What is a Tiltrotor? A Fundamental Reexamination of the Tiltrotor Aircraft Design Space

Young, Larry A

关键词: TILT ROTOR AIRCRAFT;    AIRCRAFT DESIGN;    PILOTLESS AIRCRAFT;    WING NACELLE CONFIGURATIONS;    HOVERING;    ELECTRIC PROPULSION;    HYBRID PROPULSION;    THRUST;    WING TIPS;    V-22 AIRCRAFT;    HELICOPTERS;    COMPUTATIONAL FLUID DYNAMICS;    GRAPHS (CHARTS);   

RP-ID  :  ARC-E-DAA-TN50738

学科分类：航空航天科学

美国|英语

来源: NASA Technical Reports Server

【 摘 要 】

The objective of this work is to fundamentally reexamine the design space of tiltrotor aircraft beyond the very successful conventional vehicle configuration with tractor-type twin proprotors that are nacelle-mounted at the wing tips. Previously proposed alternate tiltrotor configurations include the Bell quad-tiltrotor and the Augusta Westland ERICA hybrid tiltrotor/tiltwing concepts. More recently, arguably alternate tiltrotor configurations include the NASA Langley "Puffin" and the Joby Aviation S-2 concepts. This work seeks to define a broad aircraft design space for alternate tiltrotor configurations. Being doing so, it is hoped this work will not only provide design inspiration for future aircraft developers but to also help realize new applications and missions for both passenger-carrying vehicles and vertical lift UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) might one day be successfully enabled.