Perpustakaan Digital ITB

The growing interest in environmentally sustainable and energy-efficient aircraft has driven the development of Distributed Electric Propulsion (DEP), which offer new opportunities for an aircraft aerodynamic performance enhancement. By distributing multiple electric propulsors along the upper leading edge of a wing, DEP accelerates the airflow over the upper surface of a wing, causing a decrease in local static pressure and consequently increasing the pressure differential across the wing, which enhances lift generation. Thus, DEP allows an improved aerodynamic characteristics especially at low-speed conditions. However, the complex flow phenomena arising from aerodynamic interaction between the propulsion and wing pose a significant challenge for accurate aerodynamic predictions. This study numerically investigated the aerodynamic characteristics of a wing equipped with ducted fans to evaluate the distributed electric propulsion system using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). Numerical simulations were performed to analyze the effects of propulsor-induced slipstream on the wing flow field, pressure distribution, and lift performance. The numerical results show that the presence of distributed ducted fans positioned ahead of the leading edge significantly modifying the local aerodynamic environment of the wing, leading to low-pressure region over the upper wing surface and enhanced lift generation in the slipstream region. This study highlights the influence of ducted fan spanwise and vertical propulsor arrangement with similar operating conditions on wing aerodynamic performance and provides insight into the fundamental mechanisms responsible for the slipstream-induced lift in DEP configurations.