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

compute_horizontal_tail_weight#

compute_horizontal_tail_weight(vehicle, wing, settings, elevator_fraction=0.4)[source]#

Calculates horizontal tail weight based on Raymer’s empirical method.

Parameters:

vehicle (RCAIDE.Vehicle()) –
Vehicle data structure containing:
- mass_properties.max_takeofffloat
  Maximum takeoff weight [kg]
- flight_envelope.ultimate_loadfloat
  Ultimate load factor
- wings[‘main_wing’]Data()
  Main wing properties including origin and aerodynamic center
- fuselages[‘fuselage’].widthfloat
  Width of the fuselage [m]
wing (RCAIDE.Component()) –
Horizontal tail component containing:
- areas.referencefloat
  Tail surface area [m^2]
- originarray
  Location of tail measured from nose [m]
- aerodynamic_centerarray
  Location of ac measured from leading edge [m]
- sweeps.quarter_chordfloat
  Quarter chord sweep angle [rad]
- thickness_to_chordfloat
  Thickness-to-chord ratio
- spans.projectedfloat
  Projected span [m]
- aspect_ratiofloat
  Aspect ratio
elevator_fraction (float, optional) – Fraction of horizontal tail area that is elevator, defaults to 0.4
settings.advanced_composites (bool, optional) – True if advanced composites are used, False otherwise

Returns:

tail_weight – Weight of the horizontal tail [kg]

Return type:

float

Notes

This method implements Raymer’s correlation for horizontal tail weight estimation, accounting for geometry, loads, and configuration effects.

Major Assumptions

Theory The horizontal tail weight is calculated using: .. math:

W_{ht} = 0.0379K_{uht}(1 +

rac{F_w}{B_h})^{-0.25}W_{dg}^{0.639}N_{ult}^{0.1}S_{ht}^{0.75}L_t^{-1}K_y^{0.704}cos(Lambda)^{-1}AR^{0.166}(1 + rac{S_e}{S_{ht}})^{0.1}

where:

References

[1] Raymer, D., “Aircraft Design: A Conceptual Approach”, AIAA: Education Series, 2018.