Fluid Mechanics and Flight Mechanics

Aerodynamic model and characteristics of rotor in ground effect

  • TAN Jianfeng ,
  • ZHOU Tianyi ,
  • WANG Chang ,
  • YU Lingjun
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  • 1. School of Mechanical and Power Engineering, Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing 211816, China;
    2. School of Aerospace Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China;
    3. Rotor Aerodynamics Key Laboratory, China Aerodynamics Research and Development Center, Mianyang 621000, China;
    4. Department of Aeronautical Mechanical Engineering, Army Aviation Institute, Beijing 101123, China

Received date: 2018-08-13

  Revised date: 2018-08-31

  Online published: 2018-10-12

Supported by

National Natural Science Foundation of China (11502105); Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province (BK20161537); Rotor Aerodynamics Key Laboratory Foundation (RAL20180303-1)

Abstract

The presence of a ground plane significantly alters the rotor aerodynamics and generates a more complex flow-field. To analyze the characteristics of the rotor tip vortices and flow-field in ground effect, a ground aerodynamic model is then proposed based on the vorticity concept and no-slip boundary condition. In this model, the distribution of vorticity vector is solved through the second kind equation of Fredholm, and is diffused to the flow based on the diffusion equations, accounting for the viscous effects of the ground plane. An aerodynamic method of the rotor in ground effect is then established by coupling the ground aerodynamic model with an unsteady panel/viscous vortex particle hybrid method in which the unsteady aerodynamics of rotor and unsteady behavior of the rotor wake are taken into account. After then, the performance and geometry of tip vortex of Lynx tail rotor, vertical and radial velocities of a Maryland scaled rotor and NASA scaled rotor in ground effect are computed by the present method. Compared with the experiments and CFD results, the computed results show that the present method can capture the unsteady behavior of rotor wake and the complex flow-field of rotors in ground effect with high accuracy. Furthermore, the physical phenomena including the radial contraction and expansion of tip vortex, fountain flow, and wall jet of rotors in ground effect are captured by the present method.

Cite this article

TAN Jianfeng , ZHOU Tianyi , WANG Chang , YU Lingjun . Aerodynamic model and characteristics of rotor in ground effect[J]. ACTA AERONAUTICAET ASTRONAUTICA SINICA, 2019 , 40(6) : 122602 -122602 . DOI: 10.7527/S1000-6893.2018.22602

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