Meshless Large-Eddy Simulation of Propeller–Wing Interactions with Reformulated Vortex Particle Method

Abstract

The vortex particle method (VPM) has gained popularity in recent years due to a growing need to predict complex aerodynamic interactions during the preliminary design of electric multirotor aircraft. However, VPM is known to be numerically unstable when vortical structures break down close to the turbulent regime. In recent work, the VPM has been reformulated as a large-eddy simulation (LES) in a scheme that is both meshless and numerically stable without increasing its computational cost. In this study, we build upon this meshless LES scheme to create a solver for interactional aerodynamics. Propeller blades are introduced through an actuator line model following well-established practices for LES. A novel, vorticity-based actuator surface model (ASM) is developed for wings, which is suitable for propeller–wing interactions when a wake impinges on the surface of a wing. This ASM imposes the no-flow-through condition at the airfoil centerline by calculating the circulation that meets this condition and by immersing the associated vorticity in the LES following a pressure-like distribution. Extensive validation of propeller–wing interactions is presented by simulating a tailplane with tip-mounted propellers and a blown wing with propellers mounted midspan.