{"id":51416,"date":"2023-08-04T10:43:38","date_gmt":"2023-08-04T14:43:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/simcenter\/?p=51416"},"modified":"2026-03-26T06:33:55","modified_gmt":"2026-03-26T10:33:55","slug":"cfd-model-aircraft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/simcenter\/cfd-model-aircraft\/","title":{"rendered":"Unleashing the power of CFD to design a record-breaking model aircraft &#8211; Part 1"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"744 KMH 462 MPH THE WORLD\u00b4S FASTEST RC MODEL TURBINE JET \/ GUINNESS NEW WORLD RECORD 2016\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/YVNIWuLs_7E?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">RC model aircraft design hobbyist<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s an awe-inspiring video  to watch, made even more impressive when you consider that the model aircraft was designed entirely by Niels himself Having been an RC hobbyist for over 20 years it\u2019s not hard to see why Niels is the king.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>RC model aircraft design is a mature hobby at this point. It\u2019s well-known what works and what doesn\u2019t, and over decades of experimentation and developing empirical methods, designing an aircraft that can fly has become a streamlined process. However, there are only a few aircrafts that have flown faster than 300 mph.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>From an aerodynamics point of view, the looming threat of transonic flight begins to explain why record attempts are few and far between. The record is soon approaching the speed where shockwaves can start to creep into the flow, with unpredictable and often catastrophic results.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2023\/08\/Supersonic-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"Shockwave from a supersonic aircraft\" class=\"wp-image-51421\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2023\/08\/Supersonic-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2023\/08\/Supersonic-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2023\/08\/Supersonic-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2023\/08\/Supersonic-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2023\/08\/Supersonic-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2023\/08\/Supersonic-900x600.jpg 900w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>Perhaps it\u2019s people not wanting to trust the familiar techniques in a domain where they\u2019re unproven. Maybe it\u2019s people not wanting to risk damaging expensive turbojets in test flights. Or could it be that people are just scared of the unknown?!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Using CFD from the beginning of your design flow<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>But what if there\u2019s a way to get around all that uncertainty? Computational Fluid Dynamics allows aerodynamics to be considered from the very start, and hundreds or even thousands of experiments to be run without any of the cost, mess, and potential danger of real-world prototyping.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Consumer hardware and commercial software have made leaps and bounds in the last 20 years. Gone are the complicated user interfaces, the nightmare meshes, and the weeks of computational time! With modern software, is there a reason why, with a CFD informed design, a student team couldn\u2019t break into the space?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignwide size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"236\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2023\/08\/Mach_Initiative_Banner-1024x236.png\" alt=\"Mach Initiative Banner\" class=\"wp-image-51419\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2023\/08\/Mach_Initiative_Banner-1024x236.png 1024w, https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2023\/08\/Mach_Initiative_Banner-600x138.png 600w, https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2023\/08\/Mach_Initiative_Banner-768x177.png 768w, https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2023\/08\/Mach_Initiative_Banner-1536x354.png 1536w, https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2023\/08\/Mach_Initiative_Banner-900x207.png 900w, https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2023\/08\/Mach_Initiative_Banner.png 1564w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Mach Initiative<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>With that in mind, in the summer of 2022 myself and a fellow student from the University of Bath founded the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.themachinitiative.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Mach Initiative<\/a>, a student project with the goal of setting a new model aircraft speed record.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"693\" height=\"693\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2023\/08\/Max-and-Dan.jpg\" alt=\"Mad and Dan with one o their half-scale model aircraft\" class=\"wp-image-51422\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2023\/08\/Max-and-Dan.jpg 693w, https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2023\/08\/Max-and-Dan-600x600.jpg 600w, https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2023\/08\/Max-and-Dan-150x150.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 693px) 100vw, 693px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Dan and I with one of our half-scale model aircrafts<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>At that point, Dan and I were unsure of the full scope of the project \u2013 but we both knew that the first step was to acquire the software that would be paramount to our design. Luckily, Siemens were happy to help, signing a sponsorship agreement that granted us access to their entire Simcenter suite. Once the access was set up, I was giddy for days, just looking at all of the programs I had yet to try out \u2013 although granted I am a bit of a nerd like that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Even with our first sponsorship under our belt, it was difficult to know where to start. While it needed to be an aerodynamically driven design \u2013 neither of us had the experience required to be able to predict what the structural and integration concerns might be. Things might look good on paper if the model aircraft is speedy, but if the elevons don\u2019t work and the wing falls off, we might as well not have bothered!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Concerns about manufacturing, procurement, and logistics were even further out of sight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Joining forces with the University of Bath<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>It was about at this point towards the end of 2022 that the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bath.ac.uk\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">University of Bath<\/a>\u2019s group business design project started looming around the corner. This would turn out to be our second big stroke of luck! If we could make it an official university project, we could get a bigger team!<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"681\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2023\/08\/Max-CurrentTeam-1024x681.jpg\" alt=\"The current team\" class=\"wp-image-51423\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2023\/08\/Max-CurrentTeam-1024x681.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2023\/08\/Max-CurrentTeam-600x399.jpg 600w, https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2023\/08\/Max-CurrentTeam-768x511.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2023\/08\/Max-CurrentTeam-900x598.jpg 900w, https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2023\/08\/Max-CurrentTeam.jpg 1387w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The current team!<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>Fast forward to the summer of 2023, and that\u2019s exactly what we did! The team&nbsp; has expanded to 8 members, signed a second sponsorship agreement with <a href=\"https:\/\/callenlenz.