Wind tunnel investigation of wing-propeller interaction

Abstract

It is known in the Aerospace industry that minimizing induced drag is one of the main goals to reduce fuel consumption. Nowadays, new concepts are being investigated with the most advanced technology to check their viability. One of them is the wing performance due to its interaction with a propeller in a tractor configuration. Effects of wing-­‐propeller interaction have been researched since the 1940s and 50𝑠��[!!!] with the purpose of analyzing how the aerodynamic performance is affected. However, most of the literature is related with high Reynolds numbers. Due to the limited information related to low Reynolds numbers, Gavin K. Ananda[!] from the Department of Aerospace Engineering at University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign decided to increase the understanding of the wing-­‐propeller interaction for low Reynolds numbers. To reach this goal, they analyzed the flow behavior on a wing for Reynolds numbers between 50,000 to 80,000 by varying different parameters such as propeller advance ratio and location. This project aims to verify if the conclusions reached on Ananda’s work can be extrapolated to higher Reynolds numbers between 125,000 to 175,000. During testing, different parameters have been modified. These are chordwise Reynolds numbers, propeller advance ratio and propeller location. Generally, this last parameter is intended to determine the most efficient position of the propeller. To accomplish this goal, the project has been divided into two parts, the fabrication of the setup and the data acquisition. The project has lasted one academic year taking each of the aforementioned parts for one semester.