{"id":{"repo_id":"mit","oai_identifier":"oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/158851"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/mit/oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/158851","repository":{"repo_id":"mit","name":"MIT","base_url":"https://dspace.mit.edu/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Design and Testing of a Hovercraft with Electroaerodynamic Propulsion","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_html":"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_has_math":false,"creators":["Quiram, Matthew"],"institution":"Massachusetts Institute of Technology","degree_name":"Master","degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":"Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics","school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["Speth, Raymond L."],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2025,"date_issued":"2025-02","date_published":"2025-02","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:21:02Z","subjects":[],"languages":[],"rights":["In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted","Copyright retained by author(s)"],"rights_urls":["https://rightsstatements.org/page/InC-EDU/1.0/"],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/158851","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["Speth, Raymond L."]},{"key":"dc:contributor.department","label":"Department","values":["Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 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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."]},{"key":"dc:description.degree","label":"Dc Description Degree","values":["S.M."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Design and Testing of a Hovercraft with Electroaerodynamic Propulsion"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.advisor":["Speth, Raymond L."],"dc:contributor.department":["Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics"],"dc:creator":["Quiram, Matthew"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2025-03-24T18:47:34Z"],"dc:date.available":["2025-03-24T18:47:34Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2025-02"],"dc:description.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."],"dc:description.degree":["S.M."],"dc:identifier.uri":["https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/158851"],"dc:publisher":["Massachusetts Institute of Technology"],"dc:rights":["In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted","Copyright retained by author(s)"],"dc:rights.uri":["https://rightsstatements.org/page/InC-EDU/1.0/"],"dc:title":["Design and Testing of a Hovercraft with Electroaerodynamic Propulsion"],"dc:type":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master","Master of Science in Aeronautics and Astronautics"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:21:02Z"}