Design Considerations of a Magnus Effect Flettner Rotorcraft

Author(s)

Benjamin Cook, Liberty UniversityFollow

Publication Date

4-2022

School

School of Aeronautics

Major

Aviation: Commercial

Keywords

Magnus effect, Flettner, alternative-lift, rotorcraft, flight, prototype

Disciplines

Aviation

Recommended Citation

Cook, Benjamin, "Design Considerations of a Magnus Effect Flettner Rotorcraft" (2022). Senior Honors Theses. 1175.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/honors/1175

Abstract

Airfoils have dominated the development of aircraft since the Wright brothers’ first flight. There are very few (if any) functional alternative mechanisms for heavier-than-air flight. However, in exploring the Magnus effect phenomenon applied to Flettner rotors in a rotorcraft configuration, a new and significantly underdeveloped method of heavier-than-air flight may be accomplished. Considering the aerodynamic context of the Magnus effect and its implementation in existing applications, this research principally concerns a single proposed mechanism and its design, viability, and lift-surface optimization. The proposed mechanism employs at least two 180^o offset rotating cylinders rotating about a central vertical axis, like a helicopter rotor, with the backspin of the cylinders generating lift according to Bernoulli’s principle, Newton’s third law, and the Magnus effect.