CENTER OF GRAVITY LOCATION

Chapter 8 CENTER OF GRAVITY LOCATION 8.1 Introduction

An airplane in flight can be maneuvered using the aerodynamic control surfaces; the elevator, rudder, or ailerons. As the control surfaces change the amount of force that each surface generates, the aircraft rotates about a point called the center of gravity. The center of gravity is the average location of the weight of the aircraft. The weight is actually distributed throughout the airplane, and for some problems it is important to know the distribution. But for total aircraft maneuvering, we need to be concerned with only the total weight and the location of the center of gravity. 8.2 Methodology used for calculating center of Gravity

An airplane is a combination of many parts; the wings, engines, fuselage, and tail, plus the payload and the fuel. Each part has a weight associated with it which the engineer can estimate, or calculate, using Newton's weight equation: w=m*g where w is the weight, m is the mass, and g is the gravitational constant To determine the center of gravity cg, we choose a reference location, or reference line. The cg is determined relative to this reference location. The total weight of the aircraft is simply the sum of all the individual weights of the components. Since the center of gravity is an average location of the weight, we can say that the weight of the entire aircraft W times the location cg of the center of gravity is equal to the sum of the weight w of each component times the distance d of that component from the reference location: W * cg = [w * d](fuselage) + [w * d](wing) + [w * d](engines) + ... The center of gravity is the mass-weighted average of the component locations.

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We can generalize the technique discussed above. If we had a total of "n" discrete components, the center of gravity cg of the aircraft times the weight W of the aircraft would be the sum of the individual i component weight times the distance d from the reference line (w * d) with the index Igoing from 1 to n. W * cg = SUM(i=1 to i=n) [w * d]i This equation says that the center of gravity times the sum of "n" parts' weight is equal to the sum of "n" parts' weight times their distance. The discrete equation works for "n" discrete parts. In general the procedure adopted for calculating center of gravity of the entire aircraft is as follows:Estimate the weights of individual masses

Determine the distances(arm) of the above masses from the particular reference point in the aircraft

Calculate moments by multiplying weights with distances of the masses

Add the moments of all the masses together

Divide the total moment by the total weight of the aircraft to give an overall arm 8.3 The arm that results from this calculation must be within the arm limits for the center of gravity that are dictated by stability conditions. If it is not, weight in the aircraft must be removed, added (rarely), or redistributed until the center of gravity falls within the prescribed limits. Formulae Used:-

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Xcg = Zcg = 8.4 Fuselage

Fuselage cross section is of rectangular shape. Its variation is as per the 3D view shown in the following figure.

8.4.1 Fuselage nose

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Mass of the section = 69.5 gm Location of C.G:Xi from nose of fuselage = 187.438 mm Zi from bottom of fuselage = 37.253 mm Y from the reference point = 0 mm

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8.4.2 Fuselage mid section

Mass of the section= 92.7 gm Location of C.G:Xi from nose of fuselage = 475 .99 mm Zi from bottom of fuselage = 50 mm Y from the reference point = 0 mm

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8.4.3 Fuselage rear section

Mass of the section=112.27 gm Location of C.G:Xi from nose of fuselage = 854.775 mm Zi from bottom of fuselage = 63.396 mm Y from the reference point = 0 mm

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8.4.4 Fuselage tail

Fuselage tail

Mass of the section=14.3 gm Location of C.G:Xi from nose of fuselage = 1256 mm Zi from bottom of fuselage = 82.5 mm Y from the reference point = 0 mm

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For complete fuselage

Hence, Total mass of the fuselage, Mfuselage = 289 gm Location of C.G:Xi from nose of fuselage = 592.638 mm Zi from bottom of fuselage = 53.759 mm Y from the reference point = 0 mm

8.5

Wing Wing was designed with 1 spars and 20 ribs. Centre of gravity of aerofoil is calculated using CATIA software. The co-ordinates of centre of gravity were obtained in terms of chord length. For ribs, the c.g. is calculated by multiplying with chord length. Hence total mass of the main wing,

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Mw = g. Centre of gravity of entire wing was calculated by taking into account c.g. of individual components. 8.5.1 wing ribs

Mass of the wing ribs = 124.7 gm Location of C.G.:X from nose of fuselage = 437.921 mm Z from base of fuselage = 76.491 mm Y from reference point = 0 mm

