Single-Point and Multipoint Design of Propellers for Electric-Powered General Aviation

With electric-powered aircraft concepts slowly maturing, it becomes feasible to include RPM regulation in propeller operation. Variable-pitch and variable-speed propellers will be designed for efficient operation in a wider performance space compared with traditional constant-speed propellers. In this brief technical note, an efficient design framework based on single-point and multipoint optimizations coupled with a circulation-based propeller analysis code is introduced and used to explore the potential of variable-speed propellers. Four optimization scenarios are considered, defined based on the relative weights associated with performance and acoustic requirements. The results obtained indicate lower power consumption and extended low-noise region for the designs obtained using a multipoint optimization across several rotational speeds.