• Journal of the Korean Society for Aeronautical & Space Sciences
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• v.46 no.2
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• pp.95-105
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• 2018

Increasing cruise speed is an important issue for the development of the next generation rotorcraft. Among several concepts proposed by previous research, the rotorcraft with ducted fan demonstrates its possibility of high-speed flight. In this study, numerical simulations are conducted to investigate the aerodynamic and flow characteristics of multi-ducted fan in forward flight. The aerodynamic efficiency around front ducted fan is determined by interaction between free-stream velocity and the induced velocity. While flow characteristics of rear ducted fan are dominantly influenced by the front ducted fan. Separation in the front ducted fan occurs faster than that of rear ducted fan, and the separation at duct inlet induces an increase of fan thrust. As a result of interaction effect between each ducted fan, relatively aligned inflow enters to the rear ducted fan. Therefore, thrust of the rear fan is decreased steadily before separation, and sudden changes of thrust in fans occur simultaneously. Due to the pressure decrease on lower surface, the normal force of rotorcraft is reduced with forward speed.