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Article
Publication date: 27 September 2018

Miodrag Milenković-Babić

This paper aims to present the new information about propeller thrust force contribution to airplane longitudinal stability analysis.

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to present the new information about propeller thrust force contribution to airplane longitudinal stability analysis.

Design/methodology/approach

The method presented in this paper is empirical, shows how propeller thrust force derivative can be obtained and gives some additional information about misinterpretation of the propeller thrust effects that are present in the current literature.

Findings

New information about propeller thrust force contribution to airplane longitudinal stability analysis has been presented. This information should enable more precise insight in aircraft stability analysis and better understanding of the physical process that occurs during maneuver flight.

Practical implications

The information presented in this paper is new and specific to the propeller aircraft configuration. The methods used here are standard procedure to evaluating propeller thrust force derivative.

Originality/value

The information in this paper presents theoretical results. The method for calculating thrust force contribution to the airplane longitudinal stability is given depending on the propeller type and should enable good engineering results.

Details

Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, vol. 90 no. 9
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1748-8842

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 5 October 2015

Kwanchai Chinwicharnam, Edgard David Gomez Ariza, Jean-Marc Moschetta and Chinnapat Thipyopas

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the influence of a propeller slipstream on the aerodynamic characteristics of a fixed-wing micro air vehicle (MAV) by simplifying a…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the influence of a propeller slipstream on the aerodynamic characteristics of a fixed-wing micro air vehicle (MAV) by simplifying a propeller to an actuator disk and an actuator volume.

Design/methodology/approach

A computational fluid dynamic (CFD) approach.

Findings

The simulation flows are found and show that the propeller slipstream changes the flow field around the wing, which improves the aerodynamic performance of the wing. The aerodynamic performance is improved first, when the separation of the boundary flow at the upper surface wing is delayed. Second, the flow region of the boundary layer is boosted close to the wing surface again at a high incidence angle. And finally, the velocity inlet of the wing is increased by the propeller-induced flow.

Research limitations/implications

The incidence angle is in the range of 0-80°with an increment of 20°. The free stream velocity and RPM used are 6 m/s and 5,000 rpm, respectively.

Originality/value

A propeller is simplified to an actuator disk and an actuator volume.

Details

Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology: An International Journal, vol. 87 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0002-2667

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 29 July 2024

Bahadır Cinoğlu

The purpose of this study is to determine propeller damage based on acoustic recordings taken from unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) propellers operated at different thrust conditions…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to determine propeller damage based on acoustic recordings taken from unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) propellers operated at different thrust conditions on a test bench. Propeller damage is especially critical for fixed-wing UAVs to sustain a safe flight. The acoustic characteristics of the propeller vary with different propeller damages.

Design/methodology/approach

For the research, feature extraction methods and machine learning techniques were used during damage detection from propeller acoustic data. First of all, sound recordings were obtained by operating five different damaged propellers and undamaged propellers under three different thrusts. Afterwards, the harmonic-to-noise ratio (HNR) feature extraction technique was applied to these audio recordings. Finally, model training and validation were performed by applying the Gaussian Naive Bayes machine learning technique to create a diagnostic approach.

Findings

A high recall value of 96.19% was obtained in the performance results of the model trained according to damaged and undamaged propeller acoustic data. The precision value was 73.92% as moderate. The overall accuracy value of the model, which can be considered as general performance, was obtained as 81.24%. The F1 score has been found as 83.76% which provides a balanced measure of the model’s precision and recall values.

Practical implications

This study include provides solid method to diagnose UAV propeller damage using acoustic data obtain from the microphone and allows identification of differently damaged propellers. Using that, the risk of in-flight failures can be reduced and maintenance costs can be lowered with addressing the occurred problems with UAV propeller before they worsen.

Originality/value

This study introduces a novel method to diagnose damaged UAV propellers using the HNR feature extraction technique and Gaussian Naive Bayes classification method. The study is a pioneer in the use of HNR and the Gaussian Naive Bayes and demonstrates its effectiveness in augmenting UAV safety by means of propeller damages. Furthermore, this approach contributes to UAV operational reliability by bridging the acoustic signal processing and machine learning.

