Multi-Fidelity Investigation of Aerodynamics and Acoustics of the Joby Aviation Aircraft

The rotorcraft simulation tool HPCMP CREATE™-AV Helios is used to compute aerodynamics and acoustics for the Joby Aviation aircraft. This configuration is a six-propeller, all electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft designed to operate in an urban environment, for which noise minimization is a priority. The objective of this study is to demonstrate and improve key capabilities in Helios: multi-fidelity modeling, full-vehicle trim, and noise predictions. In this paper, we compare aerodynamics and acoustics predictions obtained using different levels of fidelity available in Helios: high-fidelity computations using discrete body-conforming meshes for propeller blades, and mid-fidelity computations using blades modeled as actuator lines. The isolated propeller is first analyzed in hover, followed by the full aircraft configuration in cruise. Trimmed flight conditions are obtained using a new trim solver in Helios by means of both the pitch control and RPM control approaches. Finally, an acoustics propagation module is introduced in Helios and used to obtain noise predictions, which are compared with experimental data and peer analyses.