Effect of Turbulence Models in Performance Characterization of a Low Reynolds Number UAV Propeller

Abstract

The advancement of computer technology has given the necessary impetus to perform numerical modelling and simulation in engineering. Turbulence modelling in Computational Fluid Dynamics is characterized by non-physics based modelling and there are several developments in this area that also has contributed to the growing rise in empiricism. Typically, turbulence models are chosen based on expert knowledge and experience. In this paper, the problem of selecting a turbulence closure is addressed for a small Unmanned Aerial Vehicle propeller rotating at a low Reynolds number. Using scientific approaches, verification and validation of performance data against experimental results have been performed for a selected number of turbulence model candidates available in the well-known finite-volume solver Fluent. Modified bivariate plots of performance data error reveal a few numbers of strong candidates of turbulence closures for this problem. After performing a series of checks for consistency, accuracy and computational cost, the two-equation standard k-ω is selected as the preferred model for further propeller simulations.

Keywords

• turbulence models
• uav propeller
• propeller performance
• low reynolds number
• numerical accuracy
• computational cost