VTOL Aircraft Rotor Layout for Stable Transition and Fault Tolerance
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vertical take-off and landing fixed-wing aircraft configurations struggle to balance flight performance, safety, reliability, and mechanical complexity, with the Lift+Cruise configuration having high propulsion system weight and drag, all-tiltrotor configurations being complex and unsafe, and partial-tiltrotor configurations failing to integrate advantages effectively.
Innovation Solution
A vertical take-off and landing aircraft with a unique two-sided symmetrical configuration featuring four tilting rotors and four fixed rotors, positioned and angled symmetrically about the aircraft's center of gravity, with tilting rotors on the inner side of the fixed rotors, and a control method that includes transition processes and emergency response strategies.
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 propulsion system weight increases and drag increases during horizontal flight
Solution Approach 1:
The propulsion system is segmented into two distinct sets of rotors: tilting rotors for vertical take-off and landing, and fixed rotors for horizontal flight. This segmentation allows each rotor type to be optimized for its specific function, reducing the overall propulsion system weight compared to a unified system that must handle both modes.
Solution Approach 2:
The tilting rotors are designed to dynamically change their orientation angle between vertical (for hover) and horizontal (for forward flight). This dynamic adjustment allows the same rotor to serve dual purposes, reducing the need for additional propulsion components and thereby reducing overall system weight.
2Adaptability or versatility
If Lift+Cruise configuration is used, then vertical take-off and landing capability is achieved, but drag increases during horizontal flight
Solution Approach 1:
By separating the rotor functions into tilting rotors (for vertical flight) and fixed rotors (for horizontal flight), the system eliminates the drag penalty associated with lift propellers during horizontal flight. The fixed rotors are optimized for efficient forward flight with minimal drag.
Solution Approach 2:
The tilting rotors dynamically adjust their angle to align with the flight direction. During horizontal flight, they tilt forward to reduce drag, while during vertical flight, they rotate to a vertical position to generate lift. This dynamic positioning minimizes harmful drag effects.
3Adaptability or versatility
If all-tiltrotor configuration is used, then vertical take-off and landing capability is achieved, but mechanical structure complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the rotor functions so that only four rotors (two tilting, two fixed) need to perform mode transitions, rather than all rotors. This reduces the overall mechanical complexity compared to an all-tiltrotor configuration where every rotor requires complex tilting mechanisms.
4Adaptability or versatility
If partial-tiltrotor configuration is used, then some advantages are integrated, but cannot achieve optimal balance of both configurations simultaneously
Solution Approach 1:
The invention merges the advantages of both Lift+Cruise and partial-tiltrotor configurations by combining tilting rotors (for vertical flight capability) with fixed rotors (for efficient horizontal flight). This hybrid merging achieves optimal balance in both vertical take-off performance and horizontal flight efficiency simultaneously.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2~3
Figure 4~5
AI summary
A vertical take-off and landing aircraft and a control method for a vertical take-off and landing aircraft. The vertical take-off and landing aircraft includes a fuselage (10), four tilting rotors and four fixed rotors. Wings (20) are symmetrically provided at both sides of the fuselage (10); four tilting rotors are respectively installed at the front and rear sides of the wings (20) on both sides, and are pairwise correspondence and symmetrical about the longitudinal symmetry plane (11) of the fuselage (10). A spacing of the tilting rotors at the front side of the wing (20) is A, a spacing of the tilting rotors at the rear side of the wing (20) is B, and a deviation between A and B is less than or equal to 0.2*(A+B)/2. Four fixed rotors are respectively provided at outer sides of the tilting rotors at both sides of the fuselage, and provided at the front sides and the rear sides of the wings (20), and are pairwise correspondence and symmetrical about the longitudinal symmetry plane (11). A spacing between two fixed rotors at the front sides of the wings (20) is C, a spacing between two fixed rotors on the rear sides of the wings (20) is D, and a deviation between C and D is less than or equal to 0.05*(C+D)/2.