• Journal of the Korean Society for Aeronautical & Space Sciences
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• v.45 no.9
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• pp.711-723
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• 2017

This paper proposes a flight control system for an organic flight array(OFA) which has a new configuration to consist of multi modularized ducted-fan unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). The OFA is able to apply to various missions such as indoor reconnaissance, communication relay, and radar jamming by using capability of hover flight. The OFA has a distinguished advantage due to reconfigurable structure to assemble or separate with respect to its missions or operational conditions. A dynamic modelling of the OFA is derived based on equations of motion of the single ducted-fan modules. In order to apply nonlinear control method, an affine system of attitude dynamics is derived. Moreover, the control system is composed of a back-stepping controller for attitude control and a PID controller for position control. Then the performance of the proposed controller is verified via a numerical simulation under wind disturbance.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Propulsion Engineers
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.83-90
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• 2017

Performance analysis of the turboshaft engines for combined rotorcraft was executed. A tip jet and a ducted fan aircraft were selected for combined rotorcraft application. Gasturb 12 software was used for turboshaft engine performance analysis. In the results, maximum required power for the tip jet engine is about 1,600 hp class and maximum required power for the ducted fan engine is about 1,000 hp class at the required aircraft mission. This is due to the additional power of the auxiliary compressor to get a bleed air mass flow rate for the tip jet operation. At the same time, fuel consumption of the tip jet aircraft is 2.8 times larger than ducted fan case. Therefore ducted fan type aircraft is more efficient than tip jet aircraft in terms of fuel economy.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Aeronautical & Space Sciences
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• v.41 no.7
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• pp.516-523
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• 2013

The tip clearance effect on counter-rotating ducted fan of VTOL UAV in hovering condition, was investigate using computational analysis. The $k-{\omega}$ SST turbulence model is employed in this study. The numerical results of baseline model are validated by wind tunnel test in hovering and forward conditions. It is observed that if tip clearance of one rotor in the counter-rotating ducted fan increase then the thrust coefficient of another rotor increases. In Addition to this, when the tip clearance of the rear rotor increases, the thrust of the ducted fan is improved due to increasing of average total pressure at exit plane.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Aeronautical & Space Sciences
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• v.40 no.5
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• pp.413-422
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• 2012

The ducted fan for a small UAV propulsion can reconnoiter and observe in a town and a small area, it has better thrust efficiency and a long endurance than propeller. Thrust characteristics of hover and for ward flight condition for the ducted fan UAV is important issue to improve a endurance. The unsteady 3-dimensional flow fields of the ducted fan UAV is essential to stable flight. In this paper, to verify the design results of the ducted fan and to investigate a stable aeronautical characteristic, the thrust performance and the unsteady 3-dimensional flow fields are measured. Thrust characteristics for the hovering and the forward flight conditions are measured by the 6-components balance system in the subsonic wind tunnel. The unsteady 3-dimensional flow fields are analyzed by using a stationary $45^{\circ}$ slanted hot-wire technique. The swirl velocity is almost removed behind the stator blades. Therefore, the thrust performance of the ducted fan is improved and the flight stability is maintained.

• Journal of Aerospace System Engineering
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.10-15
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• 2023

Wet multi-disk clutch, a power switching device of the ducted fan, was optimized and results were analyzed. The clutch was divided into two types depending on whether a mechanical lock-up was applied or not. It was optimized under each design condition. Transfer torque capacity, friction material surface pressure, friction surface temperature, and drag torque were calculated as factors to optimize the clutch. The volume of separator plate and drag torque were used as the objective function for optimization. In the case of Type 1, which did not include a mechanical lock-up, the clutch could be operated regardless of the pitch angle of the ducted fan. However, the outer diameter of the friction surface was doubled, the volume was increased by 5~7 times, and the drag torque was increased by 7~12 times compared to those of Type 2, which included a mechanical lock-up.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Aeronautical & Space Sciences
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• v.50 no.1
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• pp.1-12
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• 2022

Wind tunnel test for a small scale electric ducted fan with a 104mm diameter was conducted to analyze the aerodynamic characteristics when it was used as a propulsion system of tilt-propeller UAV. Experimental conditions were derived from flight conditions of a sub-scaled OPPAV. Forces and moments of the ducted fan model were measured by a 6-axis balance and 3-dimensional wake vectors which could induce an aerodynamic influence in the vehicle were measured by 5-hole probes. Thrust and torque on hover and cruise conditions were measured and analyzed to drive out the operating conditions when it was applied in the sub-scaled OPPAV. On transition conditions, thrust keep its value with tilt angle variation below 40° and increase after that. But, sideforce increase constantly until 75°. The maximum axial velocity in the wake on hover and cruise conditions was around 60m/s and tangential velocity was around 12m/s. The position of the maximum axial velocity and vortex center move off the fan rotation center line as the tilt angle increases.

• Aerospace Engineering and Technology
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.50-59
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• 2005

This paper described performance test of 1st prototype "Tail-Fan" system. KARI(Korea Aerospace Research Institute) developed "Tail-Fan" system as a kind of helicopter anti-torque system(ATS) and designed ATS performance test-rig for Tail-Fan system performance test. For Tail-Fan system performance tests, firstly, test-rig operation tests were carried out for verification of design specifications. And natural frequencies of fan blade and test-rig were measured respectively. To find the operation rotating speed for performance tests, vibration tests using accelerometers on tail gear box(TGB) were carried out. Through the fanplot and vibration test results, rotational speed for Tail-Fan performance test to avoid a resonance were found and performance tests were carried out in flight conditions. We analyzed test data by non-dimensionalization. Through this results, 1st prototype "Tail-Fan" system was satisfied with design requirements.