Boundary Condition Based Actuator Line Model to Simulate the Aerodynamic Interactions at Wingtip Mounted Propellers

Abstract

There are different methods to simulate aircraft propellers with different degrees of approximation. In this study, a boundary condition based Actuator Line (ACL) method is presented for parametrized and fast unsteady propeller calculation. In order to validate the ACL, comparisons are made with experimental data, the results of an Actuator Disk (ACD) already implemented in TAU and a blade resolved propeller calculation for three test cases. Pressure and velocity distributions as well as the propeller slipstream development agree with the comparative data. In contrast to the ACD, the blade tip vortices as well as the unsteady wing loads are detected with the ACL. Depending on the timestep, the calculation time of the ACL is approx. 2–4 times higher.