On the use of filament-based free wake panel methods for preliminary design of propeller-wing configurations

With distributed propulsion and electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft on the rise, fast and accurate methods to simulate propeller slipstreams and their interaction with aircraft components are needed. In this work, we compare results obtained with a filament-based free wake panel method to experimental and previously validated...

Nonlinear inviscid aerodynamics of a wind turbine rotor in surge, sway, and yaw motions using a free-wake panel method

We investigate the aerodynamics of a surging, heaving, and yawing wind turbine with numerical simulations based on a free-wake panel method. We focus on the UNAFLOW (UNsteady Aerodynamics of FLOating Wind turbines) case: a surging wind turbine which was modeled experimentally and with various numerical methods. Good agreement with experimental...

Free wake panel method simulations of a highly flexible wing in flutter and gusts

This paper presents low speed fluid structure interaction simulations of a highly flexible wing at various flow conditions, including flutter and excitation from sinusoidal gusts. Such wings are becoming more relevant in recent years, due to their potential for improving aerodynamics and reducing weight, while their flutter characteristics...

Free Wake Panel Method Simulations of a Highly Flexible Wing at Flutter

This paper shows fluid structure interaction simulations of a highly flexible wing at various flow conditions, including flutter regime. This is achieved with two-way time domain coupling of a geometrically exact beam structural model and a 3D free wake panel method, modelling the outer surface of the wing, which allow for non-linear effects of...

Assessment through high-fidelity simulations of a low-fidelity noise prediction tool for a vertical-axis wind turbine

Vertical-axis wind turbines have the potential to be installed nearby urban areas, where noise regulations are a constraint. Accurate modelling of the far-field noise with low-order fidelity methods is essential to account for noise early in the design phase. The challenge for the vertical-axis wind turbine is the unsteady azimuthal variation...

Surging Wind Turbine Simulations with a Free Wake Panel Method

We investigate the aerodynamics of a surging wind turbine with numerical simulations based on a free wake panel method. We start by demonstrating the method's capability to simulate a plunging airfoil, which provides some insights that are later used to interpret results of a surging rotor. We then validate the method on a non-surging wind...