Today, we see a renewed interest in aircraft with multiple propellers. To support conceptual design of these vehicles, one of the major needs is a fast and accurate method for estimating wing aerodynamic characteristics in the presence of multiple propellers. For the method to be effective, it must be easy to use, have rapid turnaround time and should be able to capture major wing–propeller interaction effects with sufficient accuracy. This research is primarily motivated by the need to assess the effectiveness of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) for simulating aerodynamic characteristics of wings with multiple propellers.
The scope of the present research is limited to investigating the interaction between a single tractor propeller and a wing. This research aims to compare computational results from a Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) method, StarCCM+, and a vortex lattice method (VLM), VSP Aero.
Two configurations that are analysed are 1) WIPP Configuration (Workshop for Integrated Propeller Prediction) 2) APROPOS Configuration. For WIPP, computational results are compared with measured lift and drag data for several angles of attack and Mach numbers. StarCCM+ results of wake flow field are compared with WIPP's wake survey data. For APROPOS, computed data for lift-to-drag ratio of the wing are compared with test data for multiple vertical and spanwise locations of the propeller. The results of the simulations are used to assess the effectiveness of the two CFD methods used in this research. / Master of Science / Today, we see a renewed interest in aircraft with multiple propellers due to an increasing demand for vehicles which fly short distances at low altitudes, be it flying taxis, delivery drones or small passenger aircrafts. To support conceptual design of vehicles, one of the major needs is a fast and accurate method for estimating wing aerodynamic characteristics in the presence of multiple propellers. For the method to be effective, it must be easy to use, have rapid turnaround time and should be able to capture major wing–propeller inter- action effects with sufficient accuracy. This research is primarily motivated by the need to assess the effectiveness of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) for simulating aerodynamic characteristics of wings with multiple propellers. Then only can we can take full advantage of the capabilities of the CFD methods and support design of emerging propeller driven air vehicles with an appropriate level of confidence.
This research aims to compare high level methods with increasingly complex geometries and realistic models of physics like Reynolds Averaged Navier Stokes (RANS) and low level methods that rely on simplified geometry and simplified physics models like Vortex Lattice Methods (VLM). We will analyse multiple configurations and validate them against experi- mental data and thus assessing the effectiveness of the CFD models.
This research investigates two configurations, 1) WIPP configuration 2) APROPOS configuration, for which experimental data is available. The results of the simulations are used to assess the effectiveness of the two CFD methods used in this research.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:VTETD/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/98668 |
| Date | 02 June 2020 |
| Creators | Shah, Harshil Dipen |
| Contributors | Aerospace and Ocean Engineering, Raj, Pradeep, Brizzolara, Stefano, Tafti, Danesh K. |
| Publisher | Virginia Tech |
| Source Sets | Virginia Tech Theses and Dissertation |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | ETD, application/pdf |
| Rights | In Copyright, http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ |
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