OPTIMIZED AERODYNAMIC DESIGN FOR ADVANCED TURBOPROP

IN RECENT YEARS, THE TURBOPROP PROPULSION SYSTEM HAS RECEIVED INCREASING INTEREST DUE TO THE SUBSTANTIAL SAVINGS THAT CAN BE ACHIEVED IN FUEL CONSUMPTION. SUBSTANTIAL RESOURCES. HAVE BEEN INVESTED IN DEVELOPING NEW TECHNOLOGIES FOR AERODYNAMIC DESIGN, AEROACOUSTIC PERFORMANCE, AERODYNAMIC STRUCTURAL DESIGN, POWER GENERATION AND POWER TRANSMISSION. IN PROPELLER DESIGN, PREDICTION CODES ARE AVAILABLE TO ASSIST DESIGN ENGINEERS. HOWEVER, OPTIMIZATION OF THE DESIGN REQUIRES MANUAL MANIPULATION OF THE PROPELLER CONFIGURATION GUIDED BY EXPERIENCE AND INTUITION. THIS PROJECT ADDRESSES AN AUTOMATED AERODYNAMIC DESIGN CODE BY COMBINING A PREDICTION CODE AND A NUMERICAL OPTIMIZATION PROCEDURE. PHASE I WILL DEMONSTRATE THE FEASIBILITY OF THE DESIGN PROCEDURE BY OPTIMIZING THE TWIST DISTRIBUTION OF THE BLADES. AERODYNAMIC EFFICIENCY OF THE PROPELLER WILL BE CHOSEN AS THE OBJECTIVE FUNCTION IN THIS PHASE OF THE STUDY. IN PHASE II, THE CAPABILITIES OF THE CODE WILL BE ENHANCED ACCORDING TO THE NEEDS OF NASA AND THE AEROSPACE INDUSTRY. MULTIPLE PARAMETER OPTIMIZATION, INCLUDING BLADE SWEEP AND CHORD DISTRIBUTION, CAN BE INCORPORATED. BEYOND THE SCOPE OF THE PHASE II WORK, IT IS POSSIBLE TO SELECT OTHER OBJECTIVE FUNCTIONS SUCH AS THE LEVEL OF ACOUSTIC NOISE. AN ACOUSTIC ANALYSIS CODE WILL BE NEEDED FOR THIS PURPOSE.