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8.5.2 wing spar

Mass of the wing spar = 59.49 gm Location of C.G.:X from nose of fuselage = 402.36 mm Z from base of fuselage = 77.264 mm Y from reference point = 0 mm

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8.5.3 wing skin

Mass of the wing skin = gm Location of C.G.:X from nose of fuselage = 458.975 mm Z from base of fuselage = 75.88 mm Y from reference point = 0 mm

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For complete wing

Mass of the wing = 209 gm Location of C.G.:X from nose of fuselage = 435.925 mm Z from base of fuselage = 76.488 mm Y from reference point = 28.179 mm

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8.6

Horizontal tail 8.6.1 horizontal tail ribs

Mass of the Horizontal Tail ribs= 70 gm Location of C.G.:X from nose of fuselage = 1253.602 mm Z from base of fuselage =82.441mm Y from reference point = 0 mm

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8.6.2 horizontal tail spar

Mass of the horizontal tail spar. = 11 gm Location of C.G.:X from nose of fuselage = 1236.401 mm Z from base of fuselage = 82.5 mm Y from reference point = 0 mm

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8.6.2 horizontal tail skin

Mass of the horizontal tail skin. = 12 gm Location of C.G.:X from nose of fuselage = 1264.852 mm Z from base of fuselage = 82.429 mm Y from reference point = 0 mm

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For complete horizontal tail

Mass of the horizontal tail = 93 gm Location of C.G.:X from nose of fuselage = 1257.897 mm Z from base of fuselage = 82.442 mm Y from reference point = 7.645 mm

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8.7

Vertical Tail 8.7.1 vertical tail ribs

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Mass of the Vertical Tail ribs. = 5.57 gm Location of C.G.:X from nose of fuselage = 1243.829 mm Z from base of fuselage = 251.01 mm Y from reference point = 0.00251 mm

8.7.2 vertical tail spar

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Mass of the Vertical Tail spar = 5 gm Location of C.G.:X from nose of fuselage = 1225.869 mm Z from base of fuselage = 283 mm Y from reference point = 0.018 mm

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For complete vertical tail

Mass of the Vertical Tail = 14.6 gm Location of C.G.:X from nose of fuselage = 1250.113 mm Z from base of fuselage = 263.863 mm Y from reference point = 0.006 mm

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8.8

propeller

Mass of the propeller = gm Location of C.G.:X from nose of fuselage = -43.971 mm Z from base of fuselage = 20.36 mm Y from the reference point = 1.415 mm

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8.9 Landing gear

X from nose of fuselage = 652.693 mm Z from base of fuselage = -89.804 mm Y from the reference point = .487 mm

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8.10 Complete Aircraft

Mass of the aircraft = X from nose of fuselage = 568.506 mm Z from base of fuselage = 16.067 mm Y from the reference point = 73.804 mm

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Table-8.1: Tabulated Data For All Components X(mm) from nose of fuselage 593.628 435.925 -43.971 652.693 1257.897 1250.113 568.506 568.506 568.506 Z(mm) from Base of fuselage 53.759 76.488 1.415 89.804 82.442 263.863 16.067 16.067 16.067 73.804 73.804 73.804 Y(mm) from the reference point 0 28.179 20.36 -0.487 7.645 0.006 Vertical Tail Payload Motor Battery 14.6 200 25 428

Component

Mass (g)

Fuselage Wing Propeller Landing Gear Horizontal Tail

289 209 22 50 93

8.9 Motor, battery and payload is placed such that its c.g. coincides with the c.g. of the aircraft. Whereas servos are arranged symmetrically about the c.g. of aircraft so that they dont affect position of c.g. Xc.g = 568.506 mm from nose of fuselage. Zc.g = 73.804mm from bottom of fuselage. Yc.g = 16.067mm from the reference point. 8.10 Conclusion: The location of c.g. is obtained with the help of CATIA software (for aerofoil) and considering other components separately.

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References: 1. Daniel P. Raymer Aircaft design: A conceptual approach American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Inc. 370 LEnfant Promenade, S.W., Washington, D.C., 20024 2. Dr. S. Kamle Aircraft Design lecture notes Department of Aerospace, IIT Kanpur. 3. Dr. E.G. Tulapurkara Introduction to airplane design (Aerodynamic- lecture notes) IIT Madras August 2008 4. Lloyd Jenkinson and Jim Marchman III Aircraft Design Projects for Engineering Students Butterworth-Heinemann Limited, 2003. 5. http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/k-12/airplane/acg.html