About the job
As the aviation industry evolves towards innovative flight solutions, lift-plus-cruise aircraft stand out with their unique aerodynamic requirements. These aircraft use multiple lifting components and distributed propulsion systems, leading to intricate aerodynamic interactions among rotors, wings, and fuselage. Such interactions become particularly crucial during the transitional speed regime, where both hover and forward flight aerodynamics play significant roles in the overall flow field.
Grasping these aerodynamic interactions is pivotal for accurately forecasting airframe performance, flight dynamics, and aeroacoustic behavior. Furthermore, the implementation of over-actuated trim control strategies can greatly influence how these interactions manifest, either alleviating or intensifying performance detriments. Establishing the necessary fidelity of aerodynamic modeling against wind-tunnel data is vital for effective design and analysis.
Project Focus
The primary objective of this internship is to explore and quantify the aerodynamic interaction effects in lift-plus-cruise aircraft, while assessing the impact of trim control allocation on aircraft performance and flight dynamics. This will involve multi-fidelity modeling and experimental validation.
Key Objectives
- Characterize the aerodynamic interaction effects in lift-plus-cruise configurations during transitional speed regimes through wind-tunnel measurements and computational modeling.
- Analyze how trim control allocation in over-actuated aircraft affects the consequences of these interactions on airframe performance and flight dynamics.
- Identify the appropriate level of aerodynamic modeling fidelity necessary for accurate predictions of these interactions, utilizing comprehensive rotorcraft analysis tools such as FLIGHTLAB, and validating against wind-tunnel data.
- Offer insights and recommendations for modeling approaches and control strategies to mitigate negative interaction effects.
Research Methodology
- Conduct a thorough literature review on aerodynamic interferences in multi-rotor and lift-plus-cruise configurations.
- Analyze wind-tunnel data (PIV) pertaining to lift-plus-cruise aircraft for identifying distinct aerodynamic interaction patterns.
- Develop and apply aerodynamic models, utilizing existing rotorcraft analysis software like FLIGHTLAB, to simulate aircraft performance in transitional speed regimes.
- Investigate the impact of trim control allocation on interaction effects and explore potential strategies for mitigation.
- Compare modeling predictions with FLIGHTLAB simulations and wind-tunnel measurements to evaluate the required fidelity for precise performance forecasting.