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Design point analysis of a distributed propulsion system with boundary layer ingestion implemented in UAVs for agriculture in the Andean region

Abstract:

The numerous applications that unmanned aerial vehicles present for the agricultural and medical sectors have motivated the assessment of more efficient concepts, which can enhance their payload and range. In this context, alternative propulsion concepts which present higher synergy with current power energy systems have been studied. Two concepts well documented and explored are boundary layer ingestion and distributed propulsion system. In this work, the performance of a baseline unmanned aerial vehicle for agricultural applications using the aforementioned technologies is studied. The study has focused to define the design space for this type of aerial vehicles and capture performance trends which can help to define the suitability of these technologies. For this study, a parametric model for the propulsion system has been implemented taking into account the detrimental performance effects due to BLI and intake pressure losses. To assess the suitability of these technologies, the power consumption and boundary layer characteristics at propulsor’s in-take have been studied. The study case is defined for the Andean region which is 3000 m above sea level. Preliminary results show that BLI does not present representative benefits compared with its installation complexities. However, distributed propulsion and the implementation of thrust split between electric ducted fans showed potential opportunities in the development of novel unmanned aerial concepts.