Assessment of Multi-Fidelity Tools for the Aeropropulsion Analysis of a Small-Scale Supersonic Unmanned Aerial Vehicle

Abstract

The flight capabilities of a supersonic aircraft is assessed using its aero-propulsive characteristics. A multi-fidelity approach is utilized to evaluate the aeropropulsive behavior of a small-scale supersonic uncrewed aerial vehicle (SSUAV). The multipurpose uncrewed fixed- wing advanced supersonic aircraft (MUFASA), which is being developed by the University of Calgary, is being studied. External aerodynamics and propulsion are studied independently for the development of SSUAVs; this approach does not always provide the best accuracy. A commercial off-the-shelf engine, the AMT Lynx engine, is studied with external aerodynamics integrated using numerical simulations and analytical relations. An analytical formulation was proposed to account for the effect of propulsion on the drag characteristics of the SSUAV. The comparison between propulsion integrated simulations and analytically corrected propulsion has shown limited deviation (<10%), providing a rapid assessment of propulsion effects.