Influence of propeller diameter mounted at wingtip of high aspect ratio wing on aerodynamic performance

In this paper, the propeller diameter effect on cruising characteristics of a solar-powered aircraft with a high aspect ratio wing is considered. Numerical studies were performed using a program based on the Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations for Mach numbers M=0.145 and Reynolds numbers Re = 0·3-10 6 . Three aircraft configurations were considered: without propellers, with running two-bladed propellers with diameters of 0.22 m and 0.33 m. Numerical studies showed that the installed propeller introduces significant non-linearity into the lift curves and propeller thrust coefficient versus angle of attack curves. The propeller slipstream velocity field changes depending on the propeller advance ratio and the flow velocity, thus influencing the pressure distribution on the wing and the aircraft aerodynamic performance.