Numerical Simulation of Incompressible Two-Blade Rotor Flowfields

The incompressible flowfield of a two-blade rotor with untapered, untwisted, aspect-ratio-six blades is computed. The artificial compressibility formulation of the incompressible-flow equations is chosen for the numerical solution. Time integration is performed implicitly and space discretization is obtained with an upwind-biased scheme. The numerical method is implemented on a multiblock solver where turbulent flow can be computed by both algebraic and one-equation models. The flowfield is computed on a half-rotor configuration by imposing periodicity conditions in the azimuthal direction. The numerical mesh over the blade consists of three distinct blocks and is wrapped on a cylindrical surface. Turbulence is modeled with a one-equation turbulence model. Comparisons of the computed results with available experimental data are presented.