Parametric Analysis of a Large-Scale Cycloidal Rotor in Hovering Conditions
Publication: Journal of Aerospace Engineering
Volume 30, Issue 1
Abstract
In this work, four key design parameters of cycloidal rotors, namely the airfoil section, number of blades, chord-to-radius ratio, and pitching axis location, are addressed. The four parameters, which have a strong effect on rotor aerodynamic efficiency, are analyzed with an analytical model and a numerical approach. The numerical method, which is based on a finite-volume discretization of two-dimensional unsteady Reynolds averaged Navier-Stokes equations on a multiple sliding mesh, is proposed and validated against experimental data. A parametric analysis is then carried out considering a large-scale cyclogyro, suitable for payloads above 100 kg, in hovering conditions. Results demonstrate that the airfoil thickness significantly affects the rotor performance; such a result is partly in contrast with previous findings for small-scale and microscale configurations. Moreover, it will be shown that increasing the number of blades could result in a decrease of the rotor efficiency. The effect of chord-to-radius will demonstrate that values of around 0.5 result in higher efficiency. Finally it is found out that for these large systems, in contrast with microscale cyclogyros, the generated thrust increases as the pitching axis is located away from the leading edge, up to 35% of chord length. Furthermore, the shortcomings of using simplified analytical tools in the prediction of thrust and power in nonideal flow conditions are discussed.
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Acknowledgments
The present work was performed as part of Project CROP, supported by European Union within the 7th Framework Programme under grant number 323047, and also supported by C-MAST, Centre for Mechanical and Aerospace Science and Technology, Research Unit No. 151.
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Published In
Journal of Aerospace Engineering
Volume 30 • Issue 1 • January 2017
Copyright
© 2016 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: May 14, 2015
Accepted: Apr 28, 2016
Published online: Jul 18, 2016
Discussion open until: Dec 18, 2016
Published in print: Jan 1, 2017
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