Design of distributed propulsion system for general aviation airplane

Abstract

In this paper, a small airplane is redesigned by using a distributed electrical propulsion (DEP) system. The design procedure is focused on the reduction of fuel consumption in cruise regime with constrained parameters of take-off/landing. In this case, a one half wing area compared to an original airplane is used. Take-off distance and minimum airspeed for landing is achieved by distributed propellers mounted on the leading edge of the wing. These propellers induce velocity on the wing and thereby increase local dynamic pressure, thus the required lift force can be reached with smaller wing area. Moreover, the distributed propellers are assumed as folded in cruise regime to minimize drag when the main combustion engine provides sufficient power.

CFD analysis of wing-propeller interaction on the NASA X-57 Maxwell aircraft wing

“…Pavel Hospodář et al (2019) applied DEP configuration to a modified wing of a general aviation 10-seater aircraft. The modification was that the wing area was reduced by half.…”