Numerical investigation of the rotor-rotor aerodynamic interaction of eVTOL configurations by a mid-fidelity approach

Abstract

The rotor-rotor aerodynamic interaction is one of the characteristic phenomena that influence both flow physics and performance of most of the new electric vehicles for urban air mobility (eVTOLs) widely investigated in recent years. The present article describes a numerical activity aimed to the systematic study of the rotor-rotor aerodynamic interaction with application to eVTOLs cruise flight condition. The activity considers numerical simulations performed with DUST, a novel mid-fidelity aerodynamic solver based on vortex particle method. In particular, the test case considered consists of two propellers both in side-by-side and tandem configuration. Simulations results highlighted quantitatively the loss of propellers performance by varying separations distance between them and provided a detailed insight about flow physics involved in such aerodynamic interactions.