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Weight assessment for a blended wing Body-Unmanned aerial vehicle implementing boundary layer ingestion

Abstract:

Boundary Layer Ingestion (BLI) has been studied extensively for implementation in Blended Wing Body (BWB) transport aircrafts, and it has been reported that BLI offers potential benefits mainly in terms of energy, improving the propulsive efficiency of a propulsion system and reducing the fuel consumption. This paper examines potential benefits of BLI related with a reduction on the Take-Off Gross Weight (TOGW) for a BWB-Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV). It is discussed the methodology for weight estimation of a BWB-UAV through parametric models. To evaluate the benefits of BLI in terms of weight reduction, it has been taken into account the removal of pylons and the nacelle weight reduction when embedding nacelles into the airframe. The validation of the parametric models, and the case of study have been carried out for the aircraft NASA X-48B. The results show a reduction in TOGW between 8% and 19% when removing pylons and embedding nacelles into the airframe.