Aerial Cargo Vehicle for Last Mile Delivery: Concept Design & CFD Validation of Urban-Air-Mobility Winglet-Featured Wings

Urban Air Mobility (UAM) is an emerging technology primarily used for passenger transport, driven by the growing awareness of the need to alleviate traffic congestion and reduce emissions. While UAM is expected to enter the market by 2030, with some aerial passenger transport projects already under development in 2023, there is limited information available regarding its potential application in cargo transport. Therefore, the purpose of this thesis is to propose a preliminary conceptual design for a UAM solution specifically tailored for last-mile delivery. This solution, similar to drones but with enhanced capabilities, aims to fulfill multiple orders by utilizing a main aerial platform equipped with small drones for parcel handling, enabling delivery to the end user via air transportation. The thesis begins by providing a description of the solution's context, as well as its function and integration within the business-to-consumer (B2C) framework. The initial topic of automated transshipment of goods originated from the IDEEA 2023 international project, which focuses on future mobility solutions. The outcome of this project is the Mother & babydrones Shuttle (MbdS), which serves as the basis for the proposed solution. The development of this solution was driven by comprehensive market research, which led to the selection of suburban areas as the target location. The goal is to connect distribution centers situated in outlying areas with the detached houses of users in commuter towns. This approach ensures efficient last-mile delivery in a suburban setting. The second part of the thesis focuses on the numerical aspect, specifically the geometry and design of the preliminary aircraft's wing shape. Through a series of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations, various wing configurations, including different winglet designs, were analyzed to determine the configuration that minimizes drag during cruising. The objective of this section was to validate the effectiveness of utilizing winglet devices in a four-winged urban cargo aircraft. By addressing the gap in knowledge regarding UAM's application in cargo transport and providing a preliminary conceptual design for last-mile delivery, this thesis aims to contribute to the growing field of urban air mobility and its potential impact on logistics and transportation systems.