Reynolds number and angle-of-attack effects on a propeller in extraterrestrial environments

Abstract: Propeller-driven aerial vehicles have recently attracted interest for potential applications in extraterrestrial exploration at significantly lower atmospheric pressures than Earth. This study investigates the effects of Reynolds number and blade angle on the propeller performance at low pressures. Experiments are performed on a two-blade rotor in a vacuum chamber. Based on the measured thrust and torque, the performance is evaluated in terms of the thrust-to-power ratio and figure of merit. The blade angle affects the wing performance at all pressures, as expected. However, the Reynolds number shows a significant influence on the thrust and power coefficients only at very low pressures close to 3 kPa. Broadly, the study concludes that both the blade angle and Reynolds number are found to be important for propeller aerodynamics in very low-pressure environments. Keywords: Low-pressure environment, Martian flyer, Propeller blades