Distributed Electric Propulsion enabled UAM Aircraft Design Tool (DEPU-T)

Urban Air Mobility (UAM) concepts are flooding the market in anticipation of huge demand in the near future. Most of the concepts for UAM aircraft focus on VTOL/VSTOL configurations with Distributed Electric Propulsion (DEP). However, the multidisciplinary interactions involved and the ability to utilize the distributed propulsors for improved control are not fully understood. Moreover, noise considerations which are critical for UAM acceptance, are often neglected during design. To achieve this and use such capabilities in design, we are developing DEPU-T, a design optimization architecture that includes multidisciplinary multi-fidelity analyses for integrated airframe-DEP design. This technology, if successful, can push the state of the art in UAM aircraft concept design and DEP enabled aircraft in general. These concepts are equally relevant for the Air Force, where new aircraft designs using multi-propulsor configurations can benefit from improved aerodynamics, controls and noise signatures.