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Rotary Wing Aerodynamics
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Rotary Wing Aerodynamics

A special issue of Energies (ISSN 1996-1073). This special issue belongs to the section "A3: Wind, Wave and Tidal Energy".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 January 2022) | Viewed by 26568

Printed Edition Available!
A printed edition of this Special Issue is available here.

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Alex Zanotti

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Aerospace Science and Technology, Politecnico di Milano, 20156 Milano, Italy
Interests: aerodynamics; rotorcraft; wind tunnel tests; computational fluid dynamics; flow control; fluid structure interactions; wind turbine; eVTOLs
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Rotary wing aerodynamics have historically been widely investigated due to the large number of applications of this discipline in several fields of engineering. A deep knowledge of the main phenomena related to rotary wing aerodynamics such as dynamic stall or blade vortex interaction (BVI) is essential for the design of novel VTOL aircraft configurations as tiltrotors or compounds. In recent years, the great interest and development efforts devoted to new designs of unconventional urban air mobility VTOL aircraft based on electric distributed propulsion has focused the attention of the study of rotor–rotor and rotor–body aerodynamic interactions. A deeper insight into these complex aerodynamic interactions is required for the optimization of the design process for novel aircraft configurations as they affect their performance, structural dynamics, handling qualities and acoustic impact. Moreover, the investigation of the main issues of rotary wing aerodynamics is essential in the field of wind energy for the development of novel wind turbine concepts or for the design of wind farms.

This Special Issue aims to collect experimental and numerical studies showing the most recent advancements in the field of rotary wing aerodynamics and aeroelasticity. Topics of interest for publication include but are not limited to:

  • Rotorcraft aerodynamics;
  • Rotorcraft aeroelasticity;
  • Dynamic stall;
  • Blade vortex interactions (BVI);
  • Wind tunnel tests;
  • Computational fluid dynamics;
  • Low order numerical methods;
  • Aeroacoustics;
  • Electric distributed propulsion vehicles (eVTOL);
  • Tiltrotors;
  • Wind turbines;
  • Turbomachinery.

Prof. Dr. Alex Zanotti
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • Aerodynamics
  • Aeroelasticity
  • Aeroacoustics
  • Rotorcraft
  • Wind Turbine
  • Rotor Interactions
  • Wind Tunnel
  • CFD

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Published Papers (7 papers)

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Editorial

Jump to: Research

5 pages, 164 KiB  
Editorial
Rotary Wing Aerodynamics
by Alex Zanotti
Energies 2022, 15(6), 2072; https://doi.org/10.3390/en15062072 - 11 Mar 2022
Viewed by 2568
Abstract
Rotary wing aerodynamics represents a widely investigated topic due to this discipline’s large number of applications in several fields of engineering and physics [...] Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Rotary Wing Aerodynamics)

