Mobility is vital for societal wellbeing, economic growth, social inclusion, and access to essential amenities. However, the current system faces significant challenges, including environmental impact, unequal access, and safety concerns. […]@en

Blunt-nosed, highly-swept crescent wings, often found in flying wing designs like the Flying V, offer high aerodynamic efficiency but exhibit nonlinear aerodynamic behavior at high angles of attack. This study experimentally investigates the vortical flow over the Flying V under these conditions at a Reynolds number of 8.0x10^5 and a Mach number of 0.10. Balance measurements assess the aerodynamic performance, while oil flow visualization captures the on-surface flow topology. A 7-hole pressure probe maps the off-surface flow topology above the wing’s suction side. Results reveal a double vortex system (in- and outboard vortex) forming over the inboard wing starting at AOA = 12.5°. At AOA = 15.0°, the stronger outboard vortex merges with another vortex over the outboard wing, which develops aft of the leading-edge kink at AOA = 7.5°. The vortical flow enhances the aerodynamic performance through vortex lift between AOA = 10.0° and 18.0°. However, at the latter angle, a pitch break occurs, attributed to the breakdown of the inboard vortex and the upstream movement of its onset and breakdown locations. Balance data indicate that the vortex breakdown is asymmetric, occurring first over the starboard wing.@en

The Flying V is a flying-wing aircraft that has 20% less cruise drag than a modern tube-and-wing aircraft. The integration of the over-the-wing engine is not trivial due to the strong aerodynamic interaction between the wing and inlet. Prior to integrating the engine, the aerodynamics of the Flying V are studied with a Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) solver using a finite volume mesh. Engine dimensions are sized through rubber sizing for the take-off thrust rating. The analysis focuses on the flow characteristics on the upper surface of the wing, particularly in the region where the engine could be located. Forces and pressure changes induced at different angles of attack and flight conditions are studied. Subsequently, the evolution of the boundary layer at different locations is analyzed to understand the flow that the engine would face at the inlet. For the defined inlet dimensions, the inlet distortion is evaluated at various locations on the wing. Preferred regions for engine placement and integration approaches are proposed and discussed to maximize the engine inlet performance at on-design and off-design conditions.@en

Flying wing aircraft, such as the Flying-V considered in this study, can substantially contribute to reducing the carbon footprint of the aviation sector. To enable adequate predictions regarding performance, stability, and control, a validated aerodynamic model of the Flying V is important. In this paper, the aerodynamic model of the Flying V is derived. The first part of the paper compares the aerodynamic coefficients determined with experiments and simulations conducted on a subscale version of the aircraft. The experiments are conducted in a wind tunnel, and with flight tests, the simulations are conducted using the vortex lattice method (VLM), panel method, and Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) equations. The comparison highlights the dependency of the aerodynamic coefficients from the angle of attack, which influences the flow acting on the aircraft. Based on the outcome of the comparison for the subscale aircraft, the aerodynamic model of the full-scale aircraft is derived by combining RANS and VLM simulations. All the aerodynamic coefficients are derived as a function of the angle of attack and different Mach numbers and altitudes.@en

The Flying-V is a novel flying wing A350-sized airliner developed extensively at TU Delft. This paper presents the conceptual design of an experimental manned sub-scale demonstrator, which can serve to explore the performance, stability, and handling of the concept. The research consists of preliminary studies on performance, weight, stability and control, internal packaging, and cockpit arrangement. The main challenge was minimizing modifications to the full-scale Flying-V's outer mold line while housing the crew in a significantly smaller airframe. The final design is a quarter-scale concept equipped with twin Williams FJ44-4A turbofans that is capable of taking off at less than 120 knots and cruising at Mach 0.85. A cockpit with airliner-style adjacent seating was selected to optimize crew interaction and communication. In order to fit the crew station, the root chord was extended 44% aft to increase the section thickness, forming a protruding tail, resulting only in a minimal shift to the neutral point. Stability analysis indicates that the aircraft's open-loop Dutch roll mode is unstable at approach speeds.@en

