• Journal of the Korean Society for Aeronautical & Space Sciences
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• v.33 no.9
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• pp.16-26
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• 2005

The aerodynamic design of a proprotor for the Smart UAV adopting tiltrotor aircraft concept is conducted in this study. Since proprotor of tiltrotor aircraft is operated at both rotary and fixed wing mode with single configuration rotor, the proprotor has to be designed to meet performance requirements for both flight modes. The aerodynamic design of proprotor is accomplished by combining three sources of data - the proprotor performance data, the aerodynamic data of vehicle, and the performance data of engine. The performance analysis code for proprotor is based on the combined momentum and blade element theory and validated by comparison with the TRAM data. In order to design configuration for a proprotor satisfying requirements for both rotary and fixed wing mode, various kind of performance maps are constructed for many performance and configuration parameters. From the analysis the twist angle of 38 degrees and the solidity of 0.118 are decided to be the optimal geometric parameters for both operating conditions.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Aeronautical & Space Sciences
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• v.41 no.3
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• pp.173-184
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• 2013

A multi-level design optimization framework for aerodynamic design of rotary wing such as propeller and helicopter rotor blades is presented in this study. Strategy of the proposed framework is to enhance aerodynamic performance by sequentially applying the planform and sectional design optimization. In the first level of a planform design, we used a genetic algorithm and blade element momentum theory (BEMT) based on two-dimensional aerodynamic database to find optimal planform variables. After an initial planform design, local flow conditions of blade sections are analyzed using high-fidelity CFD methods. During the next level, a sectional design optimization is conducted using two dimensional Navier-Stokes analysis and a gradient based optimization algorithm. When optimal airfoil shape is determined at the several spanwise locations, a planform design is performed again. Through this iterative design process, not only an optimal flow condition but also an optimal shape of an EAV propeller blade is obtained. To validate the optimized propeller-blade design, it is tested in wind-tunnel facility with different flow conditions. An efficiency, which is slightly less than the expected improvement of 7% predicted by our proposed design framework but is still satisfactory to enhance the aerodynamic performance of EAV system.