The pitching moment of an airfoil is the rotational force it experiences when its angle of attack changes. It determines the airfoil’s tendency to pitch nose-up or nose-down. This moment is generated by the pressure distribution over the airfoil’s surface. Positive pitching moment indicates nose-up rotation, while negative pitching moment indicates nose-down rotation. Engineers use the pitching moment coefficient to quantify this effect, crucial for aircraft stability and control. The formula to calculate Airfoil Pitching Moment as follows:
Where:
- Cmac is the Coefficient of Pitching moment about aerodynamic center.
- ρ is the density in kg/m3.
- V is the velocity in m/s.
- S is the reference area in m2.
- c is the mean chord in m.