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Validation of an Aerodynamic Model for the Analysis of Subscale Test Aircraft with Distributed Electrical Propulsion
Publikationstyp
Conference Paper
Publikationsdatum
2021-09
Sprache
English
Institut
Citation
Congress of the International Council of the Aeronautical Sciences (ICAS 2021)
Contribution to Conference
Scopus ID
Peer Reviewed
true
In this publication an aerodynamic model for the estimation of aerodynamic effects of propeller-wing-interaction for analysis, design and construction of subscale test aircraft (STA) is presented. The well-established programmes XFOIL, XROTOR and LIFTING_LINE are used as subroutines in an automated analysis process. The model for propeller-induced velocities is based on a combination of blade-element theory and a vortex theory. The effect of propeller slipstream contraction on the simplified velocity field is considered with a semi-empirical model. To estimate the spanwise lift distribution of the wing, a multi-lifting line method was chosen which accounts for the additional axial and transverse slipstream velocities. Comparison of simulation results with measurement data from wind tunnel tests shows satisfying accuracies regarding thrust, wing polars, and spanwise lift distribution. In addition, the toolchain is integrated into a modular software framework for design and construction of SubsCALe test AircRaft (SCALAR). Its application is exemplified with a resizing study of a subscale aicraft model with distributed electrical propulsion. The study shows that the overall impact on the layout of the subscale test aircraft is of minor importance. Nonetheless, it is outlined that the presented aero-dynamic toolchain serves well as a basis for mission-dependent wing load estimation in planned technology demonstration campaigns.