Preliminary Sizing of a Medium Range Blended Wing-Body using a Multidisciplinary Design Analysis Approach

Abstract

The aviation's goal for the next decades is to drastically reduce emissions, but to achieve this goal a breakdown in aircraft design has to be considered. One of the most promising concepts is the Blended Wing- Body, which integrates aerodynamics, propulsion and structure, and has a better aerodynamics efficiency, thanks to the reduction of the wetted surfaces. In this work the feasibility of a short/medium range BWB with 150 passengers (A320 Neo type aircraft, Entry Into Service 2035) is studied, considering different disciplines into the sizing process. The design loop has been reviewed to consider the unconventional concept. Also certification aspects have been taken into account in an off-design analysis. To evaluate the advantages of the proposed concept, it has been compared with an aircraft of the same class, the A320 Neo, resized to match the EIS2035 hypothesis: results show that the BWB is a concept that demonstrates a gain in fuel consumption, especially on longer ranges.