Introduction to Aircraft Design

Prof. Rajkumar S. Pant

Department of Aerospace Engineering
Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay

Lecture - 82
Tutorial on V-n Diagram of Transport Aircraft

Hello, let us have a look at how the V-n diagram is calculated for a long range transport
aircraft.
(Refer Slide Time: 00:31)

As is the usual in this course, we have taken Boeing 787 Dreamliner as our reference
aircraft.
(Refer Slide Time: 00:35)
Let us look at the color scheme in this presentation which is also standard, you must be
used to it by now. The general instructions are given in brown color. If there are any
values which are specified in any standard document or any online source, which is
taken as a reference, they will be shown in the black color. The values which are
assumed or which are given in the database are in the light blue color.

Wherever we do you do some calculations, there is a hint that it is in red color and also
there is a pause button after that. So I would request if you really want to learn to do
these calculations properly. It is best that when you see the pause button you can pause
the video, do the required calculations and then proceed further. The values which are
calculated are going to be shown in the dark blue color.

And any comparison is going to be in the green color. But in this presentation of course
we do not have anything to compare.
(Refer Slide Time: 01:40)

Let us first start with a quick recap about what is a V-n diagram. At this point, I suggest
if you have not watched the video clips regarding V-n diagram, it is a good idea to first
go and watch them and then do the tutorial. But those of you who have already watched
the video clips here is a quick recap about a V-n diagram. It is basically a structural
operating envelope of the aircraft. In this diagram, we plot the limit load factor versus
the airspeed.
But this is applicable only for symmetric maneuvers in the xy plane. We use equivalent
airspeed on x axis. The reason for that is very clear, because we want to use the same
diagram for various altitudes. Usage of equivalent airspeed allows that to happen. On
the y axis, we have the vertical load factor experienced by the aircraft, which is the total
vertical force acting divided by the aircraft weight.

This is the largest in magnitude among the three load factors Nx, Ny, Nz. So this is
actually Nz, but since we will talk only about one load factor, we are not going to use
the subscript z. So when we say load factor N we actually mean the vertical load factor
Nz. And on this particular diagram, the regulatory bodies have suggested that we should
superimpose some gust load factors, okay.
(Refer Slide Time: 03:18)

Let us look at the steps in the construction of a V-n diagram. So here is the V-n diagram.
So first, we normally calculate the value of Vs which is the stall speed in level flight. It
is also called as 1g stall speed. And while calculating this number you use load factor
Nz = 1 and V equal to Vstall. And all along this line from O to A the CL is actually equal
to 𝐶𝐿𝑚𝑎𝑥 at various speeds, okay.

So therefore, this area on the left of this line is the positive stall area. So we cannot have
sustained flight in this area because the aircraft is going to stall. So in a way, this gives
you an operating limitation that you cannot operate for a long time on the left of the
line OA. The next important point is the point D which corresponds to the negative load
factor area usually when you have inverted flight.
So here what we do is we calculate the point D as the y axis value will be the most
negative permitted value of the load factor, there is minus n max and the corresponding
speed V depending on what is the lift coefficient maximum permissible in inverted
flight. So just like we got the this point Vs for 1g level flight this is for you know
maximum, this is for the maximum negative.

The next point is point A which is a very important point. It is called as the point of
corner speed because the speed corresponding to this point is the corner speed. At this
point there are two things which are applicable. The CL is equal to 𝐶𝐿𝑚𝑎𝑥 because we
are along this line, okay. And also the Nz is equal to positive Nz max because we are
also on this line.

So this is the intersection of the positive maximum vertical load factor and the smallest
speed because it corresponds to the highest value of CL. This speed should be as low as
possible okay because corresponding to this speed you have the tightest turn and the
fastest turn rate. So this is called as the corner speed. This is obtained by the intersection
between this line and the maximum permissible load factor line.

The next point of interest is the point corresponding the V-n diagram due to the cruise
speed. So cruise speed is either specified or taken as a multiple multiplied fraction of
the stall speed 1.25 or 1.5 okay. So here the load factor here is going to be the maximum
value and the speed is going to be the maximum permitted cruise speed.