Commercial applications of flying wing aircraft, as the Flying-V here considered, can contribute to reducing carbon and nitrogen emissions produced by the aviation sector. However, because of the lack of a tail, all flying wing aircraft have reduced controllability. For this reason, the placement and sizing of the control surfaces along the wing is a non-trivial problem. The paper focuses on solving this problem using offline handling quality simulations based on certification requirements. In different flight conditions, the aircraft must be able to perform a certain set of maneuvers as defined by the certifying authorities. First, offline simulations calculate the minimum control authority required from the elevator, aileron, and rudder to perform each maneuver. Then, based on the global minimum for all maneuvers, the control surfaces are sized and placed along the wings. The aerodynamic model employed uses a combination of Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) and vortex lattice method (VLM) simulations. The control authority of the control surfaces is estimated with VLM and VLM calibrated with RANS simulations, showing significant differences between the two.@en

This paper presents a preliminary study about a combined-cycle engine based on a turboshaft engine and an organic-Rankine-cycle (ORC) bottoming unit to be used onboard an aircraft with a turboelectric propulsion system. The aim is to analyse whether benefits with respect to mission fuel consumption can be derived by employing such a combined-cycle
engine when compared to a simple-cycle turboshaft engine. For this purpose, a multidisciplinary optimization framework is developed, incorporating models for the engine, ORC system, ORC turbine, heat exchangers, and mission analysis. This framework is coupled with an optimizer to identify the optimal combined-cycle engine design for minimum mission fuel consumption. The results suggest that fuel savings of around 1.5% are possible with the optimized system if compared to the aircraft employing turboshaft engines. Heat exchanger volume is identified as the most constraining parameter when it comes to combined-cycle performance. The analysis of the results suggests as aspects which might lead to further improvements the evaluation of other ORC architectures, working fluids and heat exchanger topologies.@en

Thus far, battery-electric propulsion has not been considered a promising pathway to climate-neutral aviation. Given current and expected battery technology, in most literature battery electric aircraft are only considered feasible for short ranges (< 400 km) and small payloads (< 19 pax). As a result, battery-electric aircraft development focuses on new aviation segments such as regional and urban air mobility. However, little effort has been made to develop battery-electric aircraft that can replace existing larger aircraft. This paper re-examines the assumptions that lead to the conclusion of limited applicability of battery-electric aircraft. Starting from the range equation, this paper assesses the drivers of two key parameters: the ratio between energy mass and maximum take-off mass, and the maximum lift-to-drag ratio. This assessment, based on Class-I mass and aerodynamic-efficiency estimates, shows that there is a design space where these two parameters can reach significantly higher values than often assumed in the open literature. Based on this finding, several parametric aircraft designs are evaluated, relying on Class-II mass and aerodynamics methods. These parametric studies validate the conclusion from the Class-I assessment. This implies that battery-electric passenger aircraft can play a larger role in climate-neutral aviation than was previously envisioned.

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This paper focuses on the conceptual design optimization of liquid hydrogen aircraft and their performance in terms of climate impact, cash operating cost, and energy consumption. An automated, multidisciplinary design framework for kerosene-powered aircraft is extended to design liquid hydrogen-powered aircraft at a conceptual level. A hydrogen tank is integrated into the aft section of the fuselage, increasing the operating empty mass and wetted area. Furthermore, the gas model of the engine is adapted to account for the hydrogen combustion products. It is concluded that for medium-range, narrow-body aircraft using hydrogen technology, the climate impact can be minimized by flying at an altitude of 6.0 km at which contrails are eliminated and the impact due to NO_x emissions is expected to be small. However, this leads to a deteriorated cruise performance in terms of energy and operating cost due to the lower lift-to-drag ratio (– 11%) and lower engine overall efficiency (– 10%) compared to the energy-optimal solutions. Compared to cost-optimal kerosene aircraft, the average temperature response can be reduced by 73–99% by employing liquid hydrogen, depending on the design objective. However, this reduction in climate impact leads to an increase in cash operating cost of 28–39% when considering 2030 hydrogen price estimates. Nevertheless, an analysis of future kerosene and hydrogen prices shows that this cost difference can be significantly decreased beyond 2030.