Details

Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, vol. 96 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1748-8842

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 11 June 2024

Jagan Raj R. and Gowtham G.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of propeller thrust with two different duct configurations. Propellers in a quadcopter play an indispensable role in…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of propeller thrust with two different duct configurations. Propellers in a quadcopter play an indispensable role in generating the necessary thrust and torque to keep the drone flying and manoeuvring. Based on the specific purpose of the unmanned aerial vehicle, both the altitude and attitude can be varied by the amount of thrust produced.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper deals with the generation of three numerical models such as plain rotor, rotor with fixed duct and rotor with rotating duct and the comparison of their amount of generated thrust. The plain rotor numerical analysis was compared with the experimental results. The rotor taken for the analysis was 15 mm*5.5 mm TAROT 650. Thrust was measured for all models at four different angular speeds, such as 2,500 rpm, 4,000 rpm, 5,500 rpm and 7,000 rpm.

Findings

Due to the suction pressure gradient on the duct inlet surface, the additional amount of lift is produced, and it is the best way of increasing propulsion efficiency and its aerodynamic performance as it reduces the tip loss at the tip of the propeller. The turbulence model taken for the numerical analysis was kε.

Originality/value

The rotating duct is expected to provide additional thrust by the increased upward force due to the rotation of duct. The rotating duct produced the optimal results between the plain model and ducted model. At the highest speed of 7,000 rpm, the ducted propeller produced 24.97 N, and the rotating duct propeller produced 23.89 N, whereas the plain propeller produced 23 N thrust. Nearly 8.6% of the thrust improvement is observed in duct and 3.87% in rotating duct.

Details

Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, vol. 96 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1748-8842

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 2 May 2024

Lingfei Zhang, Longfeng Hou and Yihao Tao

Water jet propulsion is widely used in various military and civilian fields due to its advantages of simple structure and high propulsion efficiency. The process of mooring…

Abstract

Purpose

Water jet propulsion is widely used in various military and civilian fields due to its advantages of simple structure and high propulsion efficiency. The process of mooring involves utilizing specially designed equipment to secure a ship at a designated berth. During the process of water jet propulsion, the single propeller operates within a complex and turbulent three-dimensional flow. Hence, studying the coupling between the water jet propeller and the hull is critical to comprehending the characteristics of the device and the distribution of the flow field in detail.

Design/methodology/approach

Firstly, we conducted computational fluid dynamics (CFD)-based self-propulsion calculations to evaluate the interaction between the hull and the propeller. We subsequently analyzed the propeller's performance and the forces acting on the hull to understand how the presence or absence of the hull influenced the water jet propeller. Finally, we performed calculations and analysis of the cavitation characteristics of the coupling between the hull and the water jet propeller, considering different rotational speeds and water depths at the bottom of the pool.

Findings

The study demonstrated that the presence of the hull boundary layer under the hull-propeller coupling condition led to reduced uniformity of propeller inlet flow and lower efficiency of the propulsion pump. However, it also increased the bias toward low-flow conditions. Additionally, increasing the impeller speed led to a gradual increase in the cavitation volume within the water jet propeller, resulting in a gradual decrease in the propeller's performance.

Originality/value

This research provides the technical support required for effective design and operation of water jet propulsion systems. This paper involves studying and analyzing the performance and flow field of the coupling between the hull and propeller under mooring conditions with a specified hull model.

