Impact of Aircraft Parameters on AAM Downwash/Outwash Characteristics

Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) air vehicles with electric vertical takeoff and landing capability come in a wide variety of configurations and are often equipped with many lift and propulsion devices. Lift rotors of AAM configurations often have high disk loading which produce strong downwash and outwash (DWOW) at low speed and hover close to the ground. Recent outwash surveys of AAM aircraft have confirmed the presence of strong DWOW produced by various aircraft configurations [1]. The capability to predict the DWOW characteristics produced by these aircraft can aid in deriving requirements for vertiport design, ground operation, and landing/takeoff flight safety procedures. This paper investigates the sensitivity of selected aircraft design and operation parameters on the overall DWOW. This includes rotor horizontal and vertical separation distances, and near ground flight maneuvers. The focus in this paper is on the DWOW profile near the aircraft to help inform design and operational decisions. Moreover, transient approach/departure simulation for an AAM aircraft are conducted for an understanding of the complex flow field during unsteady flight maneuvers. The Viscous Vortex Particle Method (VVPM) is used to estimate the aircraft DWOW characteristics.