Abstract
The flow through the rotor of a propeller is complex and cannot be solved by pure analytical methods. Varieties of numerical methods were used to handle this problem including the momentum theory, blade element theory, lifting line theory, panel methods and CFD analysis. The objective of this study is to look into the possible use of alternative airfoils (Joukowski and Göttingen) for use in small propellers calculated by a simple validated home-built FORTRAN code based on the momentum theory and blade element theory. This code was then used to investigate the effects of the airfoil section, chord and pitch angle distributions along the blade. The linear pitch distribution in blades of propeller reduced the coefficients of thrust and power and indicated higher blade loading at the intermediate region and lower loading at the tip region in comparison with the Göttingen 796 propeller with the reference pitch distribution. With reference to the two investigated airfoils sections, Göttingen 796 and generalized Joukowski, it was found that the thrust and the power coefficients and the efficiency of the generalized Joukowski propeller are greater than the respective coefficients of Göttingen 796 propeller for advanced ratio J = 0.85 and higher. The predicted results indicated that the use of the elliptical chord distribution instead of tapered blade reduces the blade loading at the tip region and increases it at the intermediate region of the blade, but also reduces the coefficient of thrust, torque and power in comparison with the blade having the reference chord distribution.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Theodorsen, T.: Theory of Propellers, Chap. II. McGraw-Hill, New York (1948)
Dumitrescu, H., Cardos, V.: Wind turbine aerodynamic performance by lifting line method. Int. J. Rotat. Mach 4(3), 141–149 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1155/S1023621X98000128
Palmiter, S.M., Katz, J.: Evaluation of a potential flow model for propeller and wind turbine design. J. Aircr. 47(5), 1739–1746 (2010)
Bohorquez, F., Pines, D., Samuel, P.D.: Small rotor design optimization using blade element momentum theory and hover tests. J. Aircr. 47(1), 268–283 (2010). https://doi.org/10.2514/1.45301
Khan, W., Nahon, M.: Development and validation of a propeller slipstream model for unmanned aerial vehicles. J Aircr. AIAA Early Edition (2015). https://doi.org/10.2514/1.c033118
Morgado, J., Abdollahzadeh, M., Silvestre, M.A.R., Páscoa, J.C.: High altitude propeller design and analysis. Aerosp. Sci. Technol. 45, 398–407 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ast.2015.06.011
Wald, Q.R.: The aerodynamics of propeller. Prog. Aerosp. Sci. 42(2), 85–128 (2006)
Glauert, H.: The Elements of Aerofoil and Airscrew Theory, Chaps. XV, XVI. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge (1926)
Houghton, E.L., Carpenter, P.W., Collicott, S.H., Valentine, D.T.: Aerodynamics for Engineering Students, Chap. 10, vol. Sixth. Elsevier, London (2013)
Hartman, E.P., Biermann, D.: The Aerodynamic Characteristcs Full-Scale Propellers Having 2, 3 and 4 Blades of Clark Y and R.A.F. 6 Airfoil Sections. NACA Report No. 640. Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory, National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, Langley Field, VA, USA (1938)
Lyon, C.A., Broeren, A.P., Giguère, P., Gopalarathnam, A., Selig, M.S.: Summary of Low-Speed Airfoil Data, vol. 3. Department of Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, SoarTech Publications, Virginia Beach, VA, USA (1998)
Drela, M.: XFOIL Subsonic Airfoil Development System, XFOIL 6.99. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA (2013). http://web.mit.edu/drela/Public/web/xfoil/. Accessed 12 Apr 2016
Glauert, H.: A Generalised Type of Joukowski Aerofoil. ARC RM No. 911 (1924)
Acknowledgements
The first author wishes to thank the National Research Council (CNPq) for the PQ research grant.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this paper
Cite this paper
Ismail, K.A.R., Rosolen, C.V.A.G. (2019). Parametric Study of the Effects of Varying the Airfoil Section, the Chord and Pitch Distributions Along the Propeller Blade. In: Cavalca, K., Weber, H. (eds) Proceedings of the 10th International Conference on Rotor Dynamics – IFToMM . IFToMM 2018. Mechanisms and Machine Science, vol 62. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-99270-9_12
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-99270-9_12
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-99269-3
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-99270-9
eBook Packages: EngineeringEngineering (R0)