Prediction of Maximum Lift Coefficient of Box-Wing Aircraft through the Combination of an Analytical Adaptation of the DATCOM Method and Vortex-Lattice Simulations
Publication: Journal of Aerospace Engineering
Volume 35, Issue 3
Abstract
The present paper concerns the introduction of a mixed analytical-numerical method for the estimation of the maximum lift coefficient of box-wing aircraft in unflapped configuration. The analytical aspect is related to the adaptation of the method included in the United States Air Force (USAF) Stability and Control Data Compendium (DATCOM) by means of an approach built on the characteristics of the optimal lift distribution of the box-wing and implemented through simplifying assumptions. Since the formulation depends on parameters of the considered aircraft, numerical simulations are performed through a vortex-lattice method to complete the input data set. The method is first presented and then validated for the case of the 2-seater amphibious PrandtlPlane (PrP) and is then applied to two test cases: a 300 passenger midrange PrandtlPlane and a regional hybrid-electric PrandtlPlane. Results are presented and discussed, and the links between the proposed method and relevant parameters of the box-wing design, such as taper ratios and wing loading repartition among the two wings is analyzed.
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Data Availability Statement
Some or all data, models, or code that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Acknowledgments
This work was supported by the European Union Horizon 2020 Program within the research project PARSIFAL (Grant Agreement No.723149) and by the Italian Ministry of Education, University and Research within the research project PROSIB (Grant No. ARS01_00297). Data adopted for the method validation have been achieved within the research project IDINTOS, funded by the Regional Government of Tuscany in 2011.
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Published In
Journal of Aerospace Engineering
Volume 35 • Issue 3 • May 2022
Copyright
© 2022 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jul 14, 2021
Accepted: Dec 16, 2021
Published online: Mar 10, 2022
Published in print: May 1, 2022
Discussion open until: Aug 10, 2022
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