In-flight Lift and Drag Estimation of an Unmanned Propeller-Driven Aircraft

Bergmann, Dominique and Denzel, Jan and Pfeifle, Ole and Notter, Stefan and Fichter, Walter and Strohmayer, Andreas (2021) In-flight Lift and Drag Estimation of an Unmanned Propeller-Driven Aircraft. Aerospace, 8 (2). p. 43. ISSN 2226-4310

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Abstract

The high-power density and good scaling properties of electric motors enable new propulsion arrangements and aircraft configurations. This results in distributed propulsion systems allowing to make use of aerodynamic interaction effects between individual propellers and the wing of the aircraft, improving flight performance and thus reducing in-flight emissions. In order to systematically analyze these effects, an unmanned research platform was designed and built at the University of Stuttgart. As the aircraft is being used as a testbed for various flight performance studies in the field of distributed electric propulsion, a methodology for precise identification of its performance characteristics is required. One of the main challenges is the determination of the total drag of the aircraft to be able to identify an exact drag and lift polar in flight. For this purpose, an on-board measurement system was developed which allows for precise determination of the thrust of the aircraft which equals the total aerodynamic drag in steady, horizontal flight. The system has been tested and validated in flight using the unmanned free-flight test platform. The article provides an overview of the measuring system installed, discusses its functionality and shows results of the flight tests carried out.

Item Type: Article
Subjects: Eurolib Press > Engineering
Depositing User: Managing Editor
Date Deposited: 15 Dec 2022 11:02
Last Modified: 23 Feb 2024 03:46
URI: http://info.submit4journal.com/id/eprint/286

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