Wind tunnel test of full-scale wing-propeller system of a eVTOL aircraft

Abstract

The present paper describes the results of an experimental wind tunnel test campaign aimed at investigating the aerodynamic performance and flow physics related to a wing section equipped with two propellers mounted on a boom. The configuration investigated is meant to be representative of a full-scale eVTOL aircraft in cruise flight condition. The use of full-scale components of an eVTOL aircraft made this setup a quite advanced experiment in the recent literature. Pressure measurements and an infrared thermography technique were used during the test campaign, respectively, to evaluate localised effects induced by the propeller blowing on the wing and to provide a quantitative evaluation of the amount of laminar flow on the wing surface with and without the influence of the propeller at different thrust conditions.