RCAIDE.Library.Plots.Aerodynamics.plot_aircraft_aerodynamics

plot_aircraft_aerodynamics

plot_aircraft_aerodynamics(results, save_figure=False, line_color='bo-', line_color2='rs--', save_filename='Aircraft_Aerodynamic_Analysis', file_type='.png', width=11, height=7)

Creates 3D surface plots of aircraft lift and drag coefficients as functions of Mach number and angle of attack.

Parameters:

• results (Results) –

  RCAIDE results data structure containing:

  • Macharray

    Array of Mach numbers

  • alphaarray

    Array of angles of attack in radians

  • lift_coefficientarray

    2D array of lift coefficients [Mach, alpha]

  • drag_coefficientarray

    2D array of drag coefficients [Mach, alpha]

• save_figure (bool, optional) – Flag for saving the figure (default: False)

• line_color (str, optional) – Color and style specification for lift plot (default: ‘bo-‘)

• line_color2 (str, optional) – Color and style specification for drag plot (default: ‘rs–‘)

• save_filename (str, optional) – Name of file for saved figure (default: “Aircraft_Aerodynamic_Analysis”)

• file_type (str, optional) – File extension for saved figure (default: “.png”)

• width (float, optional) – Figure width in inches (default: 11)

• height (float, optional) – Figure height in inches (default: 7)

Return type:

None

Notes

Creates visualization showing:

• Aerodynamic coefficient variations

• Mach number effects

• Angle of attack sensitivity

• Nonlinear aerodynamic behavior

Function displays and optionally saves two 3D surface plots:

Left Panel:

• Lift coefficient surface

• Shows CL variation with Mach and alpha

• X-axis: Mach number

• Y-axis: Angle of attack [degrees]

• Z-axis: Lift coefficient

Right Panel:

• Drag coefficient surface

• Shows CD variation with Mach and alpha

• X-axis: Mach number

• Y-axis: Angle of attack [degrees]

• Z-axis: Drag coefficient

Definitions

‘Mach Number’

Ratio of airspeed to speed of sound

‘Angle of Attack’

Angle between airflow and reference line

‘Lift Coefficient’

Non-dimensional lift force

‘Drag Coefficient’

Non-dimensional drag force

See also

plot_aerodynamic_coefficients

Time history of coefficients

plot_drag_components

Drag breakdown analysis