Numerical Assessment of the Performance of Jet-Wing Distributed Propulsion on Blended-Wing-Body Aircraft

Conventional airliners use two to four engines in a Cayley-type arrangement to provide thrust, and the thrust from these engines is typically concentrated right behind the engine. Distributed propulsion is the idea of redistributing the thrust across most, or all, of the wingspan of an aircraft. This can be accomplished by using several large engines and using a duct to spread out the exhaust flow to form a jet-wing or by using many small engines spaced along the span of the wing. Jet-wing distributed propulsion was originally suggested by Kuchemann as a way to improve propulsive efficiency. In addition, one can envision a jet-wing with deflected jets replacing flaps and slats and the associated noise. The purpose of this study was to assess the performance benefits of jet-wing distributed propulsion. The Reynolds-averaged, finite-volume, Navier-Stokes code GASP was used to perform parametric computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analyses on two-dimensional jet-wing models. The jet-wing was modeled by applying velocity and density boundary conditions on the trailing edges of blunt trailing edge airfoils such that the vehicle was self-propelled. As this work was part of a Blended-Wing-Body (BWB) distributed propulsion multidisciplinary optimization (MDO) study, two airfoils of different thickness were modeled at BWB cruise conditions. One airfoil, representative of an outboard BWB wing section, was 11% thick. The other airfoil, representative of an inboard BWB wing section, was 18% thick. Furthermore, in an attempt to increase the propulsive efficiency, the trailing edge thickness of the 11% thick airfoil was doubled in size. The studies show that jet-wing distributed propulsion can be used to obtain propulsive efficiencies on the order of turbofan engine aircraft. If the trailing edge thickness is expanded, then jet-wing distributed propulsion can give improved propulsive efficiency. However, expanding the trailing edge must be done with care, as there is a drag penalty. Jet-wing studies were also performed at lower Reynolds numbers, typical of UAV-sized aircraft, and they showed reduced propulsive efficiency performance. At the lower Reynolds number, it was found that the lift, drag, and pitching moment coefficients varied nearly linearly for small jet-flap deflection angles. Master of Science