Comparison of box-wing and conventional aircraft mission performance using multidisciplinary analysis and optimization
- Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
- Royal Military College of Canada, Kingston, ON (Canada)
Box-wing aircraft designs have the potential to achieve significant reductions in fuel consumption. Closed non-planar wing designs have been shown to reduce induced drag and the statically indeterminate wing structure can lead to reduced wing weight. In addition, the streamwise separation of the two main wings can provide the moments necessary for static stability and control, eliminating the weight and aerodynamic drag of a horizontal tail. Proper assessment of the disciplinary interactions in box-wing designs is essential to determine any realistic performance benefits arising from the use of such a configuration. This study analyzes both box-wing and conventional aircraft designed for representative regional-jet missions. A preliminary parametric investigation shows a lift-to-drag ratio advantage for box-wing designs, while a more detailed multidisciplinary study indicates that the requirement to carry the mission fuel in the wings leads to an increase of between 5% and 1% in total fuel burn compared to conventional designs. Furthermore, the multidisciplinary study identified operating conditions where the box-wing can have superior performance to conventional aircraft despite the fuel volume constraint.
- Research Organization:
- Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- Canadian Department of Defence, Canadian Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council; USDOE
- Grant/Contract Number:
- AC52-06NA25396
- OSTI ID:
- 1441298
- Alternate ID(s):
- OSTI ID: 1548121
- Report Number(s):
- LA-UR--17-20514
- Journal Information:
- Aerospace Science and Technology, Journal Name: Aerospace Science and Technology Vol. 79; ISSN 1270-9638
- Publisher:
- ElsevierCopyright Statement
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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