Stall Phenomenon
Irati Klute
In fluid dynamics, a stall is a reduction in the lift coefficient generated by a foil as angle of attack increases.[1] This occurs when the critical angle of attack of the foil is exceeded. The critical angle of attack is typically about 15, but it may vary significantly depending on the fluid, foil, and Reynolds number.
Because stalls are most commonly discussed in connection with aviation, this article discusses stalls as they relate mainly to aircraft, in particular fixed-wing aircraft. The principles of stall discussed here translate to foils in other fluids as well.
Piston-engined and early jet transports had very good stall behaviour with pre-stall buffet warning and, if ignored, a straight nose-drop for a natural recovery. Wing developments that came with the introduction of turbo-prop engines introduced unacceptable stall behaviour. Leading-edge developments on high-lift wings, and the introduction of rear-mounted engines and high-set tailplanes on the next generation of jet transports, also introduced unacceptable stall behaviour. The probability of achieving the stall speed inadvertently, a potentially hazardous event, had been calculated, in 1965, at about once in every 100,000 flights,[7] often enough to justify the cost of development of warning devices, such as stick shakers, and devices to automatically provide an adequate nose-down pitch, such as stick pushers.[8]
When the mean angle of attack of the wings is beyond the stall a spin, which is an autorotation of a stalled wing, may develop. A spin follows departures in roll, yaw and pitch from balanced flight. For example, a roll is naturally damped with an unstalled wing, but with wings stalled the damping moment is replaced with a propelling moment.[9][10]
The graph shows that the greatest amount of lift is produced as the critical angle of attack is reached (which in early-20th century aviation was called the "burble point"). This angle is 17.5 degrees in this case, but it varies from airfoil to airfoil. In particular, for aerodynamically thick airfoils (thickness to chord ratios of around 10%), the critical angle is higher than with a thin airfoil of the same camber. Symmetric airfoils have lower critical angles (but also work efficiently in inverted flight). The graph shows that, as the angle of attack exceeds the critical angle, the lift produced by the airfoil decreases.
The information in a graph of this kind is gathered using a model of the airfoil in a wind tunnel. Because aircraft models are normally used, rather than full-size machines, special care is needed to make sure that data is taken in the same Reynolds number regime (or scale speed) as in free flight. The separation of flow from the upper wing surface at high angles of attack is quite different at low Reynolds number from that at the high Reynolds numbers of real aircraft. In particular at high Reynolds numbers the flow tends to stay attached to the airfoil for longer because the inertial forces are dominant with respect to the viscous forces which are responsible for the flow separation ultimately leading to the aerodynamic stall. For this reason wind tunnel results carried out at lower speeds and on smaller scale models of the real life counterparts often tend to overestimate the aerodynamic stall angle of attack.[11] High-pressure wind tunnels are one solution to this problem.
In general, steady operation of an aircraft at an angle of attack above the critical angle is not possible because, after exceeding the critical angle, the loss of lift from the wing causes the nose of the aircraft to fall, reducing the angle of attack again. This nose drop, independent of control inputs, indicates the pilot has actually stalled the aircraft.[12][13]
This graph shows the stall angle, yet in practice most pilot operating handbooks (POH) or generic flight manuals describe stalling in terms of airspeed. This is because all aircraft are equipped with an airspeed indicator, but fewer aircraft have an angle of attack indicator. An aircraft's stalling speed is published by the manufacturer (and is required for certification by flight testing) for a range of weights and flap positions, but the stalling angle of attack is not published.
As speed reduces, angle of attack has to increase to keep lift constant until the critical angle is reached. The airspeed at which this angle is reached is the (1g, unaccelerated) stalling speed of the aircraft in that particular configuration. Deploying flaps/slats decreases the stall speed to allow the aircraft to take off and land at a lower speed.
A fixed-wing aircraft can be made to stall in any pitch attitude or bank angle or at any airspeed but deliberate stalling is commonly practiced by reducing the speed to the unaccelerated stall speed, at a safe altitude. Unaccelerated (1g) stall speed varies on different fixed-wing aircraft and is represented by colour codes on the airspeed indicator. As the plane flies at this speed, the angle of attack must be increased to prevent any loss of altitude or gain in airspeed (which corresponds to the stall angle described above). The pilot will notice the flight controls have become less responsive and may also notice some buffeting, a result of the turbulent air separated from the wing hitting the tail of the aircraft.