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Callen-Lenz<\/a>, and spent 4 months creating a prototype design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The first prototype<\/h2>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"422\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2023\/08\/Max-Windtunnel-1024x422.jpg\" alt=\"The first wind tunnel model aircraft\" class=\"wp-image-51424\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2023\/08\/Max-Windtunnel-1024x422.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2023\/08\/Max-Windtunnel-600x247.jpg 600w, https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2023\/08\/Max-Windtunnel-768x317.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2023\/08\/Max-Windtunnel-900x371.jpg 900w, https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2023\/08\/Max-Windtunnel.jpg 1377w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The first wind tunnel model<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>With a turbojet engine and an aerodynamic design that made use of both CFD and a valuable day of wind tunnel testing, the <em>Kingfisher<\/em> was born. And while I wasn\u2019t sure about naming it after something that flies <em>into <\/em>the water, I couldn\u2019t deny that it was catchy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The design does have a few quirks that set it apart from the competition. The double-delta wing is significantly smaller than that of the competition, keeping our drag low and helping us push that Mach 0.8 target.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With a normal wing we might encounter issues with a blazing fast landing speed, but a double-delta wing is special, harnessing the leading-edge vortex to blanket the wing in high-speed flow, upping the lift generated and delaying stall to daredevil angles of attack. While delta-type wings are much more complicated and harder to model empirically than a standard wing, with <a href=\"https:\/\/plm.sw.siemens.com\/en-US\/simcenter\/fluids-thermal-simulation\/star-ccm\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Simcenter STAR-CCM+<\/a> on hand both the lift and the stability characteristics could be determined and de-risked just in time for our critical wind tunnel day, with superb results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-video aligncenter\"><video controls src=\"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2023\/08\/VortexRender0001-0132.mp4\"><\/video><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>A second triumph in the design is the S-duct inlet. Jet engines are surprisingly fickle, give them too much airflow, or airflow that\u2019s too turbulent and you run the risk of encountering compressor surge. If the airflow separates over the compressor blades, pressure waves ripple throughout the engine and fire blasts out of both ends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It can damage the engine, it\u2019s scary to watch and can be difficult to recover from. Therefore, designing an intake that can reliably slow high speed flow without inducing separation or turbulence is a must. An S-duct design is ambitious, but with both extensive CFD testing and planned experimental testing, we hope to have ironed out the risk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Unique design feature<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The eagle eyed amongst you may have spotted that, unlike on a fighter jet, the Kingfisher has the air intake on the top. Fighter jets have their intakes on the bottom because when they need high lift, eg. at landing, the angle of the fuselage can cause the flow to separate on top. &nbsp;And if the inlet is on top and sucks in dirty air, it could cause an engine flameout.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Kingfisher however doesn\u2019t have any landing gear, it lands on its belly on short grass. Common enough for RC model aircrafts, but with an air intake on the bottom it would suck in all sorts of plants and pebbles that would quickly destroy the engine. Our solution?  Take off and perform the flight upside down, and roll around to right way up for landing. When your plane doesn\u2019t have a pilot, there isn\u2019t really a right way up!<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2023\/08\/Max-Render-1024x576.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-51420\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2023\/08\/Max-Render-1024x576.png 1024w, https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2023\/08\/Max-Render-600x338.png 600w, https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2023\/08\/Max-Render-768x432.png 768w, https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2023\/08\/Max-Render-1536x864.png 1536w, https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2023\/08\/Max-Render-2048x1152.png 2048w, https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2023\/08\/Max-Render-395x222.png 395w, https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2023\/08\/Max-Render-900x506.png 900w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>Manufacture and testing of a low-speed prototype has already begun, and once the university year starts, we\u2019ll be able to begin the manufacture of the full scale Kingfisher just in time for our record attempt, in the summer of 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Find out what happens in Part 2 of this blog &#8230; coming 2024!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Read this guest blog from an ex-intern who is hell-bent on breaking the speed record on a remote controlled model aircraft.  Find out how he co-created The Mach Initiative and their achievements to date. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":90690,"featured_media":51442,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spanish_translation":"","french_translation":"","german_translation":"","italian_translation":"","polish_translation":"","japanese_translation":"","chinese_translation":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[18638,242,82,21],"industry":[125,127],"product":[513,34327],"coauthors":[63639],"class_list":["post-51416","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-aerospace-engineering","tag-computational-fluid-dynamics-cfd","tag-digital-twin","tag-technology-innovation","industry-aerospace-defense","industry-aircraft-airframes","product-simcenter-star-ccm","product-simcenter-star-ccm-student-edition"],"featured_image_url":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2023\/08\/Mach_FeatureImage2.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/simcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51416","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/simcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/simcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/simcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/90690"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/simcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=51416"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/simcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51416\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":54827,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/simcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51416\/revisions\/54827"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/simcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/51442"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/simcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51416"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/simcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51416"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/simcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51416"},{"taxonomy":"industry","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/simcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/industry?post=51416"},{"taxonomy":"product","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/simcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product?post=51416"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/simcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=51416"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}