Aerodynamic characteristics research of a distributed propulsion blended-wing-body aircraft

Abstract

According to the development and research background of the next generation civil aircraft, the aerodynamic characteristics and stall mechanism of a specified distributed propulsion (DP) blended-wing-body (BWB) aircraft are analyzed and studied by combining the numerical simulation and the wind tunnel tests. Firstly, the DP BWB configuration and the numerical simulation methods are introduced. Secondly, the aerodynamic performance of the DP BWB aircraft between with and without the DP induced effects into consideration are compared and analyzed by using the numerical simulation. Finally, the stall mechanism is sorted out based on the wind tunnel flow-field visualization, and at the same time, the numerical simulation method is also validated. The results show that the span-wise flow along the leading edge (LE) of the plane platform for DP installation is the main factor to induce stall at high angle of attack (AOA), while the middle fuselage can still provide enough lift to maintain flight at high angle of attack, and the DP system has an obvious combination effect on the flow on the wing, which maybe is an effective way to control and improve the BWB stall characteristics at high AOA.

Keywords

• distributed propulsion blended-wing-body aircraft
• numerical simulation
• wind tunnel test
• flow-field visualization
• flow mechanism