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Battery-electric aviation is commonly believed to be limited to small aircraft and is therefore expected have a negligible impact on the decarbonization of the aviation sector. In this paper we argue that, with the correct choice of design parameters and top-level aircraft requirements, the addressable market is actually substantial. To demonstrate this, the Class-II sizing of a battery-electric 90-seater is performed, and the environmental impact is assessed in terms of well-to-wake CO2-equivalent emissions per passenger-kilometer. The resulting 76-ton aircraft achieves a battery-powered useful range of 800 km for a pack-level energy density of 360 Wh/kg. For this range, it has an energy consumption of 167 Wh per passenger-kilometer and an environmental impact well below that of kerosene, eSAF, or hydrogen-based aircraft alternatives and comparable to land-based modes of transport. These results indicate that, to successfully reduce the climate impact of the aviation sector, battery-electric aircraft should not be designed as a niche product operating from small airfields but as commercial transport aircraft competing with fuel-based regional and narrowbody aircraft.@en

The Flying V is a long-range, flying-wing aircraft where payload and fuel both reside in a V-shaped, crescent wing with large winglets that double as vertical tail planes. The objective of this study is to maximize the lift-to-drag (L/D) ratio of the Flying V in cruise conditions, i.e. CL= 0.26, M = 0.85 and to investigate its off-design performance in high-subsonic conditions. This is done by manually modifying the design parameters that describe the outer mold line of the Flying V and assessing the aerodynamic performance by means of computational fluid dynamics. A 15-million cell, third-order MUSCL, Reynolds-Averaged Navier Stokes solver with the Menter SST turbulence model is used to estimate the aerodynamic coefficients. This numerical model is validated using the experimental data of the ONERA M6 wing. A new, CATIA-based, parametrization of the Flying V is the starting point of the design. Three manual design phases improve the aerodynamic performance while satisfying all constraints. Design modifications include an increase in camber and aft-loading of the wing around 40% of the semispan and improved airfoil sections on the outboard wing generating the required lift coefficient towards an elliptical lift distribution. The twist distribution at the wing-winglet junction is optimized to reduce wave drag. This has resulted in an improvement of L/D from 20.3 from previous studies to 24.2 for the final version, while reducing the cruise angle of attack from 5.2 to 3.6 degrees. The drag divergence Mach number is estimated at 0.925.@en

The Flying V is a flying wing aircraft consisting of two pressurised passenger cabins placed in a V shape. Its longitudinal and lateral control is ensured via elevons and split flaps on the outboard wing, and rudders on the tip-mounted winglets. The goal of this study is to devise a design for the outboard wing of the Flying V through a constrained aerodynamic shape optimisation at cruise conditions. The design process is divided into a geometry preparation phase in which the existing parametrisation is adjusted, followed by a planform design optimisation guided by the Differential Evolution algorithm making use of a vortex-lattice method and an Euler flow analysis. The cross-sectional shape of the wing is subsequently optimised through a Free-Form Deformation (FFD) shape optimisation based on the Euler equations. Two FFD optimisations are conducted to evaluate the effect of the integration of the elevons. The highest lift-to-drag ratio is obtained by neglecting the control surface integration and amounts to 20.3. While the constraints related to this elevon integration reduce the efficiency to 19.4. The overall efficiency gain compared to the original aircraft design is equivalent to 13% and 8%, respectively. A further increase is expected once the inefficient outboard wing is optimised in more detail.

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To reduce the climate impact of aviation, researchers are studying the replacement of fossil kerosene with liquid hydrogen and/or drop-in sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). These fuels can bring significant reductions in CO2 emissions and can offer savings in terms of non-CO2 climate effects. In addition, tube-and-wing aircraft can be optimized to decrease the global-warming impact by using a climate metric as a design objective rather than the operating costs. Previous research has shown that airplanes designed for minimal climate impact have a reduced cruise speed and fly at a lower altitude. This paper suggests a multidisciplinary, multi-level approach the evaluate the consequences of such design and fuels choices at the network level. Following the aircraft design step, a dynamic programming routine allocates the fleet and schedules the flights to maximize the network profit. We consider a hub-and-spoke network operating from Atlanta, with demand for domestic and international destinations. Compared to the reference cost-optimal kerosene fleet, a fleet consisting of climate-optimized kerosene aircraft can reduce the climate impact by 61% at a loss in network profit of approximately 21%. This design choice requires allocating an additional five aircraft. A fleet operating climate-optimal, hydrogen aircraft minimizes the climate impact. However, the high operating cost of long-range, hydrogen aircraft lowers the achievable profit. Aircraft powered by drop-in SAF provides Pareto-optimal solutions. These insights can be used to make decisions about the allocation of future aviation fuels in a network and the payload-range requirements of future aircraft.@en

