Experimental and Numerical Studies on the Effect of Airflow Separation Suppression on Aerodynamic Performance of a Ducted Coaxial Propeller in Hovering

The ducted coaxial propeller (DCP) has great application value in eVTOL aircraft because of its high safety, compactness, and low noise. A numerical simulation method for the DCP is established using the sliding mesh technique. A DCP was designed and manufactured for the lift and power test to verif...

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Main Authors: Junjie Wang, Renliang Chen, Jiaxin Lu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2022-12-01
Series:Aerospace
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2226-4310/10/1/11
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author Junjie Wang
Renliang Chen
Jiaxin Lu
author_facet Junjie Wang
Renliang Chen
Jiaxin Lu
author_sort Junjie Wang
collection DOAJ
description The ducted coaxial propeller (DCP) has great application value in eVTOL aircraft because of its high safety, compactness, and low noise. A numerical simulation method for the DCP is established using the sliding mesh technique. A DCP was designed and manufactured for the lift and power test to verify the numerical method. The characteristics of airflow separation inside the DCP were studied, and the influence of the vortex restrain ring (VRR) on the suppression of airflow separation and on lift augmentation of the duct is analyzed. Results show that, when the tip clearance ratio increases from 0.336% to 1.342%, both the total lift and aerodynamic efficiency decrease by about 11.3%. The influence is mainly reflected in the formation of the tip vortex, airflow separation in the straight, and diffusion sections of the duct. Tip vortex and airflow separation increases DCP energy dissipation and clogs the inner wall of the duct, reducing the effective inner diameter and airflow through the duct. Moreover, the role of the duct is weakened, and the wake is contracted, which increases the induced power loss. By adding a VRR to the diffusion section, the tip vortex and airflow separation can be effectively suppressed, which can increase the aerodynamic efficiency by 5.1%.
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spelling doaj.art-5d89c18641f54e769f9c47fd4f9e76192023-11-30T23:18:04ZengMDPI AGAerospace2226-43102022-12-011011110.3390/aerospace10010011Experimental and Numerical Studies on the Effect of Airflow Separation Suppression on Aerodynamic Performance of a Ducted Coaxial Propeller in HoveringJunjie Wang0Renliang Chen1Jiaxin Lu2Academy of Astronautics, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing 210016, ChinaAcademy of Astronautics, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing 210016, ChinaAcademy of Astronautics, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing 210016, ChinaThe ducted coaxial propeller (DCP) has great application value in eVTOL aircraft because of its high safety, compactness, and low noise. A numerical simulation method for the DCP is established using the sliding mesh technique. A DCP was designed and manufactured for the lift and power test to verify the numerical method. The characteristics of airflow separation inside the DCP were studied, and the influence of the vortex restrain ring (VRR) on the suppression of airflow separation and on lift augmentation of the duct is analyzed. Results show that, when the tip clearance ratio increases from 0.336% to 1.342%, both the total lift and aerodynamic efficiency decrease by about 11.3%. The influence is mainly reflected in the formation of the tip vortex, airflow separation in the straight, and diffusion sections of the duct. Tip vortex and airflow separation increases DCP energy dissipation and clogs the inner wall of the duct, reducing the effective inner diameter and airflow through the duct. Moreover, the role of the duct is weakened, and the wake is contracted, which increases the induced power loss. By adding a VRR to the diffusion section, the tip vortex and airflow separation can be effectively suppressed, which can increase the aerodynamic efficiency by 5.1%.https://www.mdpi.com/2226-4310/10/1/11ducted coaxial propellercomputational fluid dynamicsnumerical simulationaerodynamic interferenceeVTOL
spellingShingle Junjie Wang
Renliang Chen
Jiaxin Lu
Experimental and Numerical Studies on the Effect of Airflow Separation Suppression on Aerodynamic Performance of a Ducted Coaxial Propeller in Hovering
Aerospace
ducted coaxial propeller
computational fluid dynamics
numerical simulation
aerodynamic interference
eVTOL
title Experimental and Numerical Studies on the Effect of Airflow Separation Suppression on Aerodynamic Performance of a Ducted Coaxial Propeller in Hovering
title_full Experimental and Numerical Studies on the Effect of Airflow Separation Suppression on Aerodynamic Performance of a Ducted Coaxial Propeller in Hovering
title_fullStr Experimental and Numerical Studies on the Effect of Airflow Separation Suppression on Aerodynamic Performance of a Ducted Coaxial Propeller in Hovering
title_full_unstemmed Experimental and Numerical Studies on the Effect of Airflow Separation Suppression on Aerodynamic Performance of a Ducted Coaxial Propeller in Hovering
title_short Experimental and Numerical Studies on the Effect of Airflow Separation Suppression on Aerodynamic Performance of a Ducted Coaxial Propeller in Hovering
title_sort experimental and numerical studies on the effect of airflow separation suppression on aerodynamic performance of a ducted coaxial propeller in hovering
topic ducted coaxial propeller
computational fluid dynamics
numerical simulation
aerodynamic interference
eVTOL
url https://www.mdpi.com/2226-4310/10/1/11
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AT renliangchen experimentalandnumericalstudiesontheeffectofairflowseparationsuppressiononaerodynamicperformanceofaductedcoaxialpropellerinhovering
AT jiaxinlu experimentalandnumericalstudiesontheeffectofairflowseparationsuppressiononaerodynamicperformanceofaductedcoaxialpropellerinhovering