2026-09-20T14:13:59Zhttps://dspace.mit.edu/server/oai/request

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/1588512025-04-08T04:31:42Zcom_1721.1_7582com_1721.1_7581col_1721.1_131023

Speth, Raymond L. Quiram, Matthew Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics 2025-03-24T18:47:34Z 2025-03-24T18:47:34Z 2025-02 2025-02-12T20:36:22.637Z https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/158851 0009-0005-4027-6751 Electroaerodynamic (EAD) multistaged ducted (MSD) thrusters are a novel solid-state thruster architecture that has been shown to provide order-of-magnitude improvements in thrust density compared to single-stage EAD thrusters. This makes MSD thrusters well-suited for use in EAD hovercraft, where generating sufficient pressure is crucial for hovering. This study explored the feasibility of a wire-to-airfoil corona discharge MSD thruster powered hovercraft through a scaled-down prototype and final design. The hovercraft was tethered to a ground-based power supply and carried a payload mass to simulate having on-board power electronics to limit the scope of the project. The design of an EAD hovercraft involved applying the principles of hovercraft lift to a design optimization that implements the recently developed EAD MSD thruster model. A hovercraft prototype was designed and constructed to validate the models applied during the design phase and to test hovering capabilities without a payload. Using the manufacturing lessons and insights gathered in the prototype testing, a full-scale model was designed and built to hover while having an additional payload capacity that would be representative of a set of power electronics. S.M. Massachusetts Institute of Technology In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted Copyright retained by author(s) https://rightsstatements.org/page/InC-EDU/1.0/ Design and Testing of a Hovercraft with Electroaerodynamic Propulsion Thesis application/pdf Master Master of Science in Aeronautics and Astronautics Publication unknown unknown <Publication xmlns="https://www.openaire.eu/cerif-profile/1.1/" id="28bfd996-e805-441a-867c-b1350f9c87fb"> <Type xmlns="https://www.openaire.eu/cerif-profile/vocab/COAR_Publication_Types">http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_1843</Type> <Title>Design and Testing of a Hovercraft with Electroaerodynamic Propulsion</Title> <PublishedIn> <Publication> </Publication> </PublishedIn> <PublicationDate>2025-02</PublicationDate> <Authors> <Author> <DisplayName>Quiram, Matthew</DisplayName> <Affiliation> <OrgUnit> </OrgUnit> </Affiliation> </Author> </Authors> <Editors> </Editors> <Publishers> <Publisher> <DisplayName>Massachusetts Institute of Technology</DisplayName> <OrgUnit /> </Publisher> </Publishers> <License>https://rightsstatements.org/page/InC-EDU/1.0/</License> <Abstract>Electroaerodynamic (EAD) multistaged ducted (MSD) thrusters are a novel solid-state thruster architecture that has been shown to provide order-of-magnitude improvements in thrust density compared to single-stage EAD thrusters. This makes MSD thrusters well-suited for use in EAD hovercraft, where generating sufficient pressure is crucial for hovering. This study explored the feasibility of a wire-to-airfoil corona discharge MSD thruster powered hovercraft through a scaled-down prototype and final design. The hovercraft was tethered to a ground-based power supply and carried a payload mass to simulate having on-board power electronics to limit the scope of the project. The design of an EAD hovercraft involved applying the principles of hovercraft lift to a design optimization that implements the recently developed EAD MSD thruster model. A hovercraft prototype was designed and constructed to validate the models applied during the design phase and to test hovering capabilities without a payload. Using the manufacturing lessons and insights gathered in the prototype testing, a full-scale model was designed and built to hover while having an additional payload capacity that would be representative of a set of power electronics.</Abstract> <Access xmlns="http://purl.org/coar/access_right" > </Access> </Publication>