CBL - Campus del Baix Llobregat

Projecte llegit

Títol: eVTOL aircraft concept - Lift study and Airframe Design

Estudiants que han llegit aquest projecte:

Director/a: MELLIBOVSKY ELSTEIN, FERNANDO PABLO

Departament: FIS

Títol: eVTOL aircraft concept - Lift study and Airframe Design

Data inici oferta: 28-01-2023     Data finalització oferta: 28-09-2023


Estudis d'assignació del projecte:
    GR ENG SIST AEROESP
Tipus: Individual
 
Lloc de realització: EETAC
 
Segon director/a (UPC): ROJAS GREGORIO, JOSEP IGNASI
 
Paraules clau:
Airframe, body, landing gear, wings, stabilizer, elevator, rudder, Vtail, electrical Ducten Fan (eDfan)
 
Descripció del contingut i pla d'activitats:
The aim of this project is to further previous preliminary studies regarding all surfaces and devices intended for lift production of an eVTOL aircraft. All lift devices combined will provide an optimum lift/drag ratio during cruise, and sufficient lift and controls for T/O and LAND phases.

The main focus will be placed on the airframe contribution to lift, which is targeted at about 25% of the total lift during cruise. The airframe will be designed and optimised through numerical simulation and, if possible, tested in wind tunnel experiments.

The work plan will be as follows:

0) Application of conceptual technology to forward the current (preliminary) design of the airframe.
1) Study the aerodynamic efficiency of the lower surface of the airframe with integrated eDfan.
2) Analysis of the stowable landing gear.
3) Windows and doors.
4) Lift integration study of all external parts of the aircraft combined.
 
Overview (resum en anglès):
Today, the evolution of aviation is accelerating and getting faster. We are in a stage of innovation and creativity that leads us to new goals and challenges in all areas of the aerospace sector.

In this project, in collaboration with ONAerospace, an eVTOL has been designed as an air ambulance and personal vehicle. It all started with a kind of Fiat-500 airplane, it was going to be practical and efficient. It was originally supposed to be a 4-passenger model, but eventually evolved to 6.

In emergency situations, every second counts and we cannot let ourselves be affected by the aerodynamic drag. For this reason, the fuselage needed a change, the purpose of this work has been to reduce the Drag as much as possible and see how the design behaves at low speeds and high angles of attack. To achieve this, the fuselage has been parameterized and modifications have been made to see the effects in terms of aerodynamic resistance. On the other hand, combinations of these modifications have also been made to find the optimal fuselage.

To be able to see these effects, first the set-up has been prepared for Ansys Fluent and two independence studies have been made to find the most accurate results as possible: Fluid domain independence study and mesh independence study. After that, the parameters have been changed and combined.

The results obtained were as expected since the effects of all combined cases of the parameters modifications have been summed up and the optimal fuselage has been found.

After that, the study of its behavior at high angles of attack and at low speed has shown that it can generate a little bit of lift, but the drag increases significantly.

Further research should be done on the new structure and on drag reduction improvement with active control or new designs that make the shape more symmetrical and, thus, the body is streamlined and smoother.

© CBLTIC Campus del Baix Llobregat - UPC