Numerical simulation of the propeller flow around a four-engined aircraft in high-lift configuration

Summary

Operating propellers, especially wing mounted propellers have significant and sometimes subtle effects on the aerodynamics of an airplane. In order to shed more light on these effects an actuator disc model to simulate propeller flow has been developed, implemented into the DLR Navier-Stokes code TAU and tested on an actual four-engined transport aircraft in high-lift configuration. Based on a wind tunnel experiment with an isolated propeller, the flow defining parameters of the actuator discs could be evaluated using a numerical model of the isolated propeller. The experiences made with the isolated propeller computations were then utilized to adjust the actuator discs to the aircraft. Low-speed computations of the configuration were then performed for Re = 1.36 × 10⁶, Ma = 0.176 and specific thrust conditions at low and moderate incidences, showing good agreement between the numerical and experimental results in the area of the expected propeller flow. Hence the capability of the new propeller module could be proved.