Previous Article in Journal
Active Rollover Prevention Mechanism and Landing Attitude Control for Vehicle AirDrop
 
 
Font Type:
Arial Georgia Verdana
Font Size:
Aa Aa Aa
Line Spacing:
Column Width:
Background:
This is an early access version, the complete PDF, HTML, and XML versions will be available soon.
Article

Numerical Validation of a Multi-Dimensional Similarity Law for Scaled STOVL Aircraft Models

by
Shengguan Xu
1,
Mingyu Li
1,
Xiance Wang
2,
Yanting Song
2,
Bingbing Tang
2,
Lianhe Zhang
2,
Shuai Yin
1,* and
Jianfeng Tan
1,*
1
School of Mechanical and Power Engineering, Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing 211816, China
2
Key Laboratory of Aviation Technology for Aerodynamics for Low Speed and High Reynolds Number, AVIC Aerodynamics Research Institute, Harbin 150001, China
*
Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Aerospace 2025, 12(10), 908; https://doi.org/10.3390/aerospace12100908 (registering DOI)
Submission received: 2 September 2025 / Revised: 4 October 2025 / Accepted: 7 October 2025 / Published: 9 October 2025
(This article belongs to the Section Air Traffic and Transportation)

Abstract

The complex jet-ground interactions of Short Take-off and Vertical Landing (STOVL) aircraft are critical to flight safety and performance, yet studying them with traditional full-scale wind tunnel tests is prohibitively expensive and time-consuming, hindering design optimization. This study addresses this challenge by developing and numerically verifying a “pressure ratio–momentum–geometry” multi-dimensional similarity framework, enabling accurate and efficient scaled-model analysis. Systematic simulations of an F-35B-like configuration demonstrate the framework’s high fidelity. For a representative curved nozzle configuration (e.g., the F-35B three-bearing swivel duct nozzle, 3BSD), across scale factors ranging from 1:1 to 1:15, the plume deflection angle remains stable at 12° ± 1°. Concurrently, axial force (F) and mass flow rate (Q) strictly follow the square scaling relationship (F ∝ 1/n2, Q ∝ 1/n2), with deviations from theory remaining below 0.15% and 0.58%, respectively, even at the 1:15 scale, confirming high-fidelity momentum similarity, particularly in the near-field flow direction. Second, a 1:13.25 scale aircraft model, constructed using Froude similarity principles, exhibits critical parameter agreement (intake total pressure and total temperature) of the prototype-including vertical axial force, lift fan mass flow, and intake total temperature—all less than 1.5%, while the critical intake total pressure error is only 2.2%. Fountain flow structures and ground temperature distributions show high consistency with the full-scale aircraft, validating the reliability of the proposed “pressure ratio–momentum–geometry” multi-dimensional similarity criterion. The framework developed herein has the potential to reduce wind tunnel testing costs and shorten development cycles, offering an efficient experimental strategy for STOVL aircraft research and development.
Keywords: STOVL aircraft; Multi-Dimensional Similarity Law; scaled model; numerical simulation; Jet-Ground Interference Effect STOVL aircraft; Multi-Dimensional Similarity Law; scaled model; numerical simulation; Jet-Ground Interference Effect

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Xu, S.; Li, M.; Wang, X.; Song, Y.; Tang, B.; Zhang, L.; Yin, S.; Tan, J. Numerical Validation of a Multi-Dimensional Similarity Law for Scaled STOVL Aircraft Models. Aerospace 2025, 12, 908. https://doi.org/10.3390/aerospace12100908

AMA Style

Xu S, Li M, Wang X, Song Y, Tang B, Zhang L, Yin S, Tan J. Numerical Validation of a Multi-Dimensional Similarity Law for Scaled STOVL Aircraft Models. Aerospace. 2025; 12(10):908. https://doi.org/10.3390/aerospace12100908

Chicago/Turabian Style

Xu, Shengguan, Mingyu Li, Xiance Wang, Yanting Song, Bingbing Tang, Lianhe Zhang, Shuai Yin, and Jianfeng Tan. 2025. "Numerical Validation of a Multi-Dimensional Similarity Law for Scaled STOVL Aircraft Models" Aerospace 12, no. 10: 908. https://doi.org/10.3390/aerospace12100908

APA Style

Xu, S., Li, M., Wang, X., Song, Y., Tang, B., Zhang, L., Yin, S., & Tan, J. (2025). Numerical Validation of a Multi-Dimensional Similarity Law for Scaled STOVL Aircraft Models. Aerospace, 12(10), 908. https://doi.org/10.3390/aerospace12100908

Note that from the first issue of 2016, this journal uses article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.

Article Metrics

Back to TopTop