Flight Dynamics Analyses of a Propeller-Driven Airplane (I): Aerodynamic and Inertial Modeling of the Propeller

Abstract

This paper focuses on aerodynamic and inertial modeling of the propeller for its applications in flight dynamics analyses of a propeller-driven airplane. Unsteady aerodynamic and inertial loads generated by the propeller are formulated using the blade element method, where the local velocity and acceleration vectors for each blade element are obtained from exact kinematic relations for general maneuvering conditions. Vortex theory is applied to obtain the flow velocities induced by the propeller wake, which are used in the computation of the aerodynamic forces and moments generated by the propeller and other aerodynamic surfaces. The vortex lattice method is adopted to obtain the induced velocity over the wing and empennage components and the related influence coefficients are computed, taking into account the propeller induced velocities by tracing the wake trajectory trailing from each of the propeller blades. Aerodynamic forces and moments of the fuselage and other aerodynamic surfaces are computed by using the wind tunnel database and applying strip theory to incorporate viscous flow effects. The propeller models proposed in this paper are applied to predict isolated propeller performances under steady flight conditions. Trimmed level forward and turn flights are analyzed to investigate the effects of the propeller on the flight characteristics of a propeller-driven light-sports airplane. Flight test results for a series of maneuvering flights using a scaled model are employed to run the flight dynamic analysis program for the proposed propeller models. The simulations are compared with the flight test results to validate the usefulness of the approach. The resultant good correlations between the two data sets shows the propeller models proposed in this paper can predict flight characteristics with good accuracy.