Analysis of Taxi Test Data for an Unmanned Aerial VehicleImplemented with Fluidic Flow Control

Abstract

Serpentine inlet ducts are utilized in many aircraft where the inlet capture area is located off the thrust line or there is a desire to conceal the engine compressor face. Due to the curvature that characterizes a compact serpentine duct, issues with flow distortion and total pressure loss at the engine face arise leading to reduction in propulsion system performance. Computational analysis has shown that flow control implementing micro-fluidic vortex generators significantly reduces the losses. Previous work at North Carolina State University has demonstrated the benefits of a fluidic flow control of this type in a highly compact serpentine inlet duct through the design and experimental static testing of a propulsion system for an uninhabited aerial vehicle. With the implementation of flow control, engine face distortion was reduced and propulsion system performance was increased. This work continues the investigation of the effectiveness of the fluidic flow control by examining the performance of the system during dynamic situations through high speed taxi testing of an uninhabited aerial vehicle implemented with this technology. Additionally, the collected data was used to compare calculated takeoff parameters to values calculated using standard takeoff analysis.