Theses and Dissertations

Issuing Body

Mississippi State University

Advisor

Adrian Sescu

Committee Member

Davy M. Belk

Committee Member

Calvin Walker

Date of Degree

8-6-2021

Original embargo terms

Worldwide

Document Type

Graduate Thesis - Open Access

Major

Aerospace Engineering

Degree Name

Master of Science

College

James Worth Bagley College of Engineering

Department

Department of Aerospace Engineering

Abstract

The stability and maneuverability of aircraft are some key factors for selecting the locations of wings or canards on the fuselage. Another important variable that is considered in the design of an aircraft is drag force which impacts fuel efficiency. This research investigates how drag force of a surrogate aircraft is affected by the placement of the wing or canard along the fuselage. Unique for this study is the placement of the canard in the fuselage nose region, with the leading edge upstream of the nose, resembling the shape of a hammerhead shark's head. When the leading edge of all considered wing configurations was located 20% or more from the fuselage nose, the platforms produced the least amount of drag force. When the wing was placed in the nose region of the fuselage, the wings with small chords produced less drag when their leading edge was ahead of the nose.

Download

Share

COinS