Development of the X-57 Aerodynamic Database

An aerodynamic database for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration X-57 Maxwell all-electric airplane project was created and used for a desktop and piloted flight simulation capability. The database was generated from Computational Fluid Dynamics estimates obtained from four different Computational Fluid Dynamics solvers by teams from three National Aeronautics and Space Administration Centers: Armstrong Flight Research Center, Ames Research Center, and the Langley Research Center. In total, over 2,500 different Computational Fluid Dynamics simulations were run to create the database, which models the steady-state aerodynamics of both free flight and ground effect, the dynamic derivatives, and the aerodynamic-propulsive effects of the two wingtip-mounted cruise motors and the 12 high-lift motors distributed over the leading edge of the wing. The Computational Fluid Dynamics results showed that the wingtip-mounted motors for the Modification-III configuration provided approximately 4.8 percent reduction in cruise drag. For the Modification-IV configuration, the lift augmentation provided by the 12 high-lift motors yielded a lift coefficient in the range of 4.2 to 4.4, which exceeded the design goal of 3.95. The Computational Fluid Dynamics results from the various solvers were reduced and combined to create an aerodynamic model of the X-57 Modification-III and Modification-IV configurations that were then implemented in flight simulators to allow for airworthiness evaluations and mission planning.