The Impact of Installation Effects on Propeller Design Optimization for Aerodynamic and Aeroacoustic Performance

To make propellers more viable as a greener alternative to jet engines, the issue of propeller noise needs to be addressed. Previous propeller design optimization studies rarely take into account the effects on aerodynamic and aeroacoustic performance due to non-uniform inflow, the type of flow the propeller would experience if it was installed...

Development of an Aeroservoelastic Platform: From Concept to Final Product

With the increased focus on sustainability, aircraft are designed to reduce their emissions. One way to accomplish this is by increasing the wing aspect ratio, thereby increasing the aerodynamic efficiency, however this is not without consequences. Increased aspect ratio wings have a higher structural mass, are more susceptible to gust and...

Design of a Variable Pitch, Energy-Harvesting Propeller for In-Flight Power Recuperation on Electric Aircraft

In this thesis project, it is investigated to what extent the energy consumption of an electric aircraft can be improved by using a variable pitch and RPM propeller, including energy recuperation during the descent, with respect to a constant pitch propeller. The largest percentage of total mission energy saved using the variable pitch propeller...

Multi-Fidelity Aerodynamic and Aeroacoustic Sensitivity Study of Isolated Propellers

In the global search to more sustainable developments, research in the field of propeller propulsion systems is experiencing a renewed interest. The combination of efficiency and noise production is not studied as extensively as propeller efficiency alone in past studies. In this study, the relation between propeller noise and efficiency is...

LES of a novel wing/body junction : Anti-fairing

Large Eddy Simulations (LES) of a novel type of wing/body junction called the anti-fairing are performed in the current thesis to study the complex turbulent flow physics involved in the junction area and also to obtain a clear understanding of the drag reduction capabilities of the anti-fairing. In regards to that, two separate LES are...

Aerodynamic interactions between canard and multi-cranked wing at low speeds: An Experimental Study

The longitudinal characteristics of a multi cranked wing in tandem with a canard were investigated on a 2\% scaled generic, modular wind tunnel model in the 2.85m x 2.85m Open Jet Facility (OJF) at Delft University of Technology. The experimental campaign yielded force, moment and surface oil flow data for a moderate angle of attack range of –5...

Aerodynamic interaction effects of circular and square ducted propellers

With the goal of decreasing the environmental impact of aircraft, ducted propellers emerge as an efficient propulsive alternative. Ducts are able to increase the thrust to power ratio of a propeller system by both producing thrust and/or lowering tip losses of propellers. In this thesis, RANS CFD simulations were used to analyse the possible...

Design of Swirl Recovery Vanes for Wing-Mounted Tractor Propeller Propulsion System

Increasing pressure of reducing fuel consumption has led to renewed interests in propeller propulsion devices for their high propulsive efficiency. In a propeller propulsion system, the torque applied to the propeller results in angular momentum in propeller slipstream. This angular momentum is not only a form of energy loss that does not...

Characterization of junction flow under the influence of passive flow control devices: An experimental study with large-scale tomographic PTV technique

Junction flow denotes the fluid phenomenon where the flow on a flat surface encounters a protuberance. This type of flow, which is highly three-dimensional, turbulent and unsteady, usually leads to the generation of a Horseshoe vortex at the obstacle's leading edge. Existing extensive experimental and numerical studies focus on the inception of...

Vortex-Surface Interactions: An experimental investigation and the development of a conceptual vortex-surface interaction model

The high efficiency of open rotor propulsion has led to a comeback of propeller propulsion systems in recent years. The main issue preventing wide application of the technology is its high noise level. One of the main contributors to this noise is the pressure fluctuations generated during the interaction between a propeller tip vortex and a...

Enabling an architecture-based design approach for multi-body simulation of complex systems

As the complexity of high-tech systems continuously increases, engineers look for possibilities to reduce time and cost of the development of these systems. Architecture-based design enables a front-loaded design process with knowledge reuse. By enabling the automatic synthesis of simulation models, different configurations of an architecture...

Reduced-order modelling for prediction of aircraft flight dynamics: Based on indicial step response functions investigating agile aircraft undergoing rapid manoeuvres

During aircraft design,multiple tools are utilised to inspect the performance of the configuration. As the design matures, higher fidelity analyses are conducted to predict the flight dynamics of the aircraft. These analyses are conducted by using semi-empirical relations, numerically analysing flow behaviour, conducting wind-tunnel tests and...