Large-scale multidisciplinary optimization under uncertainty for electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft

Urban air mobility is a growing field of research that holds potential to transform commuting options in congested cities. Electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) concepts are well-suited as design choices for this field considering noise, space, and environmental benefits. In this paper, we assemble a large-scale multidisciplinary design optimization (MDO) for eVTOL designs at a system level to minimize power required. By including operational variables, we determine the feasibility of an eVTOL concept's design parameters in varying cruise and hover mission specifications. Using Uber's common reference model (eCRM) 001, we observe a further 9.66% in peak power usage when optimizing design parameters in addition to operational variables. By incorporating thrust power margin as a model uncertainty, we determine an eVTOL design that significantly increases robustness with a relatively minor penalty to efficiency.