An investigation of the aerodynamic performance for a propeller-aided lift-enhancing double wing configuration

A propeller-aided lift-enhancing double wing configuration is proposed and investigated in this paper for the purpose of making good use of favorable propeller interferences to promote the aerodynamic performance of the wing. A panel/viscous vortex particle hybrid method is developed to rapidly predict aerodynamic forces. Reynolds averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) numerical simulations using a multi reference frame method are performed to accurately analyse the complex flow characteristics. It is shown that the proposed configuration has an ability of using a suction action upstream of the propeller and an acceleration effect behind the propeller simultaneously to improve the wing performance. With a single propeller interaction, the lift of the wing is increased by 2.33% and the drag is reduced by 4.64% compared to a clean wing.