Flying wings are known for their limited lateral-directional stability and handling qualities. This study aims at assessing the lateral-directional handling qualities of a conceptual flying wing aircraft currently in development at TU Delft, the Flying-V, in a moving-base flight simulator. It focuses on two aspects: First assess the lateral-directional handling qualities of the bare-airframe Flying-V, and the compliance to quantitative requirements. Second, improve these handling qualities through a prototype flight control system, and assess its effect on the handling qualities and the requirement compliance. These assessments were performed both analytically and with a pilot-in-the-loop simulator experiment, in order to experimentally validate analytical findings and obtain new pilot-subjective insights. The analytical and experimental assessment for lowspeed flight conditions both show the lateral-directional handling qualities of the Flying-V to be insufficient for requirement compliance, due to a lack of pitch, roll and yaw control authority and an insufficiently stable Dutch roll eigenmode. The prototype flight control system, consisting of an adapted control allocation and a stability augmentation system, showed both analytically and experimentally to improve the control authority, stability, and handling qualities of the Flying-V. While the effect on the lateral-directional stability was sufficient for stability requirement compliance, the control authority was not sufficiently increased for maneuverability requirement compliance at low speed. Thus, if the landing speed is not increased from the current baseline, a challenge remains to improve the handling qualities of the Flying-V. An approximation of the control authority required for full requirement compliance in the low-speed flight conditions tested showed a control authority increase of over a factor four to be required in that case.@en

The Flying-V novel aircraft design aims at reducing fuel consumption by an innovative low-drag, fuselage-free geometry. Possible issues related to certification requirements have been noted, however, regarding longitudinal handling qualities at low speed, the pull-up manoeuver, and the flight-path-angle response. This study aims at investigating these issues through a pilot-in-theloop experiment. Starting with a mathematical model of the Flying-V, based on the vortex lattice method, a preliminary off-line analysis of the handling qualities is conducted. A sensitivity analysis is considered over the proposed operational center-of-gravity range, approach speed (between 0.225 and 0.3 Mach, 149 and 198 knots indicated airspeed, respectively), maximum deflection of the control surfaces (between 20 and 30 degrees), and flight control system (Direct Law or Pitch-Rate Command). The pilot-in-the-loop experiment, its design guided by results from the analytical assessment, shows that the handling qualities provided by the current design of the Flying-V with Direct Law at 0.3 Mach are satisfactory with minor improvements related to aircraft responsiveness. For lower speeds (0.225 Mach), the handling qualities degrade due to a sluggish response, high compensation workload, insufficient control authority, insufficient sight angle, and tendency to pilot induced oscillations. Shifting the center of gravity away from the nose provides larger control authority at the expense of a minor reduction of responsiveness. Control augmentation proves to be very effective at improving the handling qualities. It is expected that the go-around certification standards will be satisfied, but approach speed will remain critical for controllability and safety.

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This study evaluates the flight performance of a Flying-V aircraft designed for transonic passenger transport. The Flying-V is a disruptive aircraft configuration that has shown to possess promising aerodynamic performance during preliminary design. It is compared to a competitor aircraft reminiscent of the Airbus A350-1000, for the same thrust-to-weight ratio and a similar number of passengers. The most common performance metrics for the take-off, landing, climbing and cruise phases have been assessed using a modular flight mechanics model. Take-off and landing performance are evaluated through flight simulation using a simple Euler method, while climb and cruise performance are evaluated in trimmed, steady-state conditions. Only instantaneous performance is available for the latter two phases. The Flying-V outperforms its competitor for basically all investigated metrics. Take-off length is shorter, mainly due to a larger tail strike attitude that reduces the minimum unstick speed. Service and absolute ceiling are higher, and its superior lift-over-drag ratio results in a 21% increase in the cruise range parameter. Landing field lengths are similar for both aircraft, but the Flying-V has a significantly larger pitch angle during approach. This causes longer de-rotation length, and a large obscured segment of the pilot’s vision which could be problematic during operations.@en

