An Assessment of a Regional Turboprop Featuring Wingtip-Mounted Propellers

An Assessment of a Regional Turboprop Featuring Wingtip-Mounted Propellers: Design Integration Coupling Propeller-Wing Aerodynamics and Structural Wing Weight

van der Leer, Quinty (TU Delft Aerospace Engineering)

Hoogreef, M.F.M. (mentor)
Lopes Dos Santos, B.F. (graduation committee)
Veldhuis, L.L.M. (graduation committee)

Delft University of Technology

Aerospace Engineering

2021-01-29

The current focus in the aviation industry for more sustainable designs, could mean the revive of propeller propulsion, due to their relative high propulsion efficiency compared to jets. In addition, the application of wingtip-mounted propellers installed in tractor configuration can be used as tip-vortex attenuating devices, reducing the wing induced drag. The wingtip-mounted propeller configuration is believed to offer a significant aircraft performance benefit from an aerodynamic perspective. So far, studies on wingtip-mounted propellers mainly concentrated on the aerodynamic interaction effects, disregarding the integration with the airframe and wing-structural mass. This thesis presents a methodology to integrate aerodynamic, aero-propulsive, and aero-structural effects of tip-mounted propellers in the context of a typical turboprop featuring hybrid-electric propulsion. The developed methodology is used to assess the effect of wingtip-mounted propellers on both wing and aircraft level, providing new insights in the potential of the configuration.

Aircraft Performance
Tip-vortex
Wingtip-mounted propellers
Aircraft Design Initiator
Aero-propulsive effects
Turboprop
Weight Estimation

http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:e7716595-6a4e-4712-a406-9a6a480707c5

Student theses

master thesis

© 2021 Quinty van der Leer