Research

Jump to: Editorial

34 pages, 12749 KiB  
Article
Piloted Simulation of the Rotorcraft Wind Turbine Wake Interaction during Hover and Transit Flights
by Alexander Štrbac, Daniel Heinrich Greiwe, Frauke Hoffmann, Marion Cormier and Thorsten Lutz
Energies 2022, 15(5), 1790; https://doi.org/10.3390/en15051790 - 28 Feb 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2665
Abstract
Helicopters are used for offshore wind farms for maintenance and support flights. The number of helicopter operations is increasing with the expansion of offshore wind energy, which stresses the point that the current German regulations have not yet been validated through scientific analysis. [...] Read more.
Helicopters are used for offshore wind farms for maintenance and support flights. The number of helicopter operations is increasing with the expansion of offshore wind energy, which stresses the point that the current German regulations have not yet been validated through scientific analysis. A collaborative research project between DLR, the Technical University of Munich, the University of Stuttgart and the University of Tübingen has been conducted to examine the sizes of the flight corridors on offshore wind farms and the lateral safety clearance for helicopter hoist operations at offshore wind turbines. This paper details the results of piloted helicopter simulations in a realistic offshore wind farm scenario. The far-wake of rotating wind turbines and the near-wake of non-rotating wind turbines have been simulated with high-fidelity computational fluid dynamics under realistic turbulent inflow conditions. The resulting flow fields have been processed by superposition during piloted simulations in the research flight simulator AVES to examine the flight corridors in transit flights and the lateral safety clearance in hovering flights. The results suggest a sufficient size for the flight corridor and sufficient lateral safety clearance at the offshore wind turbines in the considered scenarios. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Rotary Wing Aerodynamics)
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28 pages, 25572 KiB  
Article
Coupling Mid-Fidelity Aerodynamics and Multibody Dynamics for the Aeroelastic Analysis of Rotary-Wing Vehicles
by Alberto Savino, Alessandro Cocco, Alex Zanotti, Matteo Tugnoli, Pierangelo Masarati and Vincenzo Muscarello
Energies 2021, 14(21), 6979; https://doi.org/10.3390/en14216979 - 25 Oct 2021
Cited by 37 | Viewed by 5428
Abstract
A mid-fidelity aerodynamic solver based on the vortex particle method for wake modeling, DUST, is coupled through the partitioned multi-physics coupling library preCICE to a multibody dynamics code, MBDyn, to improve the accuracy of aeroelastic numerical analysis performed on rotary-wing vehicles. In this [...] Read more.
A mid-fidelity aerodynamic solver based on the vortex particle method for wake modeling, DUST, is coupled through the partitioned multi-physics coupling library preCICE to a multibody dynamics code, MBDyn, to improve the accuracy of aeroelastic numerical analysis performed on rotary-wing vehicles. In this paper, the coupled tool is firstly validated by solving simple fixed-wing and rotary-wing problems from the open literature. The transient roll maneuver of a complete tiltrotor aircraft is then simulated, to show the capability of the coupled solver to analyze the aeroelasticity of complex rotorcraft configurations. Simulation results show the importance of the accurate representation of rotary wing aerodynamics provided by the vortex particle method for loads evaluation, aeroelastic stability assessment, and analysis of transient maneuvers of aircraft configurations characterized by complex interactional aerodynamics. The limited computational effort required by the mid-fidelity aerodynamic approach represents an effective trade-off in obtaining fast and accurate solutions that can be used for the preliminary design of novel rotary-wing vehicle configurations. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Rotary Wing Aerodynamics)
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16 pages, 18028 KiB  
Article
Power Enhancement of a Vertical Axis Wind Turbine Equipped with an Improved Duct
by Mohammad Hassan Ranjbar, Behnam Rafiei, Seyyed Abolfazl Nasrazadani, Kobra Gharali, Madjid Soltani, Armughan Al-Haq and Jatin Nathwani
Energies 2021, 14(18), 5780; https://doi.org/10.3390/en14185780 - 14 Sep 2021
Cited by 23 | Viewed by 3551
Abstract
Efforts to increase the power output of wind turbines include Diffuser Augmented Wind Turbines (DAWT) or a shroud for the rotor of a wind turbine. The selected duct has three main components: a nozzle, a diffuser, and a flange. The combined effect of [...] Read more.
Efforts to increase the power output of wind turbines include Diffuser Augmented Wind Turbines (DAWT) or a shroud for the rotor of a wind turbine. The selected duct has three main components: a nozzle, a diffuser, and a flange. The combined effect of these components results in enriched upstream velocity for the rotor installed in the throat of the duct. To obtain the maximum velocity in the throat of the duct, the optimum angles of the three parts have been analyzed. A code was developed to allow all the numerical steps including changing the geometries, generating the meshes, and setting up the numerical solver simultaneously. Finally, the optimum geometry of the duct has been established that allows a doubling of the flow velocity. The flow characteristics inside the duct have also been analyzed in detail. An H-Darrieus Vertical Axis Wind Turbine (VAWT) has been simulated inside the optimized duct. The results show that the power coefficient of the DAWT can be enhanced up to 2.9 times. Deep dynamic stall phenomena are captured perfectly. The duct advances the leading-edge vortex generation and delays the vortex separation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Rotary Wing Aerodynamics)
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19 pages, 2741 KiB  
Article
