In this study, a blended wing body (BWB) aircraft model was designed, and will be fabricated and tested with the objective of maximizing aerodynamic efficiency as well as determining if boundary layer ingestion from top surface mounted engines results in less drag. The purpose of this study is to prove that BWB aircraft designs are more efficient than traditional cylindrical fuselage and wing designs. Wind tunnel testing as well as computational fluid dynamic (CFD) analysis is expected to support this hypothesis. Both of these tasks are to be completed or are currently in progress. Drag reduction from boundary layer ingestion as well as a more aerodynamic body are the two focus points of this project. Showing that both of these factors are improved by using a BWB design (and thus result in less energy required to fly) is the goal of this study
