Design of Lift Plus Cruise eVTOL Aircraft with Initial Fuselage Frame Design

Abstract Electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) vehicles are proposed for urban air mobility to alleviate traffic congestion. While many conceptual designs exist, bridging the gap to detailed design requires further investigation. This study proposes both conceptual and detailed designs for a lift-plus-cruise eVTOL. Multiple software applications, including the NASA Design and Analysis of Rotorcraft, DATCOM, VSPAERO, CAMRAD II, and MATLAB, are integrated for weight estimation and performance analysis of the vehicle. The proposed structural design task provides an initial fuselage airframe that was completed using both topology optimization considering the weight factors of various flight maneuvers and a manual design procedure for the fuselage airframe, followed by static structural and modal analyses. The proposed design is compatible with certification regulations, ensures structural integrity, and prevents resonance between the rotors and the major structural modes of the fuselage.