Executive Summary

Conceptual design study for an ultra-efficient blended-wing-body (BWB) commercial transport focused on configuration trades, propulsion-airframe integration, and performance-driven sizing. The goal was to build a defensible concept using low-fidelity tools and structured aircraft-design methods, then document the engineering logic behind the final layout.

Design Objectives

• Efficiency-first configuration: maximize cruise L/D through reduced wetted area per payload and favorable lift distribution.
• Integration-focused propulsion: explore aft upper-surface installation concepts compatible with modern high-bypass turbofans and BWB packaging constraints.
• Gate/operations realism: incorporate practical constraints like airport compatibility and system-level integration.

Methods & Tools

• Geometry & packaging: OpenVSP for configuration definition and iteration.
• Stability & trimming logic: AVL / low-fidelity aero models to evaluate static margin and control authority trends.
• Performance sizing: constraint-style sizing and drag build-up methods to connect geometry to cruise and mission-level implications.

Key Engineering Decisions

• Cabin architecture trade: wide BWB internal volume used to explore multi-aisle seating layouts while keeping a coherent pressure vessel concept.
• Propulsion placement rationale: aft upper-surface installation studied for packaging, aero/structural integration, and shielding considerations.
• Wingtip folding concept: explored as a practical mechanism to reconcile cruise efficiency with airport gate constraints.

Technical Specifications

Executive Summary

Structural sizing and comparison study for a thin-walled wingbox (single-cell) under representative aerodynamic and inertial loading. The report evaluates stress flow behavior, bending/shear response, and weight tradeoffs between an aluminum baseline and a composite alternative.

Problem Framing

• Objective: produce a wingbox sizing workflow that is fast, auditable, and grounded in classical thin-walled theory.
• Inputs: distributed loads, section geometry, and material allowables.
• Outputs: shear flow, bending stress, margins, and mass comparison.

Methods & Tools

• Classical structures: thin-walled beam theory, shear flow, and load-path interpretation.
• Implementation: MATLAB scripts for repeatability and rapid iteration.
• Trade logic: mass vs margin, stiffness implications, and manufacturability considerations.

Key Results

• Material trade: Carbon/Epoxy concept achieved substantial mass savings relative to the aluminum baseline while meeting strength requirements under the analyzed cases.
• Load-path insight: documented how geometry and material stiffness shift where the structure “wants” to carry load.

Executive Summary

Experimental investigation of the aerodynamic characteristics of a Clark Y-14 airfoil in a low-speed, incompressible wind tunnel environment. The primary objective was to determine lift, drag, and pitching moment characteristics across a range of freestream velocities and angles of attack, including pre-stall and post-stall behavior.

Objectives & Problem Framing

• Evaluate aerodynamic performance under subsonic conditions while maintaining precise control over freestream properties.
• Compare independent aerodynamic measurement techniques for cross-validation.
• Perform rigorous uncertainty analysis and wind tunnel calibration.

Methods & Tools

• Wind Tunnel Calibration: Established the relationship between percent fan power input and freestream velocity using Pitot-static measurements and Bernoulli's equation.
• Pressure Integration: Obtained surface pressure distributions through pressure taps distributed along the chord, allowing aerodynamic force and moment coefficients to be computed through numerical integration.
• Sting Balance: Directly measured axial force, normal force, and pitching moment using a strain-gage sting balance.
• Wake Survey: Employed the wake-survey method to estimate drag through downstream momentum deficit analysis.

Key Takeaways & Conclusions

• Method Consistency: Comparison between pressure-integration, wake-survey, and direct sting-balance measurements provided internal validation of the experimental methods.
• Aerodynamic Behavior: Demonstrated the linear increase of lift coefficient with angle of attack in pre-stall conditions, which is consistent with thin airfoil theory. Increasing the airspeed over the airfoils delayed the angle of attack at which maximum lift occurred and also delayed stall conditions.
• Incompressible Flow Validation: Confirmed that the pressure coefficient distribution is largely independent of freestream velocity when properly nondimensionalized, which is consistent with incompressible flow theory.