Numerical Analysis of Propeller Mounting Position Effects on Aerodynamic Propeller/Wing Interaction
Shota Taniguchi, Akira Oyama
Abstract
View Video Presentation: https://doi.org/10.2514/6.2022-0153.vid The propeller mounting position effect on aerodynamic characteristics of fixed-wing is numerically investigated. Unsteady Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes simulations using overlapping grids are conducted for the wing-nacelle with the middle-mounted propeller and that with the wingtip-mounted propeller. The propeller rotation direction is opposite to that of the wingtip vortex. The results show wing-nacelle in wingtip-mounted configuration has a smaller drag coefficient than middle-mounted configuration. This is because the pressure drag coefficient in tip-mounted configuration decreases while that in middle-mounted configuration increases. The pressure drag coefficient mainly increases in the area affected by propeller downwash in the middle-mounted configuration. The local pressure drag coefficient of fixed-wing in wingtip-mounted configuration is not increased because the fixed-wing is not affected by the propeller downwash. It is also found that the pressure drag coefficient of the nacelle decreases in tip-mounted configuration. The propeller slipstream attenuated wingtip vortex, resulting in a decreased pressure drag coefficient of the nacelle.