The Impact of Installation Effects on Propeller Design Optimization for Aerodynamic and Aeroacoustic Performance
W.M.J. de Gruijl (TU Delft - Aerospace Engineering)
T. Sinnige – Mentor (TU Delft - Flight Performance and Propulsion)
G. Eitelberg – Graduation committee member (TU Delft - Flight Performance and Propulsion)
W. J. Baars – Coach (TU Delft - Aerodynamics)
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Abstract
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 on an aircraft. This study compares propeller designs optimized in uniform flow with propeller designs optimized in an inflow under an angle of attack of 5 degrees, and compares their aerodynamic and aeroacoustic performance when both propellers operate under an angle of attack of 5 degrees. The objective was to investigate whether it makes a difference in terms of performance if the non-uniform inflow is included and accounted for in the optimization routine. It was found that for the non-uniform inflow studied in this work, there was no significant improvement in aerodynamic and aeroacoustic performance when comparing the design optimized in the non-uniform flow with the design optimized in uniform flow.