An Experimental-Numerical Investigation of the Wake Structure of a Hovering Rotor by PIV Combined with a Γ2 Vortex Detection Criterion
by Fabrizio De Gregorio, Antonio Visingardi and Gaetano Iuso
Energies 2021, 14(9), 2613; https://doi.org/10.3390/en14092613 - 2 May 2021
Cited by 15 | Viewed by 2976
Abstract
The rotor wake aerodynamic characterization is a fundamental aspect for the development and optimization of future rotary-wing aircraft. The paper is aimed at experimentally and numerically characterizing the blade tip vortices of a small-scale four-bladed isolated rotor in hover conditions. The investigation of [...] Read more.
The rotor wake aerodynamic characterization is a fundamental aspect for the development and optimization of future rotary-wing aircraft. The paper is aimed at experimentally and numerically characterizing the blade tip vortices of a small-scale four-bladed isolated rotor in hover conditions. The investigation of the vortex decay process during the downstream convection of the wake is addressed. Two-component PIV measurements were carried out below the rotor disk down to a distance of one rotor radius. The numerical simulations were aimed at assessing the modelling capabilities and the accuracy of a free-wake Boundary Element Methodology (BEM). The experimental and numerical results were investigated by the Γ2 criterion to detect the vortex location. The rotor wake mean velocity field and the instantaneous vortex characteristics were investigated. The experimental/numerical comparisons show a reasonable agreement in the estimation of the mean velocity inside the rotor wake, whereas the BEM predictions underestimate the diffusion effects. The numerical simulations provide a clear picture of the filament vortex trajectory interested in complex interactions starting at about a distance of z/R = −0.5. The time evolution of the tip vortices was investigated in terms of net circulation and swirl velocity. The PIV tip vortex characteristics show a linear mild decay up to the region interested by vortex pairing and coalescence, where a sudden decrease, characterised by a large data scattering, occurs. The numerical modelling predicts a hyperbolic decay of the swirl velocity down to z/R = −0.4 followed by an almost constant decay. Instead, the calculated net circulation shows a gradual decrease throughout the whole wake development. The comparisons show discrepancies in the region immediately downstream the rotor disk but significant similarities beyond z/R = −0.5. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Rotary Wing Aerodynamics)
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22 pages, 8607 KiB  
Article
Aerodynamic and Structural Strategies for the Rotor Design of a Wind Turbine Scaled Model
by Sara Muggiasca, Federico Taruffi, Alessandro Fontanella, Simone Di Carlo and Marco Belloli
Energies 2021, 14(8), 2119; https://doi.org/10.3390/en14082119 - 10 Apr 2021
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2638
Abstract
Experimental tests performed in a wind tunnel or in a natural laboratory represent a fundamental research tool to develop floating wind technologies. In order to obtain reliable results, the wind turbine scale model rotor must be designed so to obtain a fluid-structure interaction [...] Read more.
Experimental tests performed in a wind tunnel or in a natural laboratory represent a fundamental research tool to develop floating wind technologies. In order to obtain reliable results, the wind turbine scale model rotor must be designed so to obtain a fluid-structure interaction comparable to the one experienced by a real machine. This implies an aerodynamic design of the 3D blade geometry but, also, a structural project to match the main aeroelastic issues. For natural laboratory models, due to not controlled test conditions, the wind turbine rotor model must be checked also for extreme winds. The present paper will focus on all the strategies adopted to scale a wind turbine blade presenting two studied cases: the first is a 1:75 scale model for wind tunnel applications and the second a 1:15 model for natural laboratory tests. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Rotary Wing Aerodynamics)
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28 pages, 8669 KiB  
Article
Numerical Investigation of the Rotor-Rotor Aerodynamic Interaction for eVTOL Aircraft Configurations
by Riccardo Piccinini, Matteo Tugnoli and Alex Zanotti
Energies 2020, 13(22), 5995; https://doi.org/10.3390/en13225995 - 17 Nov 2020
Cited by 22 | Viewed by 5171
Abstract
The rotor-rotor aerodynamic interaction is one of the key phenomena that characterise the flow and the performance of most of the new urban air mobility vehicles (eVTOLs) developed in the recent years. The present article describes a numerical activity that aimed to the [...] Read more.
The rotor-rotor aerodynamic interaction is one of the key phenomena that characterise the flow and the performance of most of the new urban air mobility vehicles (eVTOLs) developed in the recent years. The present article describes a numerical activity that aimed to the systematic study of the rotor-rotor aerodynamic interaction with application to the flight conditions typical of eVTOL aircraft. The activity considers the use of a novel mid-fidelity aerodynamic solver based on vortex particle method. In particular, numerical simulations were performed when considering two propellers both in side-by-side and tandem configuration with different separation distances. The results of numerical simulations showed a slight reduction of the propellers performance in side-by-side configuration, while a remarkable loss of thrust in the order of 40% and a reduction of about 20% of the propulsive efficiency were found in tandem configuration, particularly when the propeller disks are completely overlapped. Moreover, the flow field analysis enabled providing a detailed insight regarding the flow physics involved in such aerodynamic interactions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Rotary Wing Aerodynamics)
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