A special form of asymmetric stall in which the aircraft also rotates about its yaw axis is called a spin. A spin can occur if an aircraft is stalled and there is an asymmetric yawing moment applied to it.[17] This yawing moment can be aerodynamic (sideslip angle, rudder, adverse yaw from the ailerons), thrust related (p-factor, one engine inoperative on a multi-engine non-centreline thrust aircraft), or from less likely sources such as severe turbulence. The net effect is that one wing is stalled before the other and the aircraft descends rapidly while rotating, and some aircraft cannot recover from this condition without correct pilot control inputs (which must stop yaw) and loading.[18] A new solution to the problem of difficult (or impossible) stall-spin recovery is provided by the ballistic parachute recovery system.
The most common stall-spin scenarios occur on takeoff (departure stall) and during landing (base to final turn) because of insufficient airspeed during these maneuvers. Stalls also occur during a go-around manoeuvre if the pilot does not properly respond to the out-of-trim situation resulting from the transition from low power setting to high power setting at low speed.[19] Stall speed is increased when the wing surfaces are contaminated with ice or frost creating a rougher surface, and heavier airframe due to ice accumulation.
Stalls occur not only at slow airspeed, but at any speed when the wings exceed their critical angle of attack. Attempting to increase the angle of attack at 1g by moving the control column back normally causes the aircraft to climb. However, aircraft often experience higher g-forces, such as when turning steeply or pulling out of a dive. In these cases, the wings are already operating at a higher angle of attack to create the necessary force (derived from lift) to accelerate in the desired direction. Increasing the g-loading still further, by pulling back on the controls, can cause the stalling angle to be exceeded, even though the aircraft is flying at a high speed.[20] These "high-speed stalls" produce the same buffeting characteristics as 1g stalls and can also initiate a spin if there is also any yawing.
Different aircraft types have different stalling characteristics but they only have to be good enough to satisfy their particular Airworthiness authority. For example, the Short Belfast heavy freighter had a marginal nose drop which was acceptable to the Royal Air Force. When the aircraft were sold to a civil operator they had to be fitted with a stick pusher to meet the civil requirements.[21] Some aircraft may naturally have very good behaviour well beyond what is required. For example, first generation jet transports have been described as having an immaculate nose drop at the stall.[22] Loss of lift on one wing is acceptable as long as the roll, including during stall recovery, doesn't exceed about 20 degrees, or in turning flight the roll shall not exceed 90 degrees bank.[23] If pre-stall warning followed by nose drop and limited wing drop are naturally not present or are deemed to be unacceptably marginal by an Airworthiness authority the stalling behaviour has to be made good enough with airframe modifications or devices such as a stick shaker and pusher. These are described in "Warning and safety devices".
Stalls depend only on angle of attack, not airspeed.[24] However, the slower an aircraft flies, the greater the angle of attack it needs to produce lift equal to the aircraft's weight.[25] As the speed decreases further, at some point this angle will be equal to the critical (stall) angle of attack. This speed is called the "stall speed". An aircraft flying at its stall speed cannot climb, and an aircraft flying below its stall speed cannot stop descending. Any attempt to do so by increasing angle of attack, without first increasing airspeed, will result in a stall.
An airspeed indicator, for the purpose of flight-testing, may have the following markings: the bottom of the white arc indicates VS0 at maximum weight, while the bottom of the green arc indicates VS1 at maximum weight. While an aircraft's VS speed is computed by design, its VS0 and VS1 speeds must be demonstrated empirically by flight testing.[28]
The normal stall speed, specified by the VS values above, always refers to straight and level flight, where the load factor is equal to 1g. However, if the aircraft is turning or pulling up from a dive, additional lift is required to provide the vertical or lateral acceleration, and so the stall speed is higher. An accelerated stall is a stall that occurs under such conditions.[29]
To achieve the extra lift, the lift coefficient, and so the angle of attack, will have to be higher than it would be in straight and level flight at the same speed. Therefore, given that the stall always occurs at the same critical angle of attack,[32] by increasing the load factor (e.g. by tightening the turn) the critical angle will be reached at a higher airspeed:[30][33][34][35]
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