{"id":{"repo_id":"vt","oai_identifier":"oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/35656"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/vt/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/35656","repository":{"repo_id":"vt","name":"Virginia Tech","base_url":"https://vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Aerodynamic pitch-up of cranked arrow wings: estimation, trim, and configuration design","abstract":"Low aspect ratio, highly-swept cranked arrow wing planforms are often proposed for high-speed civil transports. These wing planforms offer low supersonic drag without suffering greatly from low lift/drag ratios in low-speed flight. They can, however, suffer from pitch-up at modest angles of attack (as low as 5Â°) during low-speed flight due to leading edge vortex influence, flow separation and vortex breakdown. The work presented here describes an investigation conducted to study past research on the longitudinal aerodynamic characteristics of highly-swept cranked wing planforms, the development of a new method to estimate pitch-up of these configurations, and the applications of this new method to the analysis of tail designs for trim at high lift coefficients. The survey of past research placed emphasis on 1) understanding the problem of pitch-up, 2) ascertaining the effects of leading and trailing edge flaps, and 3) determining the benefits and shortfalls of tail, tailless, and canard configurations. The estimation method used a vortex lattice method to calculate the inviscid flow solution. Then, the results were adjusted to account for flow separation on the outboard wing section by imposing a limit on the equivalent 2-D sectional lift coefficient. The new method offered a means of making low cost estimates of the nonlinear pitching moment characteristics of slender, cranked arrow wing configurations with increased accuracy compared to conventional linear methods. Numerous comparisons with data are included. The new method was applied to analyze the trim requirement of slender wing designs generated by an aircraft configuration optimization and design program. The effects of trailing edge flaps and horizontal tail on the trimmed lift coefficient was demonstrated. Finally, recommendations were made to the application of this new method to multidisciplinary design optimization methods.","abstract_html":"Low aspect ratio, highly-swept cranked arrow wing planforms are often proposed for high-speed civil transports. These wing planforms offer low supersonic drag without suffering greatly from low lift/drag ratios in low-speed flight. They can, however, suffer from pitch-up at modest angles of attack (as low as 5Â°) during low-speed flight due to leading edge vortex influence, flow separation and vortex breakdown. The work presented here describes an investigation conducted to study past research on the longitudinal aerodynamic characteristics of highly-swept cranked wing planforms, the development of a new method to estimate pitch-up of these configurations, and the applications of this new method to the analysis of tail designs for trim at high lift coefficients. The survey of past research placed emphasis on 1) understanding the problem of pitch-up, 2) ascertaining the effects of leading and trailing edge flaps, and 3) determining the benefits and shortfalls of tail, tailless, and canard configurations. The estimation method used a vortex lattice method to calculate the inviscid flow solution. Then, the results were adjusted to account for flow separation on the outboard wing section by imposing a limit on the equivalent 2-D sectional lift coefficient. The new method offered a means of making low cost estimates of the nonlinear pitching moment characteristics of slender, cranked arrow wing configurations with increased accuracy compared to conventional linear methods. Numerous comparisons with data are included. The new method was applied to analyze the trim requirement of slender wing designs generated by an aircraft configuration optimization and design program. The effects of trailing edge flaps and horizontal tail on the trimmed lift coefficient was demonstrated. Finally, recommendations were made to the application of this new method to multidisciplinary design optimization methods.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Benoliel, Alexander M."],"institution":"Virginia Tech","degree_name":"Master of Science","degree_level":"masters","degree_discipline":"Aerospace Engineering","degree_department":"Aerospace Engineering","school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":["Mason, William H."],"committee_members":["Grossman, Bernard M.","Anderson, Mark R."],"year":1994,"date_issued":"1994-05-06","date_published":"1994-05-06","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:18:39Z","subjects":[],"languages":["en"],"rights":["In Copyright"],"rights_urls":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.other","label":"Dc Identifier Other","values":["etd-11102009-020300"],"render_values":[{"text":"etd-11102009-020300","href":null,"code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":"http://hdl.handle.net/10919/35656","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.committeechair","label":"Committee Chair","values":["Mason, William H."]},{"key":"dc:contributor.committeemember","label":"Committee Member","values":["Grossman, Bernard M.","Anderson, Mark R."]},{"key":"dc:contributor.department","label":"Department","values":["Aerospace Engineering"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Benoliel, Alexander M."]