Details

Engineering Computations, vol. 41 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0264-4401

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 13 December 2023

Ying-Jie Guan and Yong-Ping Li

To solve the shortcomings of existed search and rescue drones, search and rescue the trapped people trapped in earthquake ruins, underwater and avalanches quickly and accurately…

Abstract

Purpose

To solve the shortcomings of existed search and rescue drones, search and rescue the trapped people trapped in earthquake ruins, underwater and avalanches quickly and accurately, this paper aims to propose a four-axis eight-rotor rescue unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) which can carry a radar life detector. As the design of propeller is the key to the design of UAV, this paper mainly designs the propeller of the UAV at the present stage.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on the actual working conditions of UAVs, this paper preliminarily estimated the load of UAVs and the diameters of propellers and designed the main parameters of propellers according to the leaf element theory and momentum theory. Based on the low Reynolds number airfoil, this paper selected the airfoil with high lift drag ratio from the commonly used low Reynolds number airfoils. The chord length and twist angle of propeller blades were calculated according to the Wilson method and the maximum wind energy utilization coefficient and were optimized by the Asymptotic exponential function. The aerodynamic characteristics of the designed single propeller and coaxial propeller under different installation pitch angles and different installation distances were analyzed.

Findings

The results showed that the design of coaxial twin propellers can increase the load capacity by about 1.5 times without increasing the propeller diameter. When the installation distance between the two propellers was 8 cm and the tilt angle was 15° counterclockwise, the aerodynamic characteristics of the coaxial propeller were optimal.

Originality/value

The novelty of this work came from the conceptual design of the new rescue UAV and its numerical optimization using the Wilson method combined with the maximum wind energy utilization factor and the exponential function. The aerodynamic characteristics of the common shaft propeller were analyzed under different mounting angles and different mounting distances.

Details

Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, vol. 96 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1748-8842

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 20 February 2023

Y. Chandukrishna and T.N. Venkatesh

Recent interest in electric aircraft has opened avenues for exploring innovative concepts and designs. Because of its potential to increase wing aerodynamic efficiency, the idea…

Abstract

Purpose

Recent interest in electric aircraft has opened avenues for exploring innovative concepts and designs. Because of its potential to increase wing aerodynamic efficiency, the idea of wing tip-mounted propellers is becoming more popular in the context of electric aircraft. This paper aims to address the question of which configuration, tractor or pusher at wing tip is more beneficial.

Design/methodology/approach

The interactions between the wing and tip-mounted propellers in tractor and pusher configurations have been studied computationally. In this study, the propeller is modeled as a disk, and the blade element method (BEM) coupled with the computational fluid dynamics (CFD)–Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) solver is used to calculate propeller blade loading recursively. A direct comparison between the wing with tip-mounted propellers in tractor and pusher configurations is made by varying the direction of rotation and thrust.

Findings

Wing with tip-mounted propellers having inboard-up rotation is found to offer less drag in tractor and pusher configurations than those without propeller cases. Wing tip-mounted propeller in tractor configuration with inboard-up rotation offers higher wing aerodynamic efficiency than the other configurations. In tractor and pusher configurations with inboard-up rotating propellers, wing tip vortex attenuation is seen, whereas with outboard-up rotating propellers, the wing tip vortex amplification is observed.

Originality/value

SU2, an open-source CFD tool, is used in this study and BEM is coupled to perform RANS–BEM simulations. Both qualitative and quantitative comparisons were made between the tractor and pusher configurations, which may find its value when a question arises about the aerodynamically best propeller configuration at wing tips.

Details

Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, vol. 95 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1748-8842

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 28 March 2008

C.Y. Hsu, C.K. Huang and G.J. Tzou

This purpose of this study is to investigate an effective method to manufacture propellers.

1133

Abstract

Purpose

This purpose of this study is to investigate an effective method to manufacture propellers.

Design/methodology/approach

The investment casting process and injection molding process have been applied separately to the rapid prototyping/rapid tooling (RP/RT) to obtain metal (Al‐Si alloy) propellers and plastic (Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene – ABS) propellers. The two different manufacturing processes were compared following the same master model (MM). The Moldflow software is used to optimize the experimental parameters of the molding. Furthermore, a gypsum type of powder is used to produce the RP MM of the propeller according to the Pro‐E software. The RP MM then is filled with a metallic resin material (at room temperature) to obtain a wax mold. Then, this wax mold was coating by dipping the ZrO2 slurry to improve heat resistant ability, and following solidification, and then filled with metal alloy to obtain metal (Al‐Si alloy) propellers. Another process, the RP MM by dipping the ZrO2 slurry to increase the heat resistance and then is filled with aluminum alloy and an injection mold can be obtained, the plastic (ABS) propellers can be duplicated. To ensure the precision of dimension and improves the surface roughness for the RT (metallic resin mold and aluminum alloy mold), the contour of the duplicated molds were milling with the high‐speed CNC manufacturing program.

