A computational model for rotor-fuselage interactional aerodynamics

Abstract

A novel unsteady rotor-fuselage interactional aerodynamics model has been developed. This model loosely couples a Generalized Dynamic Wake Theory (GDWT) to a thin-layer Navier-Stokes solution procedure. This coupling is achieved using an unsteady pressure jump boundary condition in the Navier-Stokes model. The new unsteady pressure jump boundary condition models each rotor blade as a moving pressure jump which travels around the rotor azimuth and is applied between two adjacent planes in a cylindrical, non-rotating grid. Comparisons are made between measured and predicted time-averaged and time-accurate rotor inflow ratios. Additional comparisons are made between measured and predicted unsteady surface pressures on the top centerline and sides of the fuselage.

Actuator Disk Model with Improved Tip Loss Correction for Hover and Forward Flight Rotor Analysis

“…These actuator models do not require theoretically induced flow models (such as in BET) because flow information is obtained from the CFD results. In an actuator disk model (ADM) [3,4], rotor effects are considered in the computational domain by applying the averaged momentum source, i.e., thrust force, to the area where the rotor blade passes through [5].…”