Comparative Analysis of High and Mid-Fidelity Methods for Predicting Performance and Acoustics for UAM Applications

The rapid growth of the urban air mobility (UAM) sector has highlighted the need for simulation tools that can accurately and efficiently predict rotor performance and noise for electric vertical takeoff and landing (e-VTOL) aircraft. This study compares two mid-fidelity rotorcraft solvers: Continuum Dynamics’ CHARM and Politecnico di Milano’s DUST, along with one high-fidelity CFD tool, OpenFOAM. These tools are evaluated against experimental data from Virginia Tech’s wind tunnel tests on a Joby Aviation e-VTOL rotor. The tested rotor is representative of modern e-VTOL designs, featuring a high blade count and optimized for forward flight performance. It is tested under both axial and edgewise inflow conditions. Key rotor performance metrics and acoustic signatures are measured across a range of tip speeds and inflow velocities. The simulation results are compared with the experimental data to assess the predictive precision of each solver, providing information on the trade-offs between computational cost, model fidelity, and simulation reliability in UAM-relevant operating regimes.