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Assessment of distributed propulsion systems used with different aircraft configurations

Abstract:

The aim of the paper is to provide a top level assessment of the distributed propulsion concept applied to different aircraft configurations and mission specifications. Emphasis is placed on how the configuration and the architecture of the distributed propulsion system can be affected/adjusted to the requirements of the aircraft and its mission requirements. Potential synergies with other technologies are also explored. The paper considers three main aircraft configurations: a long range high capacity commercial blended wing body aircraft, an advanced tube and wing airframe configuration and a High Altitude Long Range endurance Unmanned Air Vehicle. In all cases a turbo-electric distributed propulsion system is assumed. Boundary Layer Ingestion, blown flap, hybrid turboelectric propulsion architectures and use of propeller slipstream to improve wing aerodynamic performance are considered and discussed. A secondary aim of this paper is to propose a top level methodology that relates to the integration of various tools that can be used and further developed to study how the DP concept can expand the design space of different aircraft. The proposed approach refers to the development and integration of multi-disciplinary and multi-fidelity models that are able to focus and zoom into the specific synergies offered by the adoption of DP.