CFD analysis of wing-propeller interaction on the NASA X-57 Maxwell aircraft wing

Abstract

Due to global warming concerns, the Aviation industry is trying to reduce its carbon footprint. Electric propulsion (EP) is one way of doing this, where the power is obtained from electrical sources. The concept of distributed electric propulsion (DEP) is in the focus now. NASA’s X-57 Maxwell, a high winged, all-electric experimental aircraft, uses this concept. The present work aims at developing a CFD model (ANSYS Fluent) to evaluate aerodynamic performance of two configurations of NASA’s X-57 aircraft wing; (i) wing and nacelle (clean wing) and (ii) wing, nacelle and one electric propeller under cruise condition; and compare it with the results of wind tunnel experiment performed by NASA/Armstrong X-57 research program. Parameters like lift, drag and pressure coefficients (CL, CD, CP) are compared for both cases. A good match is observed for CL, CD and CP, thus validating the model. The unsteady RANS solver is very efficient in capturing the effects of propeller slipstream on the wing. After validation, this model is further used to simulate aerodynamic performance of a wing with multi-propeller (DEP) configuration.