Abstract:

In this study a simplified aerodynamic model applicable to various electric vertical take-off and landing （eVTOL） configurations is established and the improved delayed detached-eddy simulation method is used to numerically simulate the aerodynamic characteristics of different eVTOL configurations during typical flight phases， including take-off， landing， cruise， and climb. The results show that the lift-to-drag ratio of the lift-and-cruise configuration during take-off is approximately one-third that of the multi-rotor configuration， while the two are comparable during landing. During the cruise phase， the lift-to-drag ratio of the lift-and-cruise configuration is 20.52% lower than that of the fixed-wing configuration， and 17.14% lower during the climb phase. Overall， the lift-and-cruise configuration is inferior to the multi-rotor configuration during take-off， slightly outperforms it during landing， and falls short of the fixed-wing configuration in both cruise and climb phases. The findings provide scientific guidance and an engineering basis for eVTOL configuration selection and aerodynamic performance optimization.

Key words: eVTOL, computational fluid dynamics, aerodynamics, flight phases