A novel aircraft configuration, the tailless Flying-V, is examined for its longitudinal handling qualities in cruise by means of piloted simulations. The Flying-V is controlled by two aileron/elevator (elevon) surfaces on each side, and rudders on each wingtip. Two control allocation schemes were created: a conventional one where both inboard and outboard elevons deflect in the same direction, and one where the change in lift the elevons generate is countered by deploying the inboard and outboard elevons in opposite directions, allowing more direct control of the resulting flight path. The longitudinal handling qualities in cruise conditions were investigated by pilot opinion in a moving base simulator. Three experiments were conducted: a traditional pitch tracking experiment with the conventional control allocation, and a new flight-path-angle tracking experiment, using both the conventional and the flight-path-oriented control allocation. The pilots indicated the conventional pitch attitude control to have Level 1 handling qualities for the pitch control task, and Level 2 for the flight path control task. The flight-path-oriented control allocation improved the performance of the pilots during the flight-part tracking experiment, but the perceived control authority was considered too small for most pilots to consistently rate it at Level 1.@en

This paper presents a preliminary study about a combined-cycle engine based on a turboshaft engine and an organic-Rankine-cycle (ORC) bottoming unit to be used onboard an aircraft with a turboelectric propulsion system. The aim is to analyse whether benefits with respect to mission fuel consumption can be derived by employing such a combined-cycle engine when compared to a simple-cycle turboshaft engine. For this purpose, a multidisciplinary optimization framework is developed, incorporating models for the engine, ORC system, ORC turbine, heat exchangers, and mission analysis. This framework is coupled with an optimizer to identify the optimal combined-cycle engine design for minimum mission fuel consumption. The results suggest that fuel savings of around 4% are possible with the optimized system if compared to the aircraft employing turboshaft engines. Heat exchanger volume is identified as the most constraining parameter when it comes to combined-cycle performance. The analysis of the results suggests as aspects which might lead to further improvements the evaluation of other ORC architectures, working fluids and heat exchanger topologies.@en

The goal of this study is to analyze how the aeropropulsive benefits of an over-the-wing distributed-propulsion (OTWDP) system at the component level translate into an aeropropulsive benefit at the aircraft level, as well as to determine whether this enhancement is sufficient to lead to a reduction in overall energy consumption. For this, the preliminary sizing of a partial-turboelectric regional passenger aircraft is performed, and its performance metrics are compared to a conventional twin-turboprop reference for the 2035 timeframe. The changes in lift, drag, and propulsive efficiency due to the OTWDP system are estimated for a simplified unducted geometry using a lowerorder numerical method, which is validated with experimental data. For a typical cruise condition and the baseline geometry evaluated in the experiment, the numerical method estimates a 45% increase in the local sectional lift-todrag ratio of the wing, at the expense of a 12% reduction in propeller efficiency. For an aircraft with 53% of the wingspan covered by the OTWDP system, this aerodynamic coupling is found to increase the average aeropropulsive efficiency of the aircraft by 9% for a 1500 n mile mission. Approximately 4% of this benefit is required to offset the losses in the electrical drivetrain. The reduction in fuel weight compensates for the increase in powertrain weight, leading to a takeoff mass comparable to the reference aircraft. Overall, a 5% reduction in energy consumption is found, albeit with a 5% uncertainty due to uncertainty in the aerodynamic modeling alone.

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As climate change aggravates, the aviation sector strives to minimize its climate footprint. To this end, international organizations, such as ICAO and ACARE, are promoting mitigation measures including novel technologies, operations, and energy carriers to reduce aircraft emissions significantly. Hydrogen (H2) as an alternative fuel has the advantage of eliminating CO2 and soot emissions and the potential to reduce NOx emission substantially. Nevertheless, burning H2 emits more H2O and increases the contrail formation probability. Therefore, the actual climate impact of hydrogen aircraft is still uncertain. This paper intents to evaluate the climate impact of a hydrogen powered aircraft considering the effects of H2O, NOx , and contrails . To frame the contribution of each individual climate agent, the research compares a hydrogen and a kerosene aircraft with similar mission capabilities. To assess the climate impact, a modeling chain was developed including network selection, flight routes calculation, aircraft and propulsion performance, emissions prediction, and climate impact assessment. In total, 2.24 million flights covering 1128 city pairs were analyzed. The energy consumption of hydrogen aircraft is about 10% higher than that of the kerosene aircraft due to the larger wetted area for hydrogen storage. However, the average atmospheric temperature response caused by the hydrogen aircraft is 67% lower compared to the kerosene aircraft due to the absence of CO2, the lower radiative forcing of hydrogen contrails, and the reduction in NOx emissions when assuming advanced hydrogen combustion technology. It was also observed that climate impact from hydrogen aircraft is more sensitive to flights over the tropics than to flights over the poles.@en