Findings

The advantage of this process is that combining the RP/RT system with the high‐speed CNC machining center enables easy production of injection molds.

Originality/value

This process provides engineers with a quick way to fabricate parts and modify the designs. This study demonstrates that this process provides a practical way to fabricate parts and saves the cost and time which increases market competition. The molds with high precision and good surface roughness were duplicated by the rapid‐prototype technique. Furthermore, this investigation demonstrates that: if the product contains special shapes? The material requires a large amount of cutting? or In the case of expensive and hard to machine materials, the proposed process is the best choice to duplicate cost‐effective mold.

Details

Rapid Prototyping Journal, vol. 14 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1355-2546

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 19 October 2018

Jun Jiao, Bifeng Song, Yubin Li, Yugang Zhang and Jianhua Xu

The purpose of this paper is to develop a propeller performance measurement method for high-altitude platforms by analyzing of the propeller aerodynamic characteristics and…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to develop a propeller performance measurement method for high-altitude platforms by analyzing of the propeller aerodynamic characteristics and application of a mobile testing system.

Design/methodology/approach

An experimental approach is adopted for this study. Considering the aerodynamic characteristics of the high-altitude propeller, the similitude of the scaled propeller model in the experiment is analyzed and determined. Then, the experimental method and procedure to obtain the propeller’s performance under different altitudes are presented, and the structure of hardware and software and the key techniques of the testing system are introduced in detail.

Findings

The applicability and effectiveness of the testing system is verified through comparison between experimental and numerical results. In addition, the performance of the 6.8-m propeller for a high-altitude airship is tested, which proves that the high-altitude propeller can meet the requirements of the propulsion system.

Practical implications

The testing methodology and the mobile testing system could be applied to aerodynamic performance evaluation of the high-altitude propellers under different altitudes.

Originality/value

This testing approach exhibits significant time and cost benefits over many other experimental methods to obtain the performance of the high-altitude propellers, which is important in the preliminary design of the propulsion system for high-altitude platforms.

Details

Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, vol. 90 no. 9
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1748-8842

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 28 June 2013

Jacek Mieloszyk, Cezary Galiński, Janusz Piechna and Jacek Brzozowski

This is the second of two companion papers presenting the results of research into a contra‐rotating propeller designed to drive a super manoeuvrable micro air vehicle (MAV) and…

Abstract

Purpose

This is the second of two companion papers presenting the results of research into a contra‐rotating propeller designed to drive a super manoeuvrable micro air vehicle (MAV) and is devoted to the experimental results. The first paper presented the design process and numerical analyses.

Design/methodology/approach

Most of experiments were conducted in the wind tunnel. Both contra‐rotating and conventional propellers were tested. The test procedures and equipment are described first. The attention is focused on the design of an aerodynamic balance used in the experiment. Then, the measurement error is discussed, followed by presentation of the wind tunnel results. Finally, an initial flight test of the MAV equipped with contra‐rotating propeller is briefly described.

Findings

Wind tunnel experiment results fall between theoretical results presented in the first part of the paper. The application of contra‐rotating propeller allowed to develop the propulsion system with zero torque. Moreover, the efficiency achieved appeared to be a few percent greater than that for a standard conventional propulsion system. The concept was finally proved during the first test flight of the new MAV.

Research limitations/implications

The propeller was designed for a fixed wing aeroplane, not for helicopter rotor. Therefore, only conditions characteristic for fixed wing aeroplane flight are tested.

Practical implications

The designed contra‐rotating propeller can be used in fixed wing aeroplane if torque equal to zero is required.

Originality/value

Original design of the balance is described for the first time, as well as test procedures applied in this experiment. Most of wind tunnel test results are also new and never published before.

Details

Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, vol. 85 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0002-2667

Keywords

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