Summary of advanced methods for predicting high speed propeller performance

Abstract

Three advanced analyses for predicting aircraft propeller performance at high subsonic speeds are described. Two of these analyses use a lifting line representation for the propeller blades and vortex filaments for the blade wakes but differ in the details of the solution. The third analysis is a finite difference solution of the unsteady, three-dimensional Euler equations for the flow between adjacent blades. Analysis results are compared to data for a high speed propeller having 8 swept blades integrally designed with the spinner and nacelle. These analyses provide tools for the propeller designer ranging from a short running program for initial design studies to a very long running program for checking final configurations.