The next important point corresponds to the point where you have the maximum
dynamic pressure. So this corresponds to the point which is having the design diving
speed and also the Nz max. So this particular point gives the maximum loading on the
aircraft. Therefore, flight on the right hand side of this line is not permitted from the
structural safety considerations.

So corresponding to point B there is a point C on the negative load factor. This again
corresponds to the most highest negative value of the dynamic pressure. So because it
is at design diving speed and the maximum negative value of the load factor. And then
on that we superimpose the gust lines. So first this is a gust line to do a positive gust
starting from level flight. So that means n = 1.

And then as we will see very soon the delta Nz because of gust which is going to be the
number above this line is proportional to V. So it will be a straight line up to Vc.
Similarly, there will be another straight line up to the highest speed at which you are
allowed to fly inverted. In this diagram or in this sketch it is shown that this speed is
lower than the speed Vc for the positive flight but it could also be the same.

It depends on the specifications of the aircraft. And then up to design diving speed, we
have been asked to also plot the delta Nz both in the positive direction and in the
negative direction as shown here. And finally, we just join these lines from cruise to
design diving speed both in the top of the graph and the bottom of the graph.

So therefore, if the dark lines shown earlier correspond to the limit maneuver V-n
diagram and if these lines correspond to the limit gust diagram. So if you superimpose
these two, this particular curve, the outermost curve is going to be the limit combined
envelope.
(Refer Slide Time: 08:58)

Now let us start doing the calculations for our aircraft Boeing 787-8. But before we
proceed, we need to recall some of the important data and specifications of this aircraft.
First, let us look at some aircraft related specifications. This aircraft is designed for a
maximum gross weight of 476,000 pounds, which translates to 215912 kilograms,
Wing area is 3870 square feet which translates to 359.53 square meters.

The wing aspect ratio is 10.58. The sweep of the maximum thickness line is 30 degrees.
This information will be needed for calculating the value of the lift curve slope which
is needed in the estimation of the additional load factor due to gust. Maximum positive
lift coefficient is 1.91. And we do not have the value of maximum negative lift
coefficient. So we will assume it to be 1.00. Remember this data is not available.

So we have just assumed it. As far as the operation related parameters are concerned,
this aircraft has a cruise Mach number of 0.85. Its design cruise speed as specified in
the document is 393 knots equivalent airspeed, which can be converted by multiplying
by 0.51444 to get meters per second. If you want to do a more accurate conversion, you
can multiply the knots with 1852 to convert it into meters, and then divide by 3600 to
convert hours into seconds.

Similarly, the design diving speed is given as 426 knots EAS which converts to 219.5
meters per second. The maximum positive load factor that this aircraft is designed to
sustain is specified in the sample analysis as 2.54 and we do not have any information
regarding what is the maximum negative load factor.

So as specified by the airworthiness agencies, if the designer do not specify the

maximum negative load factor, it can be assumed to be at least half of the maximum
positive load factor. So please note that the maximum negative lift coefficient of 1 and
maximum negative load factor of -1.27 are assumed values in this particular analysis.
(Refer Slide Time: 11:30)
Let us look at the FAR-25 regulations for gusts. So these regulations are explained in
detail in 14 CFR 25.341 titled Gust and Turbulence Loads. So there is a huge amount
of information mentioned in that including things like how to look for changes in the
gust velocity etc. We will take a very simple approximation and we will only look at
specification of the vertical gust velocity up to the design cruise speed Vc.

So we need to take the gust speeds to be at least 56 feet per second equivalent airspeed
at sea level. They can be reduced to 44 feet per second at the rate of 15,000 feet and at
higher altitudes gusts are actually very weak. So therefore, the maximum velocity
specified is only 20.86 feet per second equivalent airspeed. So in between, you can
always interpolate to the value that you want.

As far as the specification of the gust velocity for the up to the design diving speed, it
is considered to be just half of the above values. So this information can be graphically
also indicated like this, where you can see that at sea level, we have the highest
requirement of gust value gust speed of 56 feet per second which is supposed to be
constant up to 15,000 feet. And then from there it is expected to reduce linearly, okay.

