RCAIDE.Library.Methods.Mass_Properties.Weight_Buildups.Conventional.Transport.Raymer.compute_fuselage_weight

compute_fuselage_weight#

compute_fuselage_weight(vehicle, fuselage, settings)[source]#

Calculates the weight of the fuselage for transport aircraft using Raymer’s method.

Parameters:
  • vehicle (RCAIDE.Vehicle()) –

    Vehicle data structure containing:
    • mass_properties.max_takeofffloat

      Maximum takeoff weight [kg]

    • flight_envelope.ultimate_loadfloat

      Ultimate load factor (default: 3.75)

    • wings[‘main_wing’]Data()

      Main wing properties including taper and sweep

  • fuselage (RCAIDE.Component()) –

    Fuselage component containing:
    • lengths.totalfloat

      Total fuselage length [m]

    • widthfloat

      Maximum fuselage width [m]

    • heights.maximumfloat

      Maximum fuselage height [m]

  • settings (Data()) –

    Configuration settings containing:
    • Raymer.fuselage_mounted_landing_gear_factorfloat

      Factor for fuselage-mounted landing gear

    • Raymer.cargo_doors_numberint

      Number of cargo doors

    • Raymer.cargo_doors_clamshellbool

      True if cargo doors are clamshell doors, False otherwise

Returns:

weight_fuselage – Weight of the fuselage structure [kg]

Return type:

float

Notes

This method implements Raymer’s semi-empirical correlation for transport aircraft fuselage weight estimation. The correlation accounts for size, loads, and wing-body intersection effects. It also accounts for the number of cargo doors and their type (if present).

Major Assumptions
  • No fuselage-mounted landing gear by default

  • One cargo door (Kdoor = 1.06)

  • Correlation based on transport category aircraft data

Theory The fuselage weight is calculated using: .. math:

W_{fus} = 0.328K_{door}K_{lg}(W_{dg}N_{ult})^{0.5}L^{0.25}S_f^{0.302}(1+K_{ws})^{0.04}(L/D)^{0.1}
where:
  • \(K_{ws}\) accounts for wing-body intersection effects

  • \(S_f\) is the fuselage wetted area

  • \(L/D\) is the fuselage fineness ratio

References

[1] Raymer, D., “Aircraft Design: A Conceptual Approach”, AIAA

Education Series, 2018.