A CFD Based Method to Model Aerodynamic Interactions in Complex eVTOL Configurations for Realtime and Medium Fidelity Simulation

Abstract

A method is presented that captures complex interactional aerodynamics between various aerodynamic components of eVTOL or other aircraft configurations. The fluid around the aircraft is modeled as a free Euler flow, where various aircraft components are acting as distributed force density sources within that flow. The method supports reconfigurable aircraft configurations without changes to the underlying mesh. The formulation allows for realtime simulation that can be used directly in conceptual design to evaluate controllability, accelerate controls development, and support system simulations. In non realtime simulations it can be used as a medium fidelity tool to capture interactional aerodynamic effects in more comprehensive aircraft simulations.