Design and sizing eVTOL aircraft (theoretical portion)

• Main Author: Koh, Andy Jun Hoong
• Other Authors: James Wang Ming
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: Nanyang Technological University 2022
• Subjects: Engineering::Aeronautical engineering
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/159254
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

The emergence of the electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing (eVTOL) industry has presented a potential solution to the worsening problem of traffic congestion. However, majority of fixed-wing eVTOL aircraft are still in their preliminary design stages. There is a need to have a simplified tool to rapidly evaluate these different conceptual eVTOL configurations with limited inputs. This report introduces the EVTOL Performance Analysis Tool, known as ePERF. ePERF is a MATLAB-based analysis developed specifically for evaluating the performance of various fixed-wing eVTOL configurations in their preliminary design phases. A detailed documentation of the methodology behind the three main modules in ePERF has been provided. They include a rotary wing module based on momentum theory, a drag estimation module for forward flight based on component level drag build-up method, and an energy module for range calculation. ePERF was first successfully validated against the performance data of two top viable eVTOLs in the market. It was then used to evaluate three different example eVTOL configurations: lift + cruise, tiltrotor, and fixed lift + tiltrotor. The results show that the tiltrotor configuration, which had the lowest weight, had the best performance. It was concluded that reducing eVTOL weight is the key factor in improving performance.