Comparison of Aero-Propulsive Performance Predictions for Distributed Propulsion ConfigurationsNASA's X-57 "Maxwell" flight demonstrator incorporates distributed electric propulsion technologies in a design that will achieve a significant reduction in energy used in cruise flight. A substantial portion of these energy savings come from beneficial aerodynamic-propulsion interaction. Previous research has shown the benefits of particular instantiations of distributed propulsion, such as the use of wingtip-mounted cruise propellers and leading edge high-lift propellers. However, these benefits have not been reduced to a generalized design or analysis approach suitable for large-scale design exploration. This paper discusses the rapid, "design-order" toolchains developed to investigate the large, complex tradespace of candidate geometries for the X-57. Due to the lack of an appropriate, rigorous set of validation data, the results of these tools were compared to three different computational flow solvers for selected wing and propulsion geometries. The comparisons were conducted using a common input geometry, but otherwise different input grids and, when appropriate, different flow assumptions to bound the comparisons. The results of these studies showed that the X-57 distributed propulsion wing should be able to meet the as-designed performance in cruise flight, while also meeting or exceeding targets for high-lift generation in low-speed flight.
Document ID
20170001218
Acquisition Source
Langley Research Center
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Borer, Nicholas K. (NASA Langley Research Center Hampton, VA, United States)
Derlaga, Joseph M. (NASA Langley Research Center Hampton, VA, United States)
Deere, Karen A. (NASA Langley Research Center Hampton, VA, United States)
Carter, Melissa B. (NASA Langley Research Center Hampton, VA, United States)
Viken, Sally A. (NASA Langley Research Center Hampton, VA, United States)
Patterson, Michael D. (NASA Langley Research Center Hampton, VA, United States)
Litherland, Brandon L. (NASA Langley Research Center Hampton, VA, United States)
Stoll, Alex M. (Joby Aviation, Inc. Santa Cruz, CA, United States)
Date Acquired
February 2, 2017
Publication Date
January 9, 2017
Subject Category
Aircraft Propulsion And PowerAircraft Design, Testing And Performance
Report/Patent Number
NF1676L-24758
Meeting Information
Meeting: AIAA SciTech 2017
Location: Grapevine, TX
Country: United States
Start Date: January 9, 2017
End Date: January 13, 2017
Sponsors: American Inst. of Aeronautics and Astronautics