Impact of Airfoil Type and Placement on Aerodynamic Performance of Blended Wing Body Aircraft

The Blended Wing Body (BWB) design holds promise for the future by lowering total drag, emissions, fuel consumption, and noise levels. The aim of this study is to elucidate the influence of airfoil selection on the aerodynamic characteristics of the BWB, particularly focusing on the center body and outer wings. To achieve this objective, comparative analyses were conducted for four different Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) BWB designs, utilizing XFLR5 software and employing MH 60 and NACA 6412 airfoils. The maximum lift-drag ratio in the entire MH60 BWB design reached 26.98, while the implementation of the NACA 6412 airfoil on the outer wing led to a notable increase, resulting in a maximum lift-drag ratio of 31.83. This represents an impressive 18% enhancement in BWB’s overall aerodynamic efficiency. Furthermore, the combination of a reflex airfoil on the center body, coupled with a high-lift airfoil on the outer wings, emerged as the optimal configuration, yielding the best aerodynamic performance among the tested designs. The study’s findings have significant consequences for crafting future subsonic BWB aircraft with exceptional aerodynamic performance. This research adds valuable information to the ongoing development of advanced BWB designs by highlighting the importance of airfoil selection and configuration.