06 Fakultät Luft- und Raumfahrttechnik und Geodäsie

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://elib.uni-stuttgart.de/handle/11682/7

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    In-flight lift and drag estimation of an unmanned propeller-driven aircraft
    (2021) Bergmann, Dominique Paul; Denzel, Jan; Pfeifle, Ole; Notter, Stefan; Fichter, Walter; Strohmayer, Andreas
    The high-power density and good scaling properties of electric motors enable new propulsion arrangements and aircraft configurations. This results in distributed propulsion systems allowing to make use of aerodynamic interaction effects between individual propellers and the wing of the aircraft, improving flight performance and thus reducing in-flight emissions. In order to systematically analyze these effects, an unmanned research platform was designed and built at the University of Stuttgart. As the aircraft is being used as a testbed for various flight performance studies in the field of distributed electric propulsion, a methodology for precise identification of its performance characteristics is required. One of the main challenges is the determination of the total drag of the aircraft to be able to identify an exact drag and lift polar in flight. For this purpose, an on-board measurement system was developed which allows for precise determination of the thrust of the aircraft which equals the total aerodynamic drag in steady, horizontal flight. The system has been tested and validated in flight using the unmanned free-flight test platform. The article provides an overview of the measuring system installed, discusses its functionality and shows results of the flight tests carried out.
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    Modification of a scaled flight demonstrator for the implementation and experimental investigation of an energy harvesting powertrain in distributed electric propulsion systems
    (2026) Kuhn, Achim; Nussbaumer, Eskil Jonas; Denzel, Jan; Bergmann, Dominique Paul; Strohmayer, Andreas
    Distributed electric propulsion (DEP) systems offer a wide range of options for arranging the propulsion units on an aircraft. In most cases, the position of the propulsion systems is optimized for one specific flight phase, e.g., takeoff or cruise. Taking advantage of the high lift potential of the DEP also during descent and approach phases represents a challenge due to increased thrust. Energy harvesting propellers (EHPs) can be used to adapt the resulting thrust, by generation an additional drag force while regenerating a certain amount of energy back into the system. Therefore, the scaled flight demonstrator (SFD) e-Genius-Mod was modified to implement an energy harvesting powertrain in a DEP system. The energy harvesting wingtip propellers are integrated in a pusher configuration. It is possible to investigate different operation modes for recuperation, such as Windmilling and Opposite Pitch, by adjusting different propeller pitch angles. The electronics used for the wingtip propellers (WTPs) enable the control and measurement of the recuperation performance and furthermore to charge recuperated energy back into the battery. The energy harvesting system was tested in a wind tunnel to verify its functionality. In Windmilling mode, the maximum mean electrical power output is −25.7 W. In Opposite Pitch mode, the values were significantly higher, with a maximum mean electrical power of −184 W. This corresponds to up to seven times as much regenerated power in Opposite Pitch mode.