Numerical Investigation of Propeller–Wing Integration and Its Effect on Aerodynamic Characteristics at Various Rotational Speeds

Propeller-wing aerodynamic interaction is critical in aircraft performance, especially in configurations involving closely integrated components.This study presents a CFD-based analysis of a scaled three-bladed propeller operating with and without a downstream wing based on the Dornier 217 geometry.Using the Sliding Mesh approach in ANSYS Fluent, unsteady simulations were conducted to capture the transient effects of rotating flow fields.The domain was divided into a rotating region for the propeller and a stationary zone for the wing to replicate realistic conditions.Results show that the inclusion of the wing within the propeller slipstream alters flow behavior-leading to increased local velocity and static pressure near the wing, along with a slight reduction in thrust output compared to the standalone propeller case.These trends align with prior literature and underline the importance of careful aerodynamic integration in propeller-driven aircraft systems.