Personal Aircraft with Shrouded Rotor Redundancy
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current VTOL aircraft, such as helicopters, are mechanically complex, require frequent maintenance, and have large, unprotected rotors that are prone to damage and noise, with complex systems that decrease payload potential and safety due to single points of failure.
Innovation Solution
A personal aircraft design featuring multiple independently controlled vertical lift rotors located along the fuselage, tandem wings for lift and control during cruise, and forward propellers for thrust, with rotors embedded in ducts or shrouds for protection and low drag, allowing for redundant thrust and control, compact folding for storage, and low noise operation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Force
If helicopter rotors are made large to provide sufficient vertical and horizontal thrust, then thrust capability is improved, but the rotors become unprotected and prone to hitting obstacles
Solution Approach 1:
The rotor blades are nested within a protective shroud structure that extends around the rotor hub. The shroud creates a protective enclosure while allowing the rotor to maintain its full span and thrust-generating capability. This nested configuration protects the rotor from obstacles while preserving its aerodynamic performance.
Solution Approach 2:
A protective shroud acts as an intermediary structure between the rotor and external obstacles. The shroud intercepts potential collisions before they reach the rotor blades, providing protection without interfering with the rotor's thrust generation function.
2Ease of operation
If complex mechanical systems are used to control collective and cyclic blade angles, then flight control capability is improved, but device complexity and maintenance requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The control system is segmented into multiple independent actuators, each controlling a specific rotor's thrust magnitude and direction. This modular approach replaces the complex interconnected mechanical systems of traditional helicopters with simpler, independent control units that can be managed separately.
Solution Approach 2:
Traditional mechanical linkages, cables, and hydraulic systems for controlling blade angles are replaced with electric actuators and electronic control systems. This substitution reduces mechanical complexity while maintaining or improving control precision and responsiveness.
3Object-generated harmful factors
If low rotor rotation speed is used to reduce noise, then community noise levels are reduced, but transmission weight increases due to heavy gearboxes
Solution Approach 1:
Mechanical transmission systems with heavy gearboxes are replaced with direct-drive electric motor configurations. The electric motors operate at optimal speeds for noise reduction without requiring speed-reducing gearboxes, thereby eliminating the weight penalty associated with mechanical transmissions.
4Measurement precision
If mechanically complex systems with single points of failure are used, then control precision is improved, but safety and redundancy are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The control system is divided into multiple independent channels, each controlling individual rotors. This segmentation ensures that a failure in one control channel does not affect the others, providing inherent redundancy while maintaining precise control through electronic feedback systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The system incorporates redundant actuators and control channels that can compensate for failures before they compromise safety. The electronic control system continuously monitors and can redistribute control authority to maintain stable operation even when individual components fail.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The design provides a safe, efficient, and quiet VTOL aircraft with enhanced control and redundancy, reducing maintenance needs, increasing payload capacity, and minimizing noise and drag, while maintaining vertical and horizontal flight capabilities.
Implementation Method 1
The rotors are located longitudinally along the port and starboard sides of the fuselage, with two or more rotors located on each side... provide vertical thrust for lift and control
Implementation Method 2
The aircraft has tandem wings at the front and rear of the vehicle with a combined center of lift near the center of gravity (CG) of the aircraft. The wings provide lift and control during cruise
Implementation Method 3
The wings provide lift and control during cruise, with one or more aft-located propellers to provide forward thrust
Data Source
AI summary
A safe, quiet, easy to control, efficient, and compact aircraft configuration is enabled through the combination of multiple vertical lift rotors, tandem wings, and forward thrust propellers. The vertical lift rotors, in combination with a front and rear wing, permits a balancing of the center of lift with the center of gravity for both vertical and horizontal flight. This wing and multiple rotor system has the ability to tolerate a relatively large variation of the payload weight for hover, transition, or cruise flight while also providing vertical thrust redundancy. The propulsion system uses multiple lift rotors and forward thrust propellers of a small enough size to be shielded from potential blade strike and provide increased perceived and real safety to the passengers. Using multiple independent rotors provides redundancy and the elimination of single point failure modes that can make the vehicle non-operable in flight.