A Joint DLR-ONERA Contribution to CFD-based Investigations of Unconventional Empennages for Future Civil Transport Aircraft

Abstract

The introduction of innovative empennage configurations on transonic transport aircraft may potentially improve their aerodynamic performance due to a reduction of the wetted surface and a corresponding decrease in drag. This paper describes the CFD analysis performed at DLR and ONERA in the context of the European research project NEFA to investigate some key aerodynamics features related to alternative tail configurations. Emphasis is placed on the aerodynamic performance at cruise flight conditions of three tail variants of an otherwise identical aircraft: a conventional tail, a U-tail and a V-tail empennage. The results obtained confirm the potential aerodynamic benefits of the V-tail configuration and show that the U-tail has about the same performance as the conventional tail.