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2014-03-14T20:47:43Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2014-03-14T20:47:43Z","2013-03-04"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["1994-05-06"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["Virginia Tech"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"dc:type.dcmitype","label":"Dc Type Dcmitype","values":["Text"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Aerospace Engineering"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["masters"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language.iso","label":"Language (ISO)","values":["en"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["In Copyright"]},{"key":"dc:rights.uri","label":"Rights URI","values":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.other","label":"Dc Identifier Other","values":["etd-11102009-020300"]},{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["http://hdl.handle.net/10919/35656"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Low aspect ratio, highly-swept cranked arrow wing planforms are often proposed for high-speed civil transports. These wing planforms offer low supersonic drag without suffering greatly from low lift/drag ratios in low-speed flight. They can, however, suffer from pitch-up at modest angles of attack (as low as 5Â°) during low-speed flight due to leading edge vortex influence, flow separation and vortex breakdown. The work presented here describes an investigation conducted to study past research on the longitudinal aerodynamic characteristics of highly-swept cranked wing planforms, the development of a new method to estimate pitch-up of these configurations, and the applications of this new method to the analysis of tail designs for trim at high lift coefficients. The survey of past research placed emphasis on 1) understanding the problem of pitch-up, 2) ascertaining the effects of leading and trailing edge flaps, and 3) determining the benefits and shortfalls of tail, tailless, and canard configurations. The estimation method used a vortex lattice method to calculate the inviscid flow solution. Then, the results were adjusted to account for flow separation on the outboard wing section by imposing a limit on the equivalent 2-D sectional lift coefficient. The new method offered a means of making low cost estimates of the nonlinear pitching moment characteristics of slender, cranked arrow wing configurations with increased accuracy compared to conventional linear methods. Numerous comparisons with data are included. The new method was applied to analyze the trim requirement of slender wing designs generated by an aircraft configuration optimization and design program. The effects of trailing edge flaps and horizontal tail on the trimmed lift coefficient was demonstrated. Finally, recommendations were made to the application of this new method to multidisciplinary design optimization methods."]},{"key":"dc:description.degree","label":"Dc Description Degree","values":["Master of Science"]},{"key":"dc:format.medium","label":"Dc Format Medium","values":["BTD"]},{"key":"dc:format.mimetype","label":"Dc Format Mimetype","values":["application/pdf"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Aerodynamic pitch-up of cranked arrow wings: estimation, trim, and configuration design"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.committeechair":["Mason, William H."],"dc:contributor.committeemember":["Grossman, Bernard M.","Anderson, Mark R."],"dc:contributor.department":["Aerospace Engineering"],"dc:creator":["Benoliel, Alexander M."],"dc:date.accessioned":["2014-03-14T20:47:43Z"],"dc:date.available":["2014-03-14T20:47:43Z","2013-03-04"],"dc:date.issued":["1994-05-06"],"dc:description.abstract":["Low aspect ratio, highly-swept cranked arrow wing planforms are often proposed for high-speed civil transports. These wing planforms offer low supersonic drag without suffering greatly from low lift/drag ratios in low-speed flight. They can, however, suffer from pitch-up at modest angles of attack (as low as 5Â°) during low-speed flight due to leading edge vortex influence, flow separation and vortex breakdown. The work presented here describes an investigation conducted to study past research on the longitudinal aerodynamic characteristics of highly-swept cranked wing planforms, the development of a new method to estimate pitch-up of these configurations, and the applications of this new method to the analysis of tail designs for trim at high lift coefficients. The survey of past research placed emphasis on 1) understanding the problem of pitch-up, 2) ascertaining the effects of leading and trailing edge flaps, and 3) determining the benefits and shortfalls of tail, tailless, and canard configurations. The estimation method used a vortex lattice method to calculate the inviscid flow solution. Then, the results were adjusted to account for flow separation on the outboard wing section by imposing a limit on the equivalent 2-D sectional lift coefficient. The new method offered a means of making low cost estimates of the nonlinear pitching moment characteristics of slender, cranked arrow wing configurations with increased accuracy compared to conventional linear methods. Numerous comparisons with data are included. The new method was applied to analyze the trim requirement of slender wing designs generated by an aircraft configuration optimization and design program. The effects of trailing edge flaps and horizontal tail on the trimmed lift coefficient was demonstrated. Finally, recommendations were made to the application of this new method to multidisciplinary design optimization methods."],"dc:description.degree":["Master of Science"],"dc:format.medium":["BTD"],"dc:format.mimetype":["application/pdf"],"dc:identifier.other":["etd-11102009-020300"],"dc:identifier.uri":["http://hdl.handle.net/10919/35656"],"dc:language.iso":["en"],"dc:publisher":["Virginia Tech"],"dc:rights":["In Copyright"],"dc:rights.uri":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"],"dc:title":["Aerodynamic pitch-up of cranked arrow wings: estimation, trim, and configuration design"],"dc:type":["Thesis"],"dc:type.dcmitype":["Text"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Aerospace Engineering"],"thesis:degree_level":["masters"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science"],"thesis:institution_name":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:18:39Z"}