Effect of Multiple Grooves on Aerodynamic Performance of a Low Reynolds Number UAV Propeller (Part I)

Abstract

In a continuation of work previously performed by the author on grooved propellers, numerical investigations are performed on Applied Precision Composites 10×7 Slow Flyer propeller. Computational Fluid Dynamics is used to analyze the novel propeller design. The grooved sections considered have a rectangular geometry measuring 0.1×0.1mm and are interchangeably located at 0.09c, 0.17c, 0.32c and 0.42c from the leading edge in a dual grooved configuration. The results of the study showed that the presence of grooves had modified the flow characteristics only to detrimentally impact the thrust performance. However, the grooves improved power performance due to torque reduction. The analysis of the results showed that, for most models, there is lower torque relative to the baseline in the low-to-medium advance ratio operating range. The improvement in torque however, did not improve efficiency in the models.