Distributed Electric Propulsion on a Joined-Wing Air-Taxi

dc.contributor.authorBrand, Darren Mark
dc.contributor.supervisorSchekman, S.
dc.date.accessioned2025-07-15T09:43:33Z
dc.date.issued2024
dc.descriptionA research report submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Science in Aeronautical Engineering, In the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment , School of Mechanical, Industrial and Aeronautical Engineering, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024
dc.description.abstractUrban Air Mobility (UAM) is a form of aerial transportation within urban areas with the main intention of easing traffic congestion. Electric Vertical Take-off and Landing (EVTOL) air-taxis are currently in development, but no single configuration has been identified as superior for UAM. There is still scope for alternate designs to be explored. A major obstacle to successful UAM operations is the combination of high energy requirements for VTOL and low battery energy densities, thereby affecting operational aircraft range. Aerodynamic efficiency has been identified as a critical factor for achieving maximum flight range while electric battery technology is matured. It is proposed that an air-taxi which combines Distributed Electric Propulsion (DEP) with a joined-wing may achieve superior aerodynamic efficiency compared to other air-taxi designs. A joined-wing air-taxi capable of carrying four passengers and a pilot has been developed with four alternative DEP configurations. These aircraft are herein investigated and compared against one another. A computational approach was followed using STAR- CCM+ to evaluate the flow characteristics and forces around the aircraft for both climb and cruise conditions. It was found that a “Non-DEP” configuration with four proprotors can achieve up to 5% higher aerodynamic efficiency than a DEP variant. However, this configuration suffers with poor lifting capability at high angles of attack. The sensitivity of aerodynamic efficiency to changes in the number of proprotors and their spacing was seen to be negligible according to this investigation.
dc.description.submitterMM2025
dc.facultyFaculty of Engineering and the Built Environment
dc.identifier0009-0008-0048-1859
dc.identifier.citationBrand, Darren Mark . (2024). Distributed Electric Propulsion on a Joined-Wing Air-Taxi [Master's dissertation, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg]. WIReDSpace. https://hdl.handle.net/10539/45453
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10539/45453
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherUniversity of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg
dc.rights© 2024 University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg.
dc.rights.holderUniversity of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg
dc.schoolSchool of Mechanical, Industrial and Aeronautical Engineering
dc.subjectUCTD
dc.subjectAir-Taxi
dc.subjectUAM
dc.subjectDEP
dc.subjectVTOL
dc.subjectJoined-Wing
dc.subject.primarysdgSDG-7: Affordable and clean energy
dc.subject.secondarysdgSDG-13: Climate action
dc.titleDistributed Electric Propulsion on a Joined-Wing Air-Taxi
dc.typeDissertation

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