Numerical Investigation of Vortex Ring State Conditions for Archer Maker eVTOL Tilter Propeller

Abstract:
Electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing (eVTOL) vehicles are emerging as solutions for urban air mobility, but their operation can encounter hazardous aerodynamic conditions such as the Vortex Ring State (VRS), which causes thrust loss and intense vibrations. This study investigates VRS for the Archer Maker tilter propeller by combining numerical simulations using the mid-fidelity solver DUST and the high-fidelity solver OVERFLOW with prior experimental observations. Propeller performance is evaluated through thrust and torque evolution under various descent conditions, while flow fields in the propeller wake at different descent ratios around VRS conditions are evaluated and compared via 2D visualizations. A comparison of results reveals that both numerical approaches are capable of evaluating the performance degradation in correlation with vortex ring formation within specific descent regimes, showing slight discrepancies particularly regarding the descent ratio regime where VRS occurs. A flow field comparison with experimental data validates the multi-fidelity numerical approach, showing the capabilities of both numerical approaches to capture the flow physics mechanisms that lead to the generation of the vortex ring around the propeller disk.

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