Optimizing Distributed Electric Aero-Propulsion Integration for a Novel Canard Aircraft Design

An optimized configuration of electrically powered propellers, modelled as actuator disks, for a novel canard aircraft design has been found using numerical methods by determining the improvement in aerodynamic characteristics of the aircraft for varying angles of attack. The aircraft was placed in a freestream, and its aerodynamic effects for various propeller configurations were noted. Four propeller configurations, namely, pushers, tractors, tractors with a tail rotor, and tractors with tail and tip rotors have been studied. It has been observed that the use of tractors with a tail rotor provides the highest increase in the lifting capacity of the aircraft for positive angles of attack, while the tractors-only configuration has the highest lift-to-drag ratio when placed at a vertical offset to the lifting surface.