NUMERICAL AERODYNAMIC AND AEROACOUSTIC ANALYSIS OF TOROIDAL PROPELLER DESIGNS

Year 2024, Volume: 05 Issue: 01, 20 - 33, 21.06.2024

Xuan-duc Vu , Anh-tuan Nguyen , Tuong-linh Nha , Quan Chu , Cong-truong Dınh

Abstract

Drones have a major drawback which prevents them from being used extensively - the excessive noise they produce. This article presents an optimization process of aerodynamic noise reduction for a novel design called the Toroidal Propeller, which consists of two blades looping together so that the tip of one blade curves back into the other, has been designed by the Aerospace Propulsion Systems (APSs) research team at School of Mechanical Engineering, Hanoi University of Science and Technology. In addition, four toroidal propellers with different curved shapes (pitch) and Number of Blades (NOB) are considered. The objective of this research is to investigate the effects of modifying the geometry design of the Toroidal Propeller on the intensity of blade tip vortex and aerodynamic flow characteristics passing through the blade. The ultimate goal is to decrease blade tip vortex and turbulence produced by the blade, which can help estimate the sound pressure level and minimize it without causing significant performance losses. Based on the outcome results, the models of the four geometry studies are compared in terms of Acoustic Power Level (APL), Surface Acoustic Power Level (SAPL), Thrust, Torque, and Power. In general, the propeller model with NOB of 3 provides the most optimal efficiency in terms of both Thrust and APL. At the output cross-section, the APL dropped from nearly 139 dB to 121 dB, while the Thrust increased from almost 6.2N to 8.7N compared to the first version of the Toroidal Propeller model.

Keywords

Toroidal propeller, blade number, thrust, acoustic power level

Ethical Statement

This research is funded by the Ministry of Education and Training (MoET) under Project No. B2023-BKA-11

Supporting Institution

Ministry of Education and Training (MoET)

Project Number

B2023-BKA-11

Thanks

Ministry of Education and Training (MoET)

