If our lab testing continues on its current trajectory,” Zachary said, “we are confident in our prototype.” [configurado con hemirrotor] It will have the most efficient hover and forward flight profile of any rotorcraft VTOL. “
Blaenjet is applying the Hemirator concept to small drones to demonstrate how large manned or unmanned aircraft can scale in EVTOL applications, from configuration kits and cargo delivery to transport and tactical military roles. can do.
Blainjet President Cary Zachary explored the setup while evaluating a series of digital models that combined the rotor design with the electric drivetrain of Horizon Aeronautics’ “hoverbike,” a 9-foot-long, 4-foot-wide vehicle. Yes. A short commute is recommended.
| Blaenjet could inspire a new vertical lift technology with half-rotors |
Blaenjet’s “half-rotor” design places familiar vertical lift rotor sections (as seen on helicopters, UAMs or drones) on opposite sides of a closed fuselage. There are also a pair of electric motors in the airfoil fuselage that drive the elevator rotors. A third engine drives the propeller struts on the inverted V-tail.
The concept revolves around separating the reciprocating rotor blades from the moving blades, effectively neutralizing the reciprocating rotor. In hover flight, a conventional open rotor produces an equal amount of lift in all directions. But when a conventional helicopter flies forward, its rotor blades move relative to the wind and move away from it during the spin. This creates uneven lift on opposite sides of the rotor arc, ultimately creating difficult speed limits.
Blainjett solves this problem by locking the inner half of each rotor disk within the fuselage of the aircraft. The fuselage includes an internal “floating door” and a series of upper and lower vents for easy control of pitch and yaw (and internal aerodynamic pressure relief) while hovering. Roll control is affected by the power input to the mid-fuselage lift rotors.
During the transition between hovering and forward flight, the rotors on either side of the fuselage rotate in relative air (left-rotor, clockwise – right-rotor, counterclockwise). As the Blainjet subscale prototype transitions from hover to forward flight through the thrust of its propellers, its upper vents are closed and the retracted rotor blades are shielded from relative wind, negative drag, lift losses and ultimately negative The effect of lift. This is high speed. By contrast, the streamlined fuselage and forward-facing blades create progressive lift.
This allows the rotor to slow down and stop at a fixed straight or swept wing position as forward speed increases. In this configuration, the rotor becomes a fully articulated “wing” with very little drag, making it very efficient in forward flight. In top-speed flight mode, they can actively swept back, rotating in the opposite direction to further reduce drag. The speed limitations imposed by the drag and lift inequalities of composite rotor designs are eliminated without the complexity, drag and weight penalty of the familiar tiltrotor.
Active and repeatable laboratory testing of the prototype hemirotor at various stages of flight showed the expected lift and drag curves of the semi-closed rotor in both rotating and stationary modes. The results confirmed Blainjet’s baseline hypothesis and provided experimental data for the next phase of testing.
The company has secured integration into its upcoming small prototype (V2) using the Vertiq motor module. Vertic’s motor modules are able to prevent rotation during selected phases of flight and maintain an aerodynamically favorable fixed position or free rotation in the opposite direction.
In the joint development partnership, Fenris Electric Systems will create custom flight control systems.
As V2 testing of the Semidrone prototype progresses, Blaenjet is looking for potential manufacturing partners to help enhance concepts and validate design intellectual property. Interested parties can contact Carrie Zachary as detailed below.
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As such, Blaenjet Aviation, an innovative aerodynamic propulsion technology startup, has announced that preliminary tests of its hemirotor aerodynamic concept have confirmed its ability to deliver faster, more efficient performance on VTOL aircraft.