Greener Aviation with Advanced Propulsion Systems (GAAPS)

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A number of novel aircraft configurations is likely to be developed in the next decade. These new aircraft will rely almost exclusively on advanced propellers, because they address flight conditions that are not viable with conventional gas turbine engines. First, there are issues of scaling, as the new vehicles target sub-scale (unmanned) to full scale (manned transport). Second, there are opportunities with hybrid or fully electric propulsions, which scale well at the low power outputs, but require variable-speed propellers. Propellers currently used in aviation operate at constant rpm and are fully reversible. The new propellers addressed in this research operate over a wide range of rpm and are mostly non-reversible (fixed-pitch). Thus, the strategic aims of the proposal is to build understanding of these new propeller systems, to create a database of experimental data that do not depend on a specific flight platform and can be used for further development in the industry. The proposal targets a mix of design, simulation models, advanced manufacturing, wind tunnel testing, open-air flight testing, and builds on several years of experience with rotary-wing systems.