Analysis of Local Aerodynamic Characteristics of Ducted Co-Axial Bi-Rotor Flying Vehicle

In light of the accelerated advancement of new energy intelligent networked vehicles, flying vehicles, which are a cross-border fusion of flying vehicles and automobiles, have become a future development trend. Flying vehicles are receiving more and more attention and becoming an opportunity to open new urban travel modes. Flying vehicles and Urban Air Mobility (UAM) have the potential to become a transformative factor in air transportation, bringing disruptive innovations to the aviation industry, transportation systems and urban planning. In this paper the aerodynamic characteristics of single rotor, coaxial rotors, ducted single-rotor, and ducted coaxial rotors at different rotational speeds were studied by numerical simulation using Fluent software, and the determine the principle of lift generation of them. The impact of varying rotor distances and hub sizes on the lift and aerodynamic characteristics of ducted coaxial rotor systems were also examined. The results of the numerical simulation demonstrate that in the ducted rotor system, the ducted additional lift is a result of a pressure differential between the interior and exterior of the lip. The duct significantly enhances lift for single rotor but not for coaxial rotors. As the spacing between the upper and lower rotors is reduced, the aerodynamic interference between the rotor becomes more pronounced, resulting in a smaller lift provided by the system. The change in hub size has little effect on rotor lift, and appropriate reducing the rotor hub size can slightly increase lift.