Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
OF FLIGHT DURATION
OF A FREE FLIGHT GLIDER
Fall 2012
Ramachandran Sundaram
1204102583 (Hybrid)
Sriram Arunachalam
IEE572
Contents
Contents .......................................................................................................................................... 1
Figures ............................................................................................................................................ 3
Tables .............................................................................................................................................. 3
1.0 Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 3
2.0 Pre-Experimental Planning ............................................................................................................. 3
2.1 Recognition of and statement of the problem ................................................................................. 3
2.2 Selection of Response Variable ........................................................................................................ 4
2.3 Choice of factors, levels, and range ................................................................................................. 4
2.3.1 Design Factors ............................................................................................................................... 4
2.3.2 Held Constant Factors .................................................................................................................. 6
2.3.3 Uncontrollable Factors ................................................................................................................. 6
3.0 Choice of Experimental Design ....................................................................................................... 5
3.1 Design ............................................................................................................................................... 6
3.2 Factor Type and Levels ................................................................................................................... 7
4.0 Experimental Procedure .................................................................................................................. 7
4.2 Experimental Run............................................................................................................................ 7
4.3 Design Matrix .................................................................................................................................. 7
5.0 Results and Statistical Analysis ....................................................................................................... 7
5.1 Actual response versus Predicted response ..................................................................................... 9
5.2 R-Square ........................................................................................................................................ 10
5.3 Analysis of Variance ...................................................................................................................... 10
5.4 Effect Tests..................................................................................................................................... 11
5.5 Prediction Profiler ......................................................................................................................... 12
5.6 Residual Plots................................................................................................................................. 13
5.6.1 Residual by Predicted Plot.......................................................................................................... 13
5.6.2 Residual by Row plot .................................................................................................................. 13
5.7 Interaction Profiles ........................................................................................................................ 14
5.8 Normal Plot .................................................................................................................................... 15
5.9 Plot of Residuals versus Factors .................................................................................................... 16
6.0 Conclusion...................................................................................................................................... 18
7.0 References ...................................................................................................................................... 19
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Figures
Figure 1: Chord Length ............................................................................................................................ 4
Figure 2: Maximum Airfoil Thickness ...................................................................................................... 5
Figure 3: Dihedral Angle.......................................................................................................................... 5
Figure 4: Wing Sweep ............................................................................................................................ 6
Figure 5: Actual by Predicted Plot .......................................................................................................... 9
Figure 6 : Prediction Profiler ................................................................................................................. 12
Figure 7: Residual by Prediction Plot .................................................................................................... 13
Figure 8: Residual by Row Plot .............................................................................................................. 13
Figure 9: Interaction Profiles ................................................................................................................. 14
Figure 10: Normal Plot .......................................................................................................................... 17
Figure 11: Plot of Residual vs Chord length .......................................................................................... 16
Figure 12: Plot of Residual vs Maximum Airfoil Thickness .................................................................... 16
Figure 13: Plot of Residual vs Dihedral Angle ........................................................................................ 17
Figure 14: Plot of Residual vs Sweep Angle ........................................................................................... 17
Figure 15: Plot of Residual vs Blocks ..................................................................................................... 18
Tables
Table 1: Factor Type and Levels .............................................................................................................. 7
Table 2: Design Matrix ............................................................................................................................ 5
Table 3: Summary of Fit .......................................................................................................................... 5
Table 4: Analysis of Variance .................................................................................................................. 9
Table 5 : Parameter Estimates .............................................................................................................. 12
Table 6: Effect Tests .............................................................................................................................. 13
Table 7: Sorted Parameter Estimates .................................................................................................... 14
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1. INTRODUCTION
Free flight glider
Free flight gliders are scaled down model of aircrafts. They are unpowered aircrafts which
means that they do not have any motors or propulsion systems to power the aircraft. Hence its
flight is primarily dependent on its wings which produce the lift. As the glider moves faster
through the air, the body and the wing of the glider produces drag which affects the flight
duration. It is therefore essential to build free flight gliders that are aerodynamically efficient to
obtain maximum flight duration.
Free flight gliders are usually made using light-weight materials such as balsa wood, styro-foam,
fiber glass, etc. Free flight gliders are launched predominantly by hand. They are also launched
using elastic bands.
Free flight glider modeling
Building free flight glider is a famous hobby with the primary challenge being building the most
efficient glider that yields maximum flight duration. There are many competitions held around
the world, notably the World Championships held by FAI (Fdration Aronautique
Internationale), a governing body for air sports and aeronautics world records.
