Aerodynamic performances of propellers with parametric considerations on the optimal design

Two numerical procedures are presented: the first algorithm allows for the determination of the geometric characteristics of the maximum efficiency propeller for a given operative condition and profile distribution along the blade; the output of this numerical procedure is the chord distribution and twist angle of the blade, together with its efficiency and its torque and thrust coefficients for the prescribed operative condition. The aerodynamic characteristics of the optimum propeller when operating in a condition different from the design one are obtained by a second algorithm that allows for the evaluation of the efficiency, the thrust and torque coefficients of a propeller of known geometry, when the blade pitch and operative condition are varied. The formulation used for deriving the geometry of the optimum propeller and determining its performances when operating off-design is described in detail