IIT Madras Breakthrough: Developing VTOL Aircraft with Hybrid Rocket Thrusters for Revolutionary Air Mobility Solutions

Hybrid systems are increasingly becoming the focus in aerospace research advancement.

New Delhi:

Scientists at the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, have made a significant breakthrough in developing vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technology utilizing hybrid rocket thrusters.

In an advanced experiment combining a real-time hybrid rocket thruster with virtual simulation, researchers successfully achieved the velocity required for "soft landing" - a critical feature for all craft ranging from planetary exploration modules to terrestrial VTOL aircraft.

Safe vertical landings depend heavily on appropriate touchdown velocity as a key parameter.

The research findings were published in the prestigious peer-reviewed International Journal of Aeronautical and Space Sciences.

Researchers explored the viability of hybrid rocket motors for vertical landing platforms, noting their simplicity and enhanced safety compared to liquid engines.

Hybrid rocket systems are becoming increasingly popular due to their inherent safety features and throttling capabilities, along with their ability to combine advantages from both liquid and solid rocket engines.

Current VTOL systems face challenges of complexity and high maintenance requirements. To address these issues, researchers developed the concept of a hybrid rocket thruster-powered platform as part of a system development study aimed at creating an effective propulsion unit for VTOL functionality in aircraft and UAVs.

According to PA Ramakrishna, professor at the Department of Aerospace Engineering, IIT Madras, VTOL technology enables aircraft to take off and land vertically, eliminating the need for infrastructure such as long runways.

"VTOL capability will enable access to remote locations and rugged terrains where long runways and large airports are difficult to establish. Currently, helicopters are the system operating on those terrains; however, they face limitations in terms of speed, range and efficiency compared to a fixed-wing aircraft," Ramakrishna explained.

"Once the VTOL system reaches the Technology Readiness Level (TRL) for commercial application, it will be a game-changer in both civil and military aviation. VTOL will help to decentralise air transport to multiple locations rather than a single big airport or an airbase," he stated.

Such decentralization brings significant strategic and operational advantages, he noted, adding that this study creates a pathway for developing and demonstrating a proof-of-concept for a hybrid rocket-powered VTOL platform.

Ramakrishna elaborated that, given the positive outcomes of the study, future research could include experimental studies of landing platforms with multiple degrees of freedom.

"Once attitude stabilisation (maintaining orientation in a desired direction) of the platform is achieved, a hardware-in-the-loop simulation for landing without the assumption of an attitude-stabilised system could be carried out. This would be a step closer to realising a VTOL platform with hybrid rocket thrusters," he said.

Attitude stabilisation in VTOL platforms involves maintaining orientation in a desired direction during hovering, take-off and landing operations.

The developed VTOL technology can initially be implemented in fixed-wing UAVs as a proof-of-concept, he indicated.

This development not only serves as a proof-of-concept for broader aerospace applications but could also generate interest from industries focused on next-generation air mobility solutions, he concluded.

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