An integrated simulation tool for e-VTOL aeromechanics and flight control analysis

In this work an integrated simulation tool for e-VTOL aeromechanics and flight control analysis is presented. This tool is capable of performing aeromechanical simulations of e-VTOL and other distributed electric propulsion aircraft at a fidelity level suitable for flight control design and performance analysis. The tool consists of a stand-alone low-fidelity flight dynamics code that couples with the CHARM aeromechanics code, creating a mid-fidelity flight simulator that can account for complex rotor wake interactions at a relatively low computational cost. The tool features auto-trimming capabilities and a numerical linearization to support flight linear analysis of the flight dynamics. The tool also features the capability to automatically design a dynamic inversion flight controller based on linear models, while also supporting the implementation of custom flight controllers. All these features are demonstrated via a series of simulations of various flight maneuvers for both a Generic e-VTOL aircraft and NASA’s X-57 aircraft. Differences in the dynamic behavior of the eVTOL configuration predicted by the low-fidelity and mid-fidelity simulations are discussed.