Design Synthesis of Advanced Technology, Flying Wing Seaplanes
Author(s)
Levis, Errikos
Type
Thesis
Abstract
Over the past decades there has been increasing pressure for ever more efficient and environmentally friendly aircraft to be designed. The use of waterborne aircraft could be a means of satisfying
those requirements in the future. The aim of the PhD research program presented in this thesis
was to develop the methodologies necessary for the preliminary design of large passenger seaplanes
and evaluate the performance of such an aircraft compared to the current state of the art. The major technological and operational constraints in designing large waterborne aircraft were identified
through an extensive feasibility study. A number of subject areas necessitating further investigation
were also identified. To ensure that waterborne takeoff distance requirements are met, a novel initial
sizing methodology was generated, relating the aircraft's thrust and lifting characteristics to the takeoff Balanced Field Length. To allow the design of a broad family of aircraft based on a predefined
baseline configuration, the seaplane geometry was fully parameterized. The aerodynamic properties of
the entire aircraft were determined using a vortex-lattice potential flow solver, written specifically for
the configuration being investigated, combined with other commonly used empirical methods. Novel
methodologies for estimating the hydrodynamic characteristics of a broad range of parametric hulls
were developed using the wealth of experimental hydrodynamic test data available. These methods
can be used not only to predict the resistance and trim characteristics of a seaplane throughout the
entire takeoff and landing manoeuvre but also give an initial estimate of the attitudes where hydrodynamic instabilities may be encountered. The airborne and waterborne performance characteristics of
each resulting aircraft design were estimated using the aforementioned methods. The resulting design
synthesis has been integrated into a single algorithm, written in FORTRAN, intended to allow the
easy and prompt analysis of any parametric variant of the baseline configuration.
those requirements in the future. The aim of the PhD research program presented in this thesis
was to develop the methodologies necessary for the preliminary design of large passenger seaplanes
and evaluate the performance of such an aircraft compared to the current state of the art. The major technological and operational constraints in designing large waterborne aircraft were identified
through an extensive feasibility study. A number of subject areas necessitating further investigation
were also identified. To ensure that waterborne takeoff distance requirements are met, a novel initial
sizing methodology was generated, relating the aircraft's thrust and lifting characteristics to the takeoff Balanced Field Length. To allow the design of a broad family of aircraft based on a predefined
baseline configuration, the seaplane geometry was fully parameterized. The aerodynamic properties of
the entire aircraft were determined using a vortex-lattice potential flow solver, written specifically for
the configuration being investigated, combined with other commonly used empirical methods. Novel
methodologies for estimating the hydrodynamic characteristics of a broad range of parametric hulls
were developed using the wealth of experimental hydrodynamic test data available. These methods
can be used not only to predict the resistance and trim characteristics of a seaplane throughout the
entire takeoff and landing manoeuvre but also give an initial estimate of the attitudes where hydrodynamic instabilities may be encountered. The airborne and waterborne performance characteristics of
each resulting aircraft design were estimated using the aforementioned methods. The resulting design
synthesis has been integrated into a single algorithm, written in FORTRAN, intended to allow the
easy and prompt analysis of any parametric variant of the baseline configuration.
Date Issued
2011
Date Awarded
2012-08
Copyright Statement
Attribution NoDerivatives 4.0 International Licence (CC BY-ND)
Advisor
Serghides, Varnavas
Publisher Department
Aeronautics
Publisher Institution
Imperial College London
Qualification Level
Doctoral
Qualification Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)