Wing optimization of propeller aircraft based on actuator disc method

Zhang, Yifei; Chen, Haixin; Zhang, Yufei

doi:10.1016/j.cja.2020.12.032

Cited by 7 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…The pressure condition of the CFD actuator disc is directly relevant to the axial velocity distribution, whilst the tangential velocity distribution can be obtained by applying an angular velocity to the CFD actuator disc [24,25]. The wakefield can be quickly obtained through the above methods, and the ultimate goal is to obtain the inflow velocity of the lower propeller, namely, the axial and tangential velocities.…”

Section: Original and Optimized Crp Blade Shape Designmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rapid Blade Shape Optimization for Contra-Rotating Propellers for eVTOL Aircraft Considering the Aerodynamic Interference

Qiao

et al. 2023

Aerospace

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The rising interest in the evolvability of electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) promises substantial potential in the field of urban air mobility (UAM). Challenges in energy storage density and geometry restriction both emphasize the propeller efficiency for endurance and takeoff weight, whereas the contra-rotating propellers (CRP) advantage is balancing high thrust and efficiency over a single propeller. The aim of this paper is twofold: (i) to present a novel rapid CRP blade shape optimization framework and (ii) to study the impact of the dual propellers revolution speed allocations on the overall CRP power efficiency. The core of the framework is the blade element momentum theory (BEMT)-based blade shape optimization considering the wake effect of the upper propeller by the rotational CFD (computational fluid dynamics) actuator-disc simulation method. The results show that for the same thrust, the optimized CRP at the equal revolution speed is superior to the original (upper-lower-identical) one by 5.9% in thrust-to-power ratio. The overall efficiency can be additionally lifted by 5.3% when the dual propellers share similar torques. By excluding the integral propeller CFD simulation and empirical parameters estimation, the framework enables the swift obtaining of an optimized CRP scheme while maintaining robustness as well.

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Section: Original and Optimized Crp Blade Shape Designmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rapid Blade Shape Optimization for Contra-Rotating Propellers for eVTOL Aircraft Considering the Aerodynamic Interference

Qiao

et al. 2023

Aerospace

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“…Simulations of the propeller/wing interference could, in general, be divided into two main techniques. The first type was used to simulate the steady-state flow, which included the multiple reference frame (MRF) technique [32] and the actuator disk model [33], also known as the virtual blade model [34]. The other set of methods involved transient flow simulations, that is to state the methods considered the motion of the propeller at each time step, which contained the sliding mesh method (SMM) [28,35] and the overset mesh method (OMM) [36].…”

Section: Grid Generationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of Aerodynamic Interaction on Performance of Contrarotating Propeller/Wing System

et al. 2022

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This paper gives a quantitative account of the influence of slipstream on the aerodynamic performance of a contrarotating propeller (CRP)/wing system, and compares it with the CRP and clean wing. To accurately evaluate the complex aerodynamic interaction, the unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes approach using the sliding mesh method is performed at a typical freestream velocity of 30 m/s. Four different critical parameters, including the freestream angle of attack (AoA), axial spacing between the front propeller (FP) and rear propeller (RP), number of blades, and rotational speed, are considered in the present work. The results show that the thrust coefficient, power coefficient, and propulsion efficiency of the CRP/wing system change sharply and the difference in amplitude between adjacent waves is large. In particular, the propeller slipstream has a significant impact on the lift–drag performance of the wing in the case of a nonzero AoA. The presence of a wing also increases the efficiency of propulsion due to the recovery of vortices. In the case of a small axial spacing, the thrust coefficient value of the FP is significantly smaller than that of the RP. However, when the axial spacing exceeds a certain value, the opposite relationship is obtained. When the rotational speed increases from 3695 RPM to 8867 RPM, the lift coefficient and drag coefficient of the wing gradually increase.

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