Preliminary Insights on Small eVTOL Design Trends from Surrogate Modeling for Operations Research

A multidisciplinary approach combining conceptual vehicle sizing, surrogate performance modeling, and affordability analysis is presented as a solution to a system of systems operations problem. The approach is utilized in the design analysis of battery-powered quadcopter drones operating in a rapid package delivery system with time and system cost used as objective functions. To facilitate data flow between the design routine and external simulation tools, a software script is developed for rapid design and performance assessment of quadcopters in the size range between 3 and 9 pounds of gross weight. Beginning with a review of the surrogate modeling procedure, the implementation and operation of the software are demonstrated. The aircraft concepts generated in the routine are considered in a preliminary cost-benefit analysis within the system of systems context. The study concludes with observations on quadcopter capability and effectiveness advantages and limits, along with possible future expansion plans of the software tool to investigate these limits.