3D pressure imaging of an aircraft propeller blade-tip flow by phase-locked stereoscopic PIV

3D pressure imaging of an aircraft propeller blade-tip flow by phase-locked stereoscopic PIV

Ragni, D.
Van Oudheusden, B.W.
Scarano, F.

Aerospace Engineering

Aerodynamics & Wind Energy

2011-12-01

The flow field at the tip region of a scaled DHC Beaver aircraft propeller, running at transonic speed, has been investigated by means of a multi-plane stereoscopic particle image velocimetry setup. Velocity fields, phase-locked with the blade rotational motion, are acquired across several planes perpendicular to the blade axis and merged to form a 3D measurement volume. Transonic conditions have been reached at the tip region, with a revolution frequency of 19,800 rpm and a relative free-stream Mach number of 0.73 at the tip. The pressure field and the surface pressure distribution are inferred from the 3D velocity data through integration of the momentum Navier-Stokes equation in differential form, allowing for the simultaneous flow visualization and the aerodynamic loads computation, with respect to a reference frame moving with the blade. The momentum and pressure data are further integrated by means of a contour-approach to yield the aerodynamic sectional force components as well as the blade torsional moment. A steady Reynolds averaged Navier-Stokes numerical simulation of the entire propeller model has been used for comparison to the measurement data.

http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:edf37ff5-917b-4506-88e9-be88e0c2a47e

https://doi.org/10.1007/s00348-011-1236-6

Springer

0723-4864

http://www.springerlink.com/content/j6215077t32p036p/

Experiments in Fluids, 52 (2), 2012

Institutional Repository

journal article

(c) 2011 The Author(s). This article is published with open access at Springerlink.com