Title:
Sizing and Optimization of Novel General Aviation Vehicles and Propulsion System Architectures

Thumbnail Image
Author(s)
Cinar, Gokcin
Cai, Yu
Chakraborty, Imon
Mavris, Dimitri N.
Authors
Advisor(s)
Advisor(s)
Editor(s)
Associated Organization(s)
Series
Supplementary to
Abstract
The drive for more efficient flying vehicles in all categories may necessitate a significant departure from the tube-and-wing or rotary-wing norms that have been the mainstay of aviation for many decades. This poses challenges for predicting the aerodynamic characteristics and the weight build-up of such unconventional vehicles in early design phases. Additionally, the design and assessment of advanced/unconventional all-electric or hybrid-electric propulsion system architectures require consideration of degrees-of-freedom and trade-offs that do not arise for conventional purely fuel-powered architectures. Thus, there is a need for a flexible vehicle sizing, trade-off, and optimization capability that is not limited to a single vehicle configuration (e.g., fixed-wing, rotary-wing) or propulsion system architecture. To be suitable for the early design phases, such a framework must evaluate relatively quickly, not require extensive definition of the vehicle, and lend itself to customizable design optimization setups. This paper describes the initial creation of such a capability and demonstrates its application to design trade-offs for a General Aviation vehicle with an advanced propulsion system architecture.
Sponsor
Date Issued
2018
Extent
Resource Type
Text
Resource Subtype
Paper
Rights Statement
Rights URI