; validation data has to come from somewhere, and it arrives with error bars that decide what a comparison can support.
Connections¶
- Fluids — the underlying flow physics.
- Foundations — the numerics.
- Meteorology › Boundary layer — turbine and low-altitude inflow.
- Astrophysics › Plasma — the spacecraft charging environment.
Sources¶
Per page. See the course archive for the Aerospace and Mechanical folders, which hold most of this material.