Experimental Study of the Aerodynamic Interaction between Side-by-Side Propellers in eVTOL Airplane Mode through Stereoscopic Particle Image Velocimetry

Zanotti, Alex

doi:10.3390/aerospace8090239

Cited by 12 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…Aerodynamic performance is an important elemental technology of eVTOL, and various development methods have been studied. Experimental studies of eVTOL have been conducted to measure the lift and drag forces through wind tunnel tests [2] and to visualize the flow field around a rotating rotor using particle image velocimetry [3]. Numerical simulations have been adopted to study the aerodynamic interaction of coaxial propellers [4].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Flight simulation from takeoff to yawing of eVTOL airplane with coaxial propellers by fluid-rigid body interaction

et al. 2023

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In this study, we adopt a coupled fluid-rigid body simulation using the moving computational domain method and multi-axis sliding mesh method for the takeoff, hovering, and yawing flight of an electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft (eVTOL). The aircraft model has four pairs of coaxial propellers, and the computational domain is divided into three domains to move the aircraft and eight propeller domains to rotate the propellers. As a result, we clarify the behavior and aerodynamic force of the aircraft when the input values are determined by the automatic control. The results in the flow field also show that the downwash spreads in a crisscross pattern on the ground, the wind reaches different ranges on the ground depending on the flight altitude, and that the coaxial propeller causes an asymmetry in the velocity field during yawing. Consequently, we conclude that this method is effective for the flight simulation of an eVTOL.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Flight simulation from takeoff to yawing of eVTOL airplane with coaxial propellers by fluid-rigid body interaction

et al. 2023

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“…In this study, two rotors in a side-by-side configuration and corotating have been operated by retaining fixed the rotor-to-rotor distance and by varying the rotational speed in a typical range for drone applications. The corotating rotor rotation direction was selected because this work originated as a study for distributed propulsion [12,13]. The specific rotor spacing of 1.02 D was chosen to amplify the effects of the interactions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fluid-Dynamic and Aeroacoustic Characterization of Side-by-Side Rotor Interaction

Nargi,

Candeloro,

De Gregorio

et al. 2023

Aerospace

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An investigation of twin corotating rotors’ interaction effects was performed by load (thrust and torque) measurements, flow field dynamics through Time-Resolved Particle Image Velocimetry, and acoustic emissions using a microphone array. Two rotors, each with a diameter of D = 393.7 mm and equipped with three blades, were investigated in a side-by-side configuration, to simulate a multirotor propulsion system. The mutual distance between the propellers is 1.02 D, and four different rotating speeds, i.e., 2620, 3500, 4360, and 5200 RPM, were explored. In such a configuration, thrust and torque undergo a reduction compared to that found for a single propeller configuration. The level of aerodynamic load fluctuations increases as well. The interaction of the wakes produces a recirculation region at the external periphery of the shear layers. An innovative approach involving the coupling of Proper Orthogonal Decomposition (POD) and Wavelet Transform has been employed to investigate the dominant structures within the flow and their mutual influence. The results reveal that the interacting wakes are dominated by a wave-like motion pulsating at Harmonics of the Blade Passing Frequency (HBPF) of 1/3. Higher orders of POD modes capture coherent vortical structures, including tip vortices pulsating at HBPF = 1. The aeroacoustic investigation shows that the noise level, in terms of the Over All Sound Pressure Level, presents a remarkable increment concerning that generated by the single propeller.

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“…Fig.1. Design examples of (a) tail-sitter[8], (b) tiltrotor[9], and (c) tiltwing[10] vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aerial vehicles.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Development and testing of vertical take-off and landing aerial vehicle with tandem electric ducted fan motor

Pütsep¹,

Nerep²,

Tiismus³

et al. 2023

PEAS

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Due to the complexity of control mechanisms, vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aerial vehicles have not found their way into widespread commercial use. Thanks to the availability of advanced technology, it is possible to develop simpler systems. Such systems could be used in transportation, the military, surveillance, etc. The research work is aimed at proposing an automatic stabilisation control algorithm solution for the VTOL hover flight phase. A critical analysis of the existing research work on a similar topic is provided. A flight platform and a suitable test bench for non-destructive tests were developed and presented in the current paper. The flight platform actuator system consists of two counter-rotating electric ducted fan (EDF) thrust motors and two servo systems that control pitch and roll movements. Moreover, the paper presents control algorithm development, structure, and experiments that confirm the proposed solutions. The results of the research work provide a solid foundation for developing the VTOL aerial vehicle, and the test bench prototype demonstrates a concept that can be further used on various flight platforms.

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Experimental Study of the Aerodynamic Interaction between Side-by-Side Propellers in eVTOL Airplane Mode through Stereoscopic Particle Image Velocimetry

Cited by 12 publications

References 16 publications

Flight simulation from takeoff to yawing of eVTOL airplane with coaxial propellers by fluid-rigid body interaction

Flight simulation from takeoff to yawing of eVTOL airplane with coaxial propellers by fluid-rigid body interaction

Fluid-Dynamic and Aeroacoustic Characterization of Side-by-Side Rotor Interaction

Development and testing of vertical take-off and landing aerial vehicle with tandem electric ducted fan motor

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