Experimental Study of the Aerodynamic and Aeroacoustic Performance of Fluidic Propulsion for Advanced Air Mobility

Both the nascent Air Mobility industry and the DoD are concerned with noise emissions/perception resulting from the VTOL operations over cities or flying undetected over hostile territory. For AFSOC, flying a VTOL silently is paramount. Most ORBs propulsion systems employ a rotary wing, multiple propellers,  or ducted fans. Jetoptera pioneered the Fluidic Propulsive System (FPS) to generate and augment thrust and lift without moving parts such as rotors. As such, the estimated noise and annoyance levels from our solution are predicted to be significantly lower than rotary legacy systems. We teamed up with University of Notre Dame and we will use the state-of-the-art anechoic wind tunnel to accurately measure FPS noise. We will scientifically characterize the acoustic performance of the FPS, compare it to a legacy system in the same thrust class and share its potential for VTOL markets.  The deliverables are performance and acoustic measurements, including overall sound pressure levels and directivity patterns.  Hence, the noise emitted by the FPS in representative conditions will be accurately characterized. Based on data collected, abatement strategies can be devised, and full design and optimization will be possible for aircraft performance, sound pressure and directivity for any type of FPS propelled air vehicle.