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Suppose we have the forces and moments specified about some reference
location for the aircraft, and we want to restate them about some new origin.
~L
N~ ~L
N~
Mref A Mnew A
z
x xref xnew
x −x
Cm ref = − new ref CL + CM
cN new
mean
a .c.
The Aerodynamic Center is defined as that location xac about which the pitching
moment doesn’t change with angle of attack.
1
Anderson 1.6 & 4.3
Aerodynamic Center
Using above:
( x − xref )
CM ref = − ac CL + CM ac
c
∂CM ac
=0
∂α
Solving for the above
Example:
∂CM
Note that according to the AVL predictions, not only is ≈ 0 @ xac = 2.89 , but
∂α
also that CM = 0 . The location about which CM = 0 is called the center of
pressure.
16.100 2002 2
Aerodynamic Center
Center of pressure is that location where the resultant forces act and about which
the aerodynamic moment is zero.
xcp − xNOSE
C L + C M cp
CM NOSE = −
c
xcp CM NOSE
⇒ =−
c CL
So if:
CM NOSE ∂CM NOSE
= ,
CL ∂CL
this will be true. This means that
CM ≈ 0 at CL = 0 .
16.100 2002 3
Cm vs Alpha for F16C from AVL (M=0)
1.5
0.5
0
-10 -5 0 5 10 15 20
-0.5
Xref = 0
-1
Cm
Xref = Xac = 2.89
-1.5
-2
-2.5
-3
-3.5
Alpha
Wind Tunnel Test Aerodynamic Center Characteristics for Washout and Rigid Wings (Altitude
= 10,000 ft.)
50
45
40
35
Rigid Wing
Washout Wing
30
A.C. (% MAC)
25
20
15
0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1 1.1 1.2 1.3
Mach Number