Abstract
Research covers propulsion installation characteristics for novel air-vehicle configurations in the class of small missile/UAVs. A modular experimental model has been developed featuring a fully integrated tail mounted inline boundary layer ingesting (BLI) Electric Ducted Fan (EDF) propulsion system. The research aims to investigate the aerodynamic characteristics and gain understanding of the optimisation of a fully integrated propulsion system. A combination of experimental and validated CFD methods will be used to develop suitable performance metrics and optimisation approaches for in-line BLI EDFs, thus enabling the generation of a toolset to be applied in the future design and implementation of this class of propulsion system. Progress in both experimental design and computational analysis will be presented, including initial analysis of the overall flow physics, focussing on the upstream and downstream effect of the body boundary layer, the condition of the flow ingested into the fan and an assessment of the performance of the overall integrated EDF.