VTOL Rotor Layout With Tilting and Fixed Rotors for Safer Transition
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing VTOL fixed-wing aircraft configurations struggle to balance flight performance, safety, reliability, and technical difficulty, with current partial thrust vectoring configurations failing to simultaneously provide the benefits of both helicopter and fixed-wing aircraft capabilities.
Innovation Solution
A VTOL aircraft design featuring 2N tilting rotors and 2N fixed rotors symmetrically arranged about the center of gravity, with tilting rotors positioned on inner sides and fixed rotors on outer sides, combined with a control method that includes tilting and thrust ratio adjustments for transitions between vertical take-off and landing and level flight.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If Lift+Cruise configuration is used, then vertical take-off and landing capability is achieved, but power unit weight increases and cruise flight drag increases
Solution Approach 1:
The aircraft divides propulsion functions into separate components: tilting rotors for vertical take-off and landing, and fixed rotors for cruise flight. This segmentation allows each rotor type to be optimized for its specific function, reducing the need for heavy universal power units that can perform both functions.
Solution Approach 2:
The tilting rotors can dynamically change their orientation angle between vertical (for take-off/landing) and horizontal (for cruise). This dynamic adjustment allows the same rotor to serve different functions, reducing the need for separate heavy power units for each flight mode.
2Adaptability or versatility
If Lift+Cruise configuration is used, then vertical take-off and landing capability is achieved, but cruise flight drag increases
Solution Approach 1:
The propulsion system is segmented into tilting rotors and fixed rotors, allowing the fixed rotors to be positioned optimally for cruise flight without the drag penalties associated with lifting propellers in the Lift+Cruise configuration.
Solution Approach 2:
The tilting rotors can tilt forward during cruise flight to reduce drag, while the fixed rotors maintain optimal positioning for efficient forward propulsion, thereby reducing overall cruise flight drag.
3Adaptability or versatility
If full thrust vectoring configuration is used, then vertical take-off and landing capability is achieved, but mechanical structure complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The aircraft divides the rotor system into tilting rotors for thrust vectoring and fixed rotors for stable propulsion. This segmentation reduces the mechanical complexity compared to full thrust vectoring where all rotors would need complex vectoring mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of implementing full thrust vectoring on all rotors, the invention applies thrust vectoring only to the tilting rotors, which is sufficient to achieve vertical take-off and landing capability while maintaining simpler mechanical structures.
4Adaptability or versatility
If full thrust vectoring configuration is used, then vertical take-off and landing capability is achieved, but flight safety decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The separation of tilting rotors and fixed rotors creates functional redundancy and simplifies the control system. The fixed rotors provide stable, predictable propulsion while the tilting rotors handle thrust vectoring, improving overall flight safety compared to the complex interactions in full thrust vectoring systems.
Solution Approach 2:
By using partial thrust vectoring with only the tilting rotors, the system achieves the necessary vertical take-off and landing capability while avoiding the safety issues and complex control requirements associated with full thrust vectoring of all rotors.
5Adaptability or versatility
If partial thrust vectoring configuration is used, then some advantages are combined, but optimal balance of flight performance and safety cannot be achieved
Solution Approach 1:
The aircraft divides the rotor system into tilting rotors and fixed rotors with specific functional assignments. The tilting rotors (2N rotors) provide thrust vectoring for vertical operations, while the fixed rotors (2N rotors) provide stable propulsion, achieving an optimal balance that previous partial thrust vectoring configurations未能 to realize.
Solution Approach 2:
The asymmetric arrangement of tilting rotors on inner sides and fixed rotors on outer sides creates optimal aerodynamic and control characteristics, achieving better flight performance and safety balance compared to symmetric or other asymmetric configurations.
Data Source
AI summary
A vertical take-off and landing aircraft includes a fuselage, 2N tilting rotors, and 2N fixed rotors. Wings of a fixed-wing structure are arranged on two sides of the fuselage. An empennage is arranged at a tail of the fuselage. The 2N tilting rotors are symmetrically installed on two sides of the fuselage and located on the front and rear sides of the wings respectively. The 2N fixed rotors are symmetrically installed on the wings on both sides of the fuselage, located on the front and rear sides of the wings respectively and on the outer sides of the tilting rotors. N is a natural number greater than or equal to 2. In a vertical take-off and landing configuration, projections of all the tilting rotors and all the fixed rotors on a horizontal plane are approximately centrally symmetrical about the center of gravity of the aircraft.