Qiao, G., Zhang, T. and Barakos, G. (2024) Numerical simulation of distributed propulsion systems using CFD. Aerospace Science and Technology, 147, 109011. (doi: 10.1016/j.ast.2024.109011)
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Abstract
This paper examines a Distributed Propulsion (DP) concept and involves CFD verification, optimisation and evaluation. The first part of the study validates the employed simulation methods using experimental data from the NASA Workshop for Integrated Propeller Prediction (WIPP) and the Folding Conformal High Lift Propeller (HLP) project, for isolated and installed cases under various conditions. Additionally, validation for rotor-rotor interactions was also conducted using the GARTEUR Action Group 26 measurements. The second part of the paper examines installed propeller configurations to identify performance differences based on their position relative to a lifting wing. The results indicate that distributed propellers with small radii interfere more with the wing, than tip-mounted, large propellers. Additionally, propeller and wing performance vary with respect to the propeller installation location. The propeller in tractor configuration showed higher efficiency than the over-the-wing (OTW) configuration by about 7%. However, results from this work showed a 2% improvement in the propeller efficiency when the OTW configuration had a pylon installed. This study also found that optimising the propeller from a tractor to OTW configuration, significantly improved the wing performance. At take-off and landing, the Lift-to-Drag (L/D) ratio of the OTW configuration almost quadrupled, and the overall propulsive efficiency increased by about 5%. The simulations showed that the OTW configuration with different numbers of propellers, outperformed the tractor configurations with the same number of propellers. Furthermore, up to 26% improvement in lift and overall propulsive efficiency was found by introducing the DP system in the OTW configuration.
| Item Type: | Articles |
|---|---|
| Additional Information: | The Bill Nicol Engineering Scholarship of the University of Glasgow, and the financial support from the James Watt School of Engineering are gratefully acknowledged. Some of the presented results are obtained using the EPSRC-funded ARCHIE-WeSt High-Performance Computer (www.archie-west.ac.uk). Part of the work was supported by EPSRC under grant EP/W010119/1. |
| Status: | Published |
| Refereed: | Yes |
| Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: | Barakos, Professor George and Zhang, Mr Tao and Qiao, Mr Geng |
| Authors: | Qiao, G., Zhang, T., and Barakos, G. |
| College/School: | College of Science and Engineering > School of Engineering College of Science and Engineering > School of Engineering > Autonomous Systems and Connectivity |
| Journal Name: | Aerospace Science and Technology |
| Publisher: | Elsevier |
| ISSN: | 1270-9638 |
| ISSN (Online): | 1626-3219 |
| Published Online: | 28 February 2024 |
| Copyright Holders: | Copyright: © 2024 The Author(s) |
| First Published: | First published in Aerospace Science and Technology 147: 109011 |
| Publisher Policy: | Reproduced under a Creative Commons licence |
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