Frequency response of RC propellers to streamwise gusts in forward flight

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Authors
Cai, Jielong
Gunasekaran, Sidaard
Advisors
Issue Date
2023-05-29
Type
Article
Keywords
edgewise flight; RC propeller; reduced frequency; streamwise gusts; unsteady propeller response
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Citation
Cai, Jielong, and Sidaard Gunasekaran. 2023. "Frequency Response of RC Propellers to Streamwise Gusts in Forward Flight" Wind 3, no. 2: 253-272. https://doi.org/10.3390/wind3020015
Abstract

The RC propeller performance under steady and sinusoidally time-varying freestream (stream-wise or longitudinal gust) was investigated in the University of Dayton Low-Speed Wind Tunnel (UD-LSWT) in the open-jet configuration. The propellers were tested at varying incidence angles and reduced frequencies. The streamwise gust was created by actuating the shuttering system located at the test section exit and was characterized using hot-wire anemometry. A system identification model was developed for the shuttering system to determine the shutter actuation profile that would result in a sinusoidal gust in the test section. Changes in propeller thrust, power, and pitching moment were observed with an increase in propeller incidence angle under the steady freestream. The propeller’s steady freestream performance was then used to predict response under periodic streamwise gusts in edgewise flight. Below a reduced frequency of 0.2, the propeller response agrees with the prediction model, suggesting that the propeller response is quasi-steady. At reduced frequencies higher than 0.2, a reduction in mean thrust and pitching moment and significant phase lag was observed. © 2023 by the authors.

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Description
This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Publisher
Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI)
Journal
Wind
Book Title
Series
PubMed ID
ISSN
2674032X
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