State-space representation of aerodynamic characteristics of an aircraft at high angles of attack

Mathematical modeling of unsteady aerodynamic forces and moments plays an important role in aircraft dynamics investigation and stability analysis at high angles of attack. In this article the state-space representation of aerodynamic forces and moments for unsteady aircraft motion is proposed. Consideration of separated flow about an airfoil and flow with vortex breakdown about a slender delta wing gives the base for mathematical modeling using internal variables describing the flow state. Coordinates of separation points or vortex breakdown can be taken, e.g., as internal state-space variables. These variables are governed by some differential equations. Within the framework of the proposed mathematical model it is possible to achieve good agreement with different experimental data obtained in water and wind tunnels. These high angle-of-attack experimental results demonstrate considerable dependence of aerodynamic loads on motion time history.