

And, therefore, the location of the center of pressure changes as well. As we change angle of attack, the pressure at every point on the airfoil changes. There are several important problems to consider when determining the center of pressure for an airfoil. Taking the sum of the average value times the distance times the distance segment divided by the sum of the average value times the distance segment will produce the center of pressure. If we don’t know the actual functional form, we can numerically integrate the equation using a spreadsheet by dividing the distance into a number of small distance segments and determining the average value of the pressure over that small segment. Then the center of pressure can be determined from: cp = (Sdx) / (Sdx) We will use the symbols “Sdx” to denote the integration of a continuous function. If we can determine the form of the function, there are methods to perform a calculus integration of the equation. We can characterize the pressure variation around the surface as a function p(x) which indicates that the pressure depends on the distance x from a reference line usually taken as the leading edge of the object. Determining the center of pressure requires the use of calculus and a knowledge of the pressure distribution around the body. In general, determining the center of pressure ( cp) is a very complicated procedure because the pressure changes around the object. How do engineers determine the location of the center of pressure for an aircraft which they are designing? To trim an airplane, or to provide stability for a model rocket or a kite, it is necessary to know the location of the center of pressure of the entire aircraft. Center of Pressureĭetermining the center of pressure is very important for any flying object. The aerodynamic force can then be resolved into two components, lift and drag, which act through the center of pressure in flight. We call the average location of the pressure variation the center of pressure in the same way that we call the average location of the weight of an object the center of gravity. We can consider this single force to act through the average location of the pressure on the surface of the object. Integrating the pressure times the surface area around the body determines the aerodynamic force on the object.

The variation of velocity produces a variation of pressure on the surface of the object as shown by the the thin red lines on the figure. Home > Beginners Guide to Aeronautics Center of PressureĪs an object moves through a fluid, the velocity of the fluid varies around the surface of the object.
