Unsteady Euler Computations of an Isolated Propeller using the DLR TAU-code

Kurzfassung

This report details the unsteady CFD simulations conducted for an isolated propeller configuration at low-speed flight conditions. The propeller geometry investigated is representative of a modern eight-bladed design similar to that to be used on the Airbus A400M military transport aircraft. Two typical low-speed conditions one at zero and one at ten degrees angle of attack, were investigated and results compared with experimental data obtained from a wind tunnel test campaign conducted in the summer of 2003 in the LSWT in Bremen, Germany. The computations were performed with the DLR TAU-code and made use of some recent extensions of the code which enable the modeling of multiple rigid bodies in relative motion. The results of the initial Euler computations performed agree well with the available wake data measured in the wind tunnel. Additionally, a detailed investigation of the forces and moments acting on the individual blades and the propeller is performed. Work is currently under way to conduct similar computations which account for viscous effects.