ISBN 9783843935432

978-3-8439-3543-2, Reihe Luftfahrt

Karl Simon Radler
Periodic Free Vortex Wake Simulation

150 Seiten, Dissertation Technische Universität München (2017), Softcover, A5

Zusammenfassung / Abstract

Free wake methods are an efficient approach to the simulation of helicopter rotor aerodynamics. Numerical instabilities in the wake geometry computation can impede the successful application of such methods.

This work presents the development of free wake computation methods that aim at numerical robustness and fidelity of the aerodynamic model. This is pursued by seeking periodic wake geometries which minimise a defined error measure. The wake geometry computation is hence formulated as an optimisation problem that is approached with three methods of different computational complexity.

An assessment of the individual simulation strategies is performed by comprehensive validation with experimental data. In order to reveal the capabilities and the limitations of the newly developed methods, it is focused on the prediction of rotor power and blade load data for arrangements of interacting rotors in a wide range of operating conditions.