Numerical analysis of the flow's stability resulting from the propeller's motion on an aero design aircraft

  • Mariana P. Koss Federal University of Technology --- Paraná, 84017-220, Ponta Grossa, PR, Brazil
  • João P. Z. de Andrade Federal University of Technology --- Paraná, 84017-220, Ponta Grossa, PR, Brazil
  • Luiz E. P. Alves Federal University of Technology --- Paraná, 84017-220, Ponta Grossa, PR, Brazil
  • Luiz E. M. Lima Federal University of Technology --- Paraná, 84017-220, Ponta Grossa, PR, Brazil

Abstract

An analysis of the airflow around an AeroDesign aircraft did perform to verify the turbulence generated by the propeller's high rotation and its possible propagation to the aircraft surfaces, which may impair its stability and control. The airflow behavior through the propeller and around the aircraft was verified using a computational tool to run the simulations. For this, it was considered two computational domains of unstructured tetrahedral mesh: a cylindrical for the propeller and a rectangular for the aircraft as a whole. The governing equations were solved using the standard k-epsilon and standard k-omega turbulence models. Later the results' convergence, it was observed that the streamlines around the aircraft were well behaved, despite the turbulence produced by the propeller's high rotation. The results did not affect the aircraft's overall moments according to its gravity center, consequently being able to validate the stability qualities of the analyzed aircraft.

Published
2020-08-25