Mid-fidelity aero-propulsive coupling approach for distributed propulsion aircraft

The growing demand for more efficient aircraft has made the development of innovative designs critical. Distributed propeller aircraft configurations are among the most promising solutions in this quest for enhanced performance. The objective of this study is to develop an efficient wing design and optimization methodology that accounts for the aerodynamic interaction between the propeller and wing during the aircraft's preliminary design phase. Traditional methods are often imprecise, relying on empirical methods to model wing-propeller interaction, or computationally intensive, using high-fidelity Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) methods unsuitable for the preliminary design phase. Therefore, a method that balances computational efficiency and accuracy is crucial. This research employs mid-fidelity methods and tools to design aircraft wings while considering aerodynamic interactions between the propeller and wing. After validating the methodology and framework, aerodynamic analyses are conducted on a regional propeller aircraft, including a study of potential Distributed Electric Propulsion (DEP) variants. The aerodynamic analysis shows that propeller-induced velocities improve lift distribution and reduce induced drag by 10.7%, enhancing the lift-to-drag ratio. In the tradeoff study of DEP configurations, the eight-propeller setup demonstrated a 6% longer range and reduced drag, with the wingtip-mounted propellers effectively mitigating wingtip vortex formation. These findings highlight the potential of DEP configurations to improve aerodynamic efficiency and aircraft range.