Blade Twist Effects on Aerodynamic Performance and Noise Reduction in a Multirotor Propeller

This paper presents a novel integrated study of the aerodynamic performance and acoustic signature of multirotor propellers with a specific focus on the blade twist angle effect. Experimental measurements and computational fluid dynamic (CFD) simulations were utilized to examine and compare the aero...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inDrones (Basel) Vol. 7; no. 4; p. 252
Main Authors Sun, Jianwei, Yonezawa, Koichi, Tanabe, Yasutada, Sugawara, Hideaki, Liu, Hao
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Basel MDPI AG 01.04.2023
Subjects
Acoustics
aerodynamic noise
Aerodynamics
Blade tips
Blades
Cameras
CFD
Design
Design and construction
drone
Efficiency
Experiments
Figure of merit
Fluid flow
Kinetic energy
Lasers
multirotor
Noise reduction
Optimization
Particle image velocimetry
PIV
Propellers
Simulation
Sound pressure
Trailing edges
Unmanned aerial vehicles
Velocity
Vortices
Japan
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Summary:This paper presents a novel integrated study of the aerodynamic performance and acoustic signature of multirotor propellers with a specific focus on the blade twist angle effect. Experimental measurements and computational fluid dynamic (CFD) simulations were utilized to examine and compare the aerodynamic performance and noise reduction between twisted and untwisted blades. A 2D phase-locked particle image velocimetry (PIV) was employed to visualize flow structures at specific blade locations in terms of tip vortices and trailing edge vortices. Good consistency between the simulations and measurements was observed in aerodynamic and acoustic performance. It is verified that the propellers with twisted blades enable a maximum increase of 9.3% in the figure of merit compared to untwisted blades while achieving the same thrust production and are further capable to reduce overall sound pressure level by a maximum of 4.3 dB. CFD results reveal that the twisted propeller remarkedly reduces far-field loading noise by suppressing trailing-edge vortices, hence mitigating kinetic energy fluctuation at the blade tip, while having minimal impact on thickness noise. This study points to the crucial role of blade twists in altering the aeroacoustic characteristics, indicating that optimal designs could lead to significant improvements in both aerodynamic and acoustic performance.
ISSN:2504-446X
2504-446X
DOI:10.3390/drones7040252