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Wind gust
Thermal current
Number of replicates : 2
Number of runs : 32
Center points : No center points
Blocks : 2
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Factor Type
High Level
Low Level
Airfoil Thickness
Categorical
8 mm
6 mm
Chord Length
Categorical
4.5 cm
3 cm
Dihedral Angle
Categorical
Sweep Angle
Categorical
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In JMP software the factor type was chosen to be categorical as we are interested only in the values at
the high and low levels and not any continuous range of values between limits.
Table 1: Factor Type and Levels
4. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE
4.1 Glider Construction
The Free Flight Glider is built using balsa wood. The geometry and dimensions of the body and
tail section of the glider for all the sixteen models are kept to be constant. Sixteen different
wings are built obtained by varying the design factors (The combination of factors is obtained
from the design matrix). The Wings are attached the body of the glider whose dimensions are
identical to obtain sixteen different models of the free flight glider. The airfoil shape of the wing
is selected to be asymmetrical and it obtained by shaping the balsa wood used for wings with
emery sheet. The body, tail and wings of the aircraft are attached together with the help of
super glue. The sharp edges in the model are chamfered to reduce the drag.
4.2 Experimental Run
Runs are made as per the design matrix run order generated from JMP software (which is
randomized to reduce the variations caused by the experimental pattern). In each run, the
flight duration is noted which is the response variable. The flight duration is the time (in
seconds) from the moment the glider is launched to the moment it touches the ground. It is
noted using a digital stop clock. The experiment is run in two separate blocks with the glider
being launched by different operators for each block. Each operator is allowed two trials for
each factor combination and the average of the two values is taken as the observation.
4.3 Design Matrix
The design matrix was obtained using JMP 10 software. Randomization was performed in JMP
software. The experiment is run in two blocks. The response of the experiment is displayed in
the Flight Duration Column.
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5.2 R-Square
The various R-Square values are enumerated below:
We use the R2 term to measure the total variability proportion suggested by the model. This
particular model has an R2 value of 0.883518 which indicates that there is approximately 88% of
variation in the observations. The adjusted R2 value is 0.819452. These R2 values are relatively
good. The adjusted R2 value is slightly lower than the R2 value probably because of the presence
of a non-significant factor as indicated by the analysis. Root mean square value of 0.675023 is
generally the variation in the response attributed to random errors.
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The above figure displays the Residual by Predicted Plot. The above plot is structure-less and
does not expose any noticeable pattern. Hence, the model is correct and the assumptions are
satisfied. There is no visible evidence of non-constant variance as there is no increase in the
variance of the observations as the scale of the response increases.
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We see interaction between the levels of the sweep angle for the limits considered in the
experiment. Few other factors like dihedral angle, maximum airfoil thickness and chord length
do not show interaction in the limits considered in this experiment but will show significant
interaction if the limits are extrapolated
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The normal plot above signifies that the effects chord length (high level 4.5cm), Dihedral
angle (high level - 5), Maximum airfoil thickness (high level 0.8 cm) and the interactions
between chord length (high level 4.5cm) & Dihedral angle (high level - 5) and chord length
(high level 4.5cm) & sweep angle (high level - 20) are the significant effects. But the statistical
analysis indicates near significance of the chord length (high level 4.5cm) & sweep angle (high
level - 20) interaction.
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6. CONCLUSION
The objective of this experiment is to screen for the factors that affect the flight duration of the
free flight glider and possibly arrive at a combination of factor levels that yield maximum
response. From the statistical analysis of the experiment, it is inferred that it is desirable to
have the factors chord length and dihedral angle at their high levels respectively. In the case of
maximum airfoil thickness, it is advisable to keep the factor level low because keeping this
factor at the high level adversely affects the flight duration. For the final main effect sweep
angle, it is inferred from the analysis that this main effect is not significant and has little or
effect on the response. With respect to interactions, we find that there is significant interaction
between chord length and dihedral angle at their respective high factor levels.
Ideally the optimal combination of factors renders a wing having a chord length of 4.5 cm,
maximum airfoil thickness of .6 cm and a configuration that has positive dihedral angle (5) and
no wing sweep. Wing sweep though not indicated as significant in the analysis is preferred to
be kept at the low factor level because the statistical analysis shows that high level interaction
between wing sweep and chord length has negative effect that is close to significance. The
above combination yields maximum glider flight duration for the given dimensions of body and
tail section and the factor limits considered.
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7. REFERENCES
Montgomery, C. Douglas, Design and Analysis of Experiments, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 8th
edition
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_flight_(model_aircraft)
SAS Institute Inc. 2009. JMP 8
Introductory Guide, Second Edition. Cary, NC: SAS Institute Inc.
SAS Institute Inc. 2009. JMP 8
Design of Experiments Guide, Second Edition. Cary, NC: SAS Institute Inc.
Images: www.wikipedia.org
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