Design and optimisation of electrically propelled blended-wing body aircraft

Perret Du Cray, Josephine, Bolam, Robert and Vagapov, Yuriy (2025) Design and optimisation of electrically propelled blended-wing body aircraft. In: Proc. 60th IEEE Int. Universities Power Engineering Conference UPEC-2025, 2-5 Sept. 2025, London, UK.

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Abstract

This paper presents the study and design of an electrically powered blended-wing body aircraft and assesses the viability and performance of the blended-wing body airframe combined with electric engine propulsion, aiming to identify a functional and efficient ecological solution. The focus is on the implementation of an electrically driven rim fan as the propulsion system for the test aircraft. Based on the requirements for a test aircraft, a preliminary design is established, and several blended-wing body test aircraft models are proposed and modelled using numerical design tools. These concepts are then subjected to fluid dynamics and stability simulations using ANSYS Fluent. The geometry with the best results is ultimately selected and optimised. The project results in a blended-wing body test aircraft that meets the design specifications and successfully integrates the electrically driven rim fan into the airframe while maintaining the high aerodynamic performance characteristic. The final aircraft achieves a lift-to-drag ratio of 16.47, representing an improvement of nearly 20% compared to the flying wing designs represented in the literature review.

Item Type:	Conference or Workshop Item (Paper)
Keywords:	BWB, aircraft electrical propulsion, rim driven fan, UAV
Divisions:	Applied Science, Computing and Engineering
Depositing User:	Hayley Dennis
Date Deposited:	07 Jan 2026 11:20
Last Modified:	07 Jan 2026 11:20
URI:	https://wrexham.repository.guildhe.ac.uk/id/eprint/18395

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