Investigation of the Surface Pressure and Thrust Generated by a Tilt Distributed Electric Propulsion Wing

Abstract This study is a continuation of the work of Lee et al. (2024, “Aerodynamics and Flowfield of Distributed Electric Propulsion Tiltwing During Transition With Deflected Trailing-Edge Flap,” ASME J. Fluids Eng., 146(5), p. 051202) in which a large increase in lift and decrease in drag of a semiwing equipped with four four-bladed propellers at Re = 2.26 × 105 were reported. The force-balance measurements however contained both the thrust generated by the distributed electric propulsion (DEP) wing and the propeller slipstream-produced lift and drag forces. In the present experiment, the propeller slipstream-produced lift and drag were calculated through the surface pressures developed on the tilt DEP wing at multiple spanwise locations. By subtracting the propeller slipstream-produced lift and drag from the direct force-balance data, the thrust force generated by the DEP wing at each tilt angle and propeller rotation was obtained. The DEP wing-produced thrust was found to agree well with the surface pressure and force-balance measurements. The behavior of the boundary-layer flow developed on the DEP wing was also analyzed through the surface pressure measurements. It is anticipated that the present study will further advance our understanding of the aerodynamics of tiltwing electrical vertical take-off and landing(eVTOL) during transition maneuvering and its design.