References

• ANSYS. Inc, 2019. ANSYS Fluent User’s Manual. Release 2019 R2.
• Céspedes M., J.F., Lopez M., O.D., 2019. Simulation and validation of the aerodynamic performance of a quadcopter in hover condition using overset mesh, in: AIAA Aviation 2019 Forum. American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Inc, AIAA.
• Chirico, G., Barakos, G.N., Bown, N., 2018. Numerical aeroacoustic analysis of propeller designs. Aeronautical Journal 122, 283–315.
• Dantsker, O.D., 2022. Performance Testing of APC Electric Fixed-Blade UAV Propellers, in: AIAA AVIATION 2022 Forum. American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Inc, AIAA.
• Demoret, A.C., Wisniewski, C.F., 2019. The impact of a notched leading edge on performance and noise signature of unmanned aerial vehicle propellers, in: AIAA Scitech 2019 Forum. American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Inc, AIAA.
• Ewing, P., 2015. Best practices for aerospace aerodynamics, in: STAR East Asia Conference, Singapore.
• Garofano-Soldado, A., Sanchez-Cuevas, P.J., ... Ollero, A., 2022. Numerical-experimental evaluation and modelling of aerodynamic ground effect for small-scale tilted propellers at low Reynolds numbers. Aerospace Science and Technology.
• Gerr, D., 1989. Propeller Handbook, in: International Marine Publishing.
• Goh, S.C., Schlüter, J.U., 2016. Numerical simulation of a Savonius turbine above an infinite-width forward facing step. Wind Engineering 40, 134–147.
• Gómez-Iradi, S., Steijl, R., Barakos, G.N., 2009. Development and validation of a cfd technique for the aerodynamic analysis of HAWT. Journal of Solar Energy Engineering, Transactions of the ASME 131, 0310091–03100913
• Gur, O., Rosen, A., 2009. Design of a quiet propeller for an electric mini unmanned air vehicle. Journal of Propulsion and Power 25, 717–728.
• Kim, D., Lee, Y., ... Park, D., 2021. Aerodynamic analysis and static stability analysis of Manned/unmanned distributed propulsion aircrafts using actuator methods. Journal of Wind Engineering and Industrial Aerodynamics 214.
• Klimchenko, V., Baeder, J., 2020. CFD/CSD study of interactional aerodynamics of a coaxial compound helicopter in high-speed forward flight, in: AIAA Scitech 2020 Forum. American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Inc, AIAA.
• Krishnamurthy, S., 2021. Remote Psychoacoustic Test for Urban Air Mobility Vehicle Noise Human Response, in: Langley Research Center Hampton, Virginia, United States.
• Li, Y., Li, X., ... Zhong, S., 2023. Experimental and numerical investigations on rotor noise in axial descending flight. Physical Review Fluids 8.
• Liu, X., Zhao, D., Oo, N.L., 2022. Numerical prediction of the power coefficient improvements of three laterally aligned Savonius wind turbines above a forward-facing step. Journal of Wind Engineering and Industrial Aerodynamics 228.
• Marte, J.E., Kurtz, D.W., 1970. A Review of Aerodynamic Noise from Propellers, Rotors, and Lift Fans, JPL Technical Report 32-1462. MIT Lincoln Laboratory, 2022. Toroidal Propeller.
• Misiorowski, M., Gandhi, F., Oberai, A.A., 2019. Computational study on rotor interactional effects for a quadcopter in edgewise flight. AIAA Journal 57, 5309–5319.
• Pérez G., A.M., López, O.D., Escobar, J.A., 2017. Computational study of the wake of a quadcopter propeller in hover, in: 23rd AIAA Computational Fluid Dynamics Conference, 2017. American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Inc, AIAA.
• Roskam, J., Lan, C., 1997. Airplane Aerodynamics and Performance, in: Airplane Design and Analysis, Design, Analysis and Research Corporation.
• Schulz, A., 2023. Development of a Low Noise Drone Propeller Using CFD Simulations. Lund University.
• Sebastian, T., Strem, C., 2020. Toroidal Propeller - US Patent (MIT). Seddon, J., Newman, S., 2011. Basic Helicopter Aerodynamics, Basic Helicopter Aerodynamics. Wiley.
• Stanko, T.S., Ingham, D.B., ... Pourkashanian, M., 2008. Computational fluid dynamic prediction of noise from a cold turbulent propane jet, in: Proceedings of the ASME Turbo Expo. pp. 645–652.
• Stokkermans, T.C., Van Arnhem, N., ... Veldhuis, L.L.A., 2019. Validation and comparison of RANS propeller modeling methods for tip-mounted applications. AIAA Journal 57, 566–580
• Stokkermans, T., Veldhuis, L., ... Eglin, P., 2020. Breakdown of aerodynamic interactions for the lateral rotors on a compound helicopter. Aerospace Science and Technology 101.
• Stuermer, A., 2008. Unsteady CFD simulations of contra-rotating propeller propulsion systems, in: 44th AIAA/ASME/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference and Exhibit.
• Vargas Loureiro, E., Oliveira, N.L., ... de Castro Lemonge, A.C., 2021. Evaluation of low fidelity and CFD methods for the aerodynamic performance of a small propeller. Aerospace Science and Technology 108.
• Veríssimo, R., 2016. Best Practice Guidelines in External Aerodynamics CFD: Applied to Unmanned Aerial Vehicles at Cruise Conditions, in: Doctoral dissertation, Academia da Forc¸ a Aérea.
• Wagner, C., Hüttl, T., Sagaut, P., 2007. Large-eddy simulation for acoustics, Large-Eddy Simulation for Acoustics. Cambridge University Press.
• Wisniewski, C.F., Byerley, A.R., ... Liller, W.R., 2015. The influence of airfoil shape, tip geometry, reynolds number and chord length on small propeller performance and noise, in: 33rd AIAA Applied Aerodynamics Conference. American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Inc, AIAA
• Wisniewski, C.F., Byerley, A.R., ... Wisniewski, N., 2015. Experimental evaluation of open propeller aerodynamic performance and aero-acoustic behavior, in: 33rd AIAA Applied Aerodynamics Conference. American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Inc, AIAA.
• Wisniewski, C.F., Treuren K.V., 2022. Novel UAS propeller design part I: using an unloaded tip to reduce power requirements and lower generated sound levels for propellers designed for minimum induced drag, in: Proceedings of ASME Turbo Expo 2022 Turbomachinery Technical Conference and Exposition, pp. GT2022-81579.
• Wu, Y., Ai, Y.T., ... Chen, Y., 2019. A Novel Aerodynamic Noise Reduction Method Based on Improving Spanwise Blade Shape for Electric Propeller Aircraft. International Journal of Aerospace Engineering 2019.