Then, if you look at the specifications at 15,000 feet, it is 44 up to 15,000 and then again
it is reduced linearly. And if you look at the design diving speed, the value is 20.86 up
to 15,000 feet. And then again it is to be linearly reduced. In our case, we are going to
look mainly at the situation at sea level. So therefore, we are only going to be concerned
with this velocity, 56 feet per second EAS at sea level.
And of course, the value up to design diving speed which will be half of this or 28 feet
per second.
(Refer Slide Time: 13:54)

Let us look at the calculations at sea level. So this is our V-n diagram for a reference.
First let us find out the value of stall speed at n = 1. That means the 1g level stall speed.

And we have to use 𝐶𝐿𝑚𝑎𝑥 positive which is 1.91. So at sea level conditions if you
replace these, if you replace these symbols with the appropriate values, you should be
able to get the estimate of the stall speed. At this stage, I would request you to pause
the video and do this calculation. The value turns out to be 70 meters per second.

So the 1g level stall speed for this aircraft is 70 meters per 70.9 meters per second under
sea level ISA conditions. Next we look at the corner speed. Remember for the corner
speed, we both have CL equal to 𝐶𝐿𝑚𝑎𝑥 positive and load factor n will be equal to this n
max which is 2.54. So you can see that the value for corner speed will come from the
same equation except W will be replaced by nz max times W.

So therefore, what we can do is we can just assume it to be V* will be assumed to be

or calculated. Please pause the video. Do this calculation. The value turns out to be 113
meters per second. Next, we look at what is the value of velocity when n is the
maximum negative value.
That means we want to get the value of V corresponding to this particular point, okay.
So at that point again the formula is same only we replace n with n max negative and
we replace CL with CL max negative, okay. Be careful about the signs because we are
going to have a square root. So because I know that in the numerator we have -1.27 the
load factor and the denominator we have -1.

Therefore, I have just avoided putting the minus sign and I am getting the value directly.
At this stage please pause the video and have a look at the calculation. So V at - n is
going to be 97.8 meters per second. These three values please remember because we
will need them in the future when we plot our V-n diagram.
(Refer Slide Time: 16:58)

So this is our limit maneuver diagram or the limits imposed because of the maneuvers
in the study at z plane okay. So the first number that we have already calculated is this
particular point which corresponds to the stalling speed in 1g level flight. So n is equal
to 1 and V as we just now calculate it is 70.9 meters per second. The next point is the
point that corresponds to -1 the value of stalling speed at -1g.

So what is the -1g level flight stalling speed in inverted flight. So this one will be also
along the same line and the only thing is n will be equal to -1. So for that there is a
corresponding value of 97.8 meters per second. The next point is the corner speed,
which we have just now calculated corresponding to maximum nz 2.54 and also along
this line. So the intersection of these two lines that is V* the corner speed.
The value is the coefficients of this particular point are going to be for the x axis it will
be 113.0, that is the corner speed value and for the y axis it is going to be 2.54. Next
point is the design cruising speed point. So this particular the contents of this point if
you see here, they will correspond to cruising speed which is 190 and the value of n z
here is maximum. So for Vc we have this particular point.

The next point is point B which corresponds to the maximum design diving speed and
also the maximum load factor. So that would be 219.5 and +2.54. Corresponding to B
there will be a similar point C which will have the same design diving speed value 219.5
but nz is going to be now the maximum negative which is -1.27.

And finally, we have the point D where we have the value of velocity at which the load
factor has the maximum negative value of -1.27. So you are on this particular line and
on this line CL will be maximum CL permitted for inverted flight or in the negative
condition maximum negative CL and nz will be the maximum negative permitted load
factor.

