Integrated flow control and power management for vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft

新的解决方案，如飞行出租车，被提出作为一种手段，以解决城市内和城市间的交通拥堵，通常使用垂直起降（VTOL）飞机配置。这种飞行器配置提出了独特的飞行控制和空气动力学挑战，特别是在从悬停到水平飞行的过渡阶段。为了实现平滑过渡和避免气动失速，需要推进与飞行控制的智能耦合。本项目研究使用主动气流控制，以确保垂直起落飞机在从直升机到飞机模式（和返回）的过渡过程中的正确操作性，同时利用最小的能量。拟议的研究将进一步了解在VTOL过渡期间主动流动控制在缓解失速方面的物理效果，以及利用这种流动控制技术来管理飞机整体可操作性和效率的综合飞行控制和推进律的新设计。更具体地，流体喷射主动流动控制（AFC）已经在实验上应用于减轻在高攻角（翼型本身与迎面而来的气流之间的角度）下翼型的流动分离，并且因此增加翼型失速的角度。然而，存在有限的例子，这是通过闭环反馈控制，此外，没有验证飞行缩放模型。此外，在螺旋桨尾流的影响下，应用于机翼的流体喷射AFC的有效性的风洞测试目前还没有完成。该项目有三个主要目标：1。通过一系列精心控制的风洞实验，研究开环和闭环流体流动控制的使用; 2。设计一种反馈控制方法，将经典的飞行操纵面与主动流动控制相结合，并将其应用于倾转翼飞机模型。3.在缩比的倾转翼验证机上，在悬停、巡航，特别是从垂直飞行过渡到水平飞行的整个过程中，证明这种组合进场的有效性。这种系统的设计、实施和演示将拓宽倾转翼飞机的设计空间，并将有助于在新兴的城市空中交通市场中最大限度地减少能源使用和最大限度地提高乘客舒适度。该项目属于EPSRC的控制工程和流体动力学研究领域的福尔斯。

Novel solutions, such as flying air taxis, are being proposed as a means to resolve intra-city and inter-city travel congestion using, often, vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft configurations. Such vehicle configurations present unique flight control and aerodynamic challenges particularly during transition phase from hovering to horizontal flight. To achieve smooth transition and avoid aerodynamic stall requires smart coupling of propulsion with flight controls. This project investigates using active flow control to ensure correct operability of VTOL aircraft during transition from helicopter to airplane mode (and back), all whilst utilising minimum energy. The proposed research will develop further knowledge in the physics of the effects of active flow control in alleviating stall during VTOL transition, as well as novel design of integrated flight control and propulsion laws that utilise such flow control techniques to manage overall operability and efficiency of the aircraft. More specifically, fluid injection active flow control (AFC) has been applied experimentally to mitigate flow separation of an aerofoil at a high angle of attack (the angle between the aerofoil itself and the oncoming airflow) and to thus increase the angle at which the aerofoil stalls. However, there exists limited examples of this being controlled through closed-loop feedback and, additionally, no validation on a flying scaled model. Further, wind tunnel testing of the effectiveness of fluid injection AFC applied to a wing under the effects of a propeller's wake has not presently been done. This project has three primary objectives: 1. Investigate the use of open-loop and closed-loop fluidic flow control through a series of carefully controlled wind tunnel experiments; 2. Design a feedback control methodology that combines the use of classical flight control surfaces with active flow control and apply it to a tiltwing aircraft model. 3. Demonstrate the validity of such a combined approach on scaled tiltwing demonstrator aircraft throughout hover, cruise, and, particularly, transition from vertical to horizontal flight. The design, implementation, and demonstration of such a system would widen a design space for tiltwing aircraft and would contribute towards minimising energy use and maximising passenger comfort in emerging Urban Air Mobility markets. This project falls within the EPSRC's control engineering and fluid dynamics research areas.