This paper gives a quantitative account of the influence of slipstream on the aerodynamic performance of a contrarotating propeller (CRP)/wing system, and compares it with the CRP and clean wing. To accurately evaluate the complex aerodynamic interaction, the unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes approach using the sliding mesh method is performed at a typical freestream velocity of 30 m/s. Four different critical parameters, including the freestream angle of attack (AoA), axial spacing between the front propeller (FP) and rear propeller (RP), number of blades, and rotational speed, are considered in the present work. The results show that the thrust coefficient, power coefficient, and propulsion efficiency of the CRP/wing system change sharply and the difference in amplitude between adjacent waves is large. In particular, the propeller slipstream has a significant impact on the lift–drag performance of the wing in the case of a nonzero AoA. The presence of a wing also increases the efficiency of propulsion due to the recovery of vortices. In the case of a small axial spacing, the thrust coefficient value of the FP is significantly smaller than that of the RP. However, when the axial spacing exceeds a certain value, the opposite relationship is obtained. When the rotational speed increases from 3695 RPM to 8867 RPM, the lift coefficient and drag coefficient of the wing gradually increase.
Considering the vibration generated by a propeller-driven UAV or encountering gust, the propeller will perform a very complex follower motion. A pitch and rotating coupled motion is proposed in the present work that can take more complex unsteady performance of follower force than a regular fixed-point rotating motion. In order to evaluate the unsteady follower force and conduct parametric study, an extensive ground test bench was designed for this purpose where the whole test system was driven by a linear servo actuator and the follower force was measured by a 6-component balance. For CFD simulation, coupled motion in particular needs detailed unsteady aerodynamic model; therefore, a high-fidelity CFD-based study integrated with the overset mesh method was complemented to solve the unsteady fluid of varying conditions. The results suggest that a significant influence on unsteady follower force is observed, and the mean value of in-plane force does not equal to zero during the coupled motion process. Compared with the regular fixed-point rotation of propeller, the fluctuation frequency of follower force in present work couples the rotation and pitch motion frequencies. In addition, the oscillation amplitude of out-plane force and torque is positively related with the pitch frequency, pitch amplitude, and relative length from leading edge of wing to the rotation center. For example, the oscillation amplitude of 1-blade’s out-plane force and torque increases by 57.122% and 66.542% for the 5 Hz-5 deg case compared with the 5 Hz-3 deg case, respectively. However, the torque is not sensitive to frequency of pitch motion. The generally excellent agreement evident between the ground test and numerical simulation results is important as guidance for our future investigation on “dynamic” aerodynamic performance of a propeller-driven UAV.
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