So this point is analogous to the corner speed, but it is in inverted flight, okay. So this
is the limit maneuver diagram which we have already plotted for this particular aircraft.
(Refer Slide Time: 19:50)

Let us now look at how to estimate the additional gust load factor and how additional
limits get imposed in the V-n diagram due to these additional gust loads. For that recall
from the previous video on V-n diagram, we have already shown there that the
additional load factor due to a gust
𝑎 𝑘𝑔 𝑉𝑔 𝑉𝑐 𝜌𝑆𝑤
∆𝑛𝑔 =
2𝑊

Here 𝑘𝑔 is the gust alleviation factor, So we notice that larger the wing loading W/S,
smaller the lift curve slope and smaller the chord larger is the value of 𝜇𝑔 and then that
adds that adds in the calculations here, okay.

So now the value of a that is needed here for the calculation of lift curve slope and also
𝑑𝐶𝑙
here for the calculation of 𝜇𝑔 is the of the aircraft, which can be shown to be
𝑑𝛼

𝑑𝐶𝑙 2𝜋𝐴
𝑎= =
𝑑𝛼
𝑡𝑎𝑛2 Λ 𝑚
2 + √4 + 𝐴2 𝛽 2 (1 + )
𝛽2

So where this Λ 𝑚 𝛽 A are aircraft related parameters. 𝛽 is basically

2
𝛽 = √1 − 𝑀𝑐𝑟
So in this case Vg here is the specified vertical gust speed which we just now saw. Vc
is the cruise speed or the diving speed depending on which condition we calculate. 𝜌 is
the density of air which is used in the calculations here. Then W is the aircraft weight
that is this W and S is the wing area. Many people use W/S directly in this particular
calculation. So in that case S comes below and this comes 2 into W by S okay.

the value A here is the wing aspect ratio as I mentioned to you Λ 𝑚 is the sweep of the
maximum thickness chord line. And 𝑐̅ is the mean wing chord. So armed with this
information, we will now first calculate the lift curve slope for this aircraft. Then using
that we will calculate the value of 𝜇𝑔 . Once we know mu g we will calculate the value
of 𝑘𝑔 .

And once we know 𝑘𝑔 we can put 𝑘𝑔 here in the expression and get ∆𝑛𝑔 . which means
you already are flying at a load factor of 1. And either on that there is a vertical
downward gust or a vertical upward gust. Depending on that we use either plus or
minus.
(Refer Slide Time: 23:14)
Let us estimate the lift curve slope of this aircraft. So the formula for that I have just
2 . So please calculate this
reproduced from the previous slide. Now 𝛽 = √1 − 𝑀𝑐𝑟
number. It turns out to be 0.5268. So now that we know beta we can actually calculate
the lift curve slope by putting all the numbers in this big formula.

So I would like you to pause the video and do this calculation and then compare with
the value that I got. The value that I got is a𝑎 = 6.327. This is actually per degree because
30 is 30 degrees here, okay. Okay.
(Refer Slide Time: 24:13)

Now armed with the information let us now estimate the gust load factor. First we
examine the gust load factors at the design cruising speed. So you know that 𝜇𝑔 is equal
 2𝑊
to 𝑎𝑆 𝑐̅, 𝑎 has just been calculated as 6.327. 𝑆𝑤 is given 359.53. 𝑐̅ is given 6.465. W is
𝑤

given 21592 kilograms. So just multiply by 2. So let us pause here and calculate the
value. The value is 23.93.

Moving ahead, the specified value for the gust speed at sea level was 56 feet per second.
You will divide by 3.28 to convert it to meters per second and 𝑘𝑔 which will be used in
the calculation for ∆𝑛𝑔 . Once you know the value of 𝜇, you can get the gust elevation
factor 𝑘𝑔 . Please calculate this value.

This number comes out to be 0.7204. So what it means is that a vertical gust acting on
this aircraft, the sharp vertical gust will actually be reduced by a factor of around 28%
to 0.7204. So the additional load factor created because of a vertical gust is going to be
reduced by a factor of around 28% because of the value of 𝑘𝑔 which is an aircraft
specific parameter.

It depends upon the wing loading, it depends upon the lift curve slope and the span
chord of the aircraft, okay. And what we have done here is we have just reproduced a
6.3272, 𝑘𝑔 as 0.7204, Vg as 17.07, Vc remains as it is, 𝜌 is 1.225 and 𝑆𝑤 is 359.53.

