Preliminary overall aircraft design with hybrid laminar flow control

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This thesis deals with preliminary overall aircraft design including hybrid laminar flow control (HLFC) on wings and tails. An integrated methodology and software framework is developed that closes the gap between conceptual aircraft design capabilities and the detailed design tasks of HLFC aerodynamic wing design and HLFC system sizing. The key new achievement of the proposed approach compared to the current state of the art is its capability to perform overall aircraft design studies, while simultaneously capturing the specific influences of different transition mechanisms and transonic drag on swept-tapered wings, as well as the integration of the suction system into the wing. Applicability and validity of the proposed HLFC aircraft design approach are demonstrated for a long range passenger aircraft. Influences of mass snowball effect, component resizing, and conservative fuel planning for in-flight loss of laminarity are quantified in terms of block fuel and other key design parameters. The significant fuel saving potential of HLFC is confirmed, and further exploited by the integrated design and optimization of HLFC wing geometries for maximum overall aircraft benefit.