Abstract

The present study aimed at assessing a novel annular-ducted fan lift system for VTOL aircraft through computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations. The power and lift efficiency of the lift fan system in hover mode, the lift and drag in transition mode, the drag and flight speed of the aircraft in cruise mode and the pneumatic coupling of the tip turbine and jet exhaust were studied. The results show that the annular-ducted fan lift system can have higher lift efficiency compared to the rotor of the Apache helicopter; the smooth transition from vertical takeoff to cruise flight needs some extra forward thrust to overcome a low peak of drag; the aircraft with the lift fan system enclosed during cruise flight theoretically may fly faster than helicopters and tiltrotors based on aerodynamic drag prediction, due to the elimination of rotor drag and compressibility effects on the rotor blade tips; and pneumatic coupling of the tip turbine and jet exhaust of a 300 m/s velocity can provide enough moment to spin the lift fan. The CFD results provide insight for future experimental study of the annular-ducted lift fan VTOL aircraft. View Full-Text