Two-Dimensional Moving Blade Row Interactions in a Stratospheric Airship Contra-Rotating Open Propeller Configuration

The numerical simulation of two-dimensional moving blade row interactions is conducted by CFD means to investigate the interactions between the front and rear propeller in a stratospheric airship contra-rotating open propeller configuration caused by different rotational speeds. The rotational speed is a main factor to affect the propeller Reynolds number which impact the aerodynamic performance of blade rows significantly. This effect works until the Reynolds number reaches a high enough value beyond which the coefficients become independent. Additionally, the interference on the blade row has been revealed by the investigation. The front blade row moves in the induced-velocity field generated by the rear blade row and the aerodynamic coefficients are influenced when the rear blade row has fast RPMs. The rear blade row moving behind the front one is affected directly by the wake and eddies generated by the front blade row. The aerodynamic coefficients reduce when the front blade row has slow RPMs while increase when the front blade row moves faster than itself. But overall, the interference on the front blade row due to the rear blade row is slight and the interference on the rear blade row due to the front blade row is much more significant.

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