And on the bottom we have replaced W by W into g. So just to take care of the units,
okay. So please calculate the value of this whole expression. So it will be 1 plus a
constant times Vc. That number turns out to be 0.008091. So additional gust would be
this number times the cruise speed and that will add or subtract from 1 because it will
act in the level flight either as a vertical upward gust in which case you will add it or a
vertical downward goes in which you will subtract it.

Similarly, we have to apply the conditions for the design diving speed Vd. Remember,
formula remains the same except that instead of Vc now we will have Vd in the
numerator. And also we have to be careful that the value of the gusts speed Vg is also
going to change. Because you know that Vg is specified as half of the value at the
cruising speed. So the value of Vg will be half.
It will be 8.54 meters per second as compared to 17.07 meters per second. So
substituting the values in the formula ∆𝑛𝑔 equals 6.327 which is a. These are the other
parameters like area okay weight 𝑛𝑔 etc. I would like you to pause and calculate the
value of ∆𝑛𝑔 . The value comes to be 0.004053 times Vd okay. So therefore, 𝑛𝑔 the gust
load factor due to vertical and downward gust acting at the design diving speed would
vary as the speed.

So from 0 to Vd with this particular formula 1±0.004053. So notice that this 𝑛𝑔 versus
V will be a straight line and it will start from Vc = 0 it will become 1 and when Vc equal
to whatever value is there for the design cruise speed it will add a number to that. So it
will be a straight line with origin from the point 0, 1 okay. Similarly here.
(Refer Slide Time: 28:57)

So let us look at the limit gust envelope. So the first equation is 𝑛𝑔 equal to 1±
0.008091Vc. This is for the vertical gusts acting up to the cruising velocity when the
gust speed is 56 feet per second. So from V equal to zero to V equal to Vc, we will just
get two lines like this, where this point will correspond to you know it will correspond
to 0, 1 level flight.

And as V changes as per this expression, the nz value will be 1 + 0.008091Vc. And this
line will correspond to the value when you have Vc when you have from 0 to Vc when
you have 1 – 0.008091 times Vc. Similarly, if we look at the line for the additional load
factor up to the design diving speed, so we notice that once again we get two lines,
which start from the same point 0, 1.

One of them increases, the other of them decreases. This increases because this is equal
to 1 plus a number, which is never going to become less. It is only going to only increase
and this is going to be 1 minus a number okay. So that will depend upon the values.
And you can see that even when you are at design diving speed, you still have some
vertical load factor.

And then finally, what we do is, we just join these from straight lines from Vc to Vd on
positive and from Vc to Vd on negative. So this is the limit gust envelope. That means,
if you are in a if you are flying an aircraft, and if there is a gust acting on the aircraft,
in level flight the aircraft can go into any of these areas. So the aircraft has to be strong
enough to withstand the loads that come when the operating point is within this
particular area.

So on this I have just superimposed the previous V-n diagram. So we see that there is
not any problem because of gust, no additional material comes out. I mean, the gust
envelope is almost completely inside the general maneuver envelope. So in this case, it
turns out that the gusts are not imposing any additional limits. But that is not true
always. That is not always true.
(Refer Slide Time: 31:42)
So here is our limit combined envelope. Here is our limit combined envelope in which
the dotted lines represents the additional load factor imposed due to the vertical gusts
which are known to be or taken to be 56 feet per second for up to design cruising speed
and half of that up to design diving speed, both in the positive axis and in the negative
axis.
(Refer Slide Time: 32:15)

So thank you so much for your attention. I would like to acknowledge the contribution
of the Dmitri Simos for providing the PIANO sample data which we have used in this
calculation, Professor Mohd. Sadraey for his excellent textbook on Aircraft
Performance Analysis, in which this particular V-n diagram calculation procedure is
very nicely and lucidly explained.

And I have taken it from there and also some of the sketches that you have seen in this
presentation. And last but not the least, I like to thank Nouman Uddin for help in
creating this tutorial and plotting the V-n diagram. Thank you.