Conceptual and Preliminary Design of Battery-Electric eVTOL - Multirotor System and Safety Considerations

Kurzfassung

Urban Air Mobility (UAM) poses significant challenges for eVTOL design, particularly for multirotor configurations, where the rotors serve as both propulsion and flight control system elements. This presentation outlines a structured approach from the conceptual phase to preliminary design, focusing on battery-electric multirotor UAM vehicles. Initially, various propulsion concepts including fuel-cell, hybrid-electric, and conventional systems were evaluated for their impact on mass, range, mission feasibility, and system complexity. The analysis identified a battery-electric system as the most viable near-term solution. Based on this concept, safety considerations guided the design of the multirotor system architecture and the sizing of key components, including motors, energy storage, and redundancy strategies. Dynamic and thermal simulations were conducted to evaluate system behavior under realistic operational conditions, providing insights into performance, robustness, and certification-relevant design decisions. The development of a complete overall system architecture including avionics and later lifecycle phases such as manufacturing, operations, and maintenance remains largely open. Selected capabilities and research infrastructures at DLR are highlighted as potential enablers for applied research and further technology development in the context of Urban Air Mobility.