Sliding mesh algorithm for CFD analysis of helicopter rotor-fuselage aerodynamics

Steijl, R. and Barakos, G. (2008) Sliding mesh algorithm for CFD analysis of helicopter rotor-fuselage aerodynamics. International Journal for Numerical Methods in Fluids, 58(5), pp. 527-549. (doi: 10.1002/fld.1757)

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Abstract

The study of rotor–fuselage interactional aerodynamics is central to the design and performance analysis of helicopters. However, regardless of its significance, rotor–fuselage aerodynamics has so far been addressed by very few authors. This is mainly due to the difficulties associated with both experimental and computational techniques when such complex configurations, rich in flow physics, are considered. In view of the above, the objective of this study is to develop computational tools suitable for rotor–fuselage engineering analysis based on computational fluid dynamics (CFD).<p></p> To account for the relative motion between the fuselage and the rotor blades, the concept of sliding meshes is introduced. A sliding surface forms a boundary between a CFD mesh around the fuselage and a rotor-fixed CFD mesh which rotates to account for the movement of the rotor. The sliding surface allows communication between meshes. Meshes adjacent to the sliding surface do not necessarily have matching nodes or even the same number of cell faces. This poses a problem of interpolation, which should not introduce numerical artefacts in the solution and should have minimal effects on the overall solution quality. As an additional objective, the employed sliding mesh algorithms should have small CPU overhead. The sliding mesh methods developed for this work are demonstrated for both simple and complex cases with emphasis placed on the presentation of the inner workings of the developed algorithms.

Item Type:Articles
Status:Published
Refereed:Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:Barakos, Professor George and Steijl, Dr Rene
Authors: Steijl, R., and Barakos, G.
College/School:College of Science and Engineering > School of Engineering
Journal Name:International Journal for Numerical Methods in Fluids
Publisher:Wiley
ISSN:0271-2091
ISSN (Online):1097-0363
Published Online:18 February 2008

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Project CodeAward NoProject NamePrincipal InvestigatorFunder's NameFunder RefLead Dept
327581Rotorcraft DARP (predictive methods and dissemination)Frank CotonEngineering & Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)GR/S61300/01Vice Principal Learning and Teaching