Aerodynamic Investigation of Fixed - Pitch Aircraft Propeller

An investigation of fixed - pitch propeller aerodynamics is described in this paper. The impetus for the work was to identify the proposed propeller’s efficiency, thrust coefficient, power coefficient, and pressure contours. All computational analyses were performed using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) software called Cradle scFLOW. During the simulation process, velocity was set to 60 knots (30.87 m/s) and the initial RPM (Revolution per Minute) was kept constant at 3100 to specify efficiency. Subsequently, the RPM value was varied to achieve thrust force. According to results, a thrust value of 1700N was achieved and propeller efficiency was found 0.79. Thrust value was then compared with the data obtained from experimental studies and the notable match was achieved. An increase in advance ratio was found to raise propeller efficiency at some point, and then reduction was observed in terms of efficiency due to thrust reduction. After these investigations, the obtained thrust force was compared with experimental data. The CFD results indicated a good agreement with the experimental results.