Pusher-Propeller Installation Effects in Angular Inflow

Pylon-mounted pusher propellers suffer from installation effects due to the interaction between the pylon and the propeller. The impact of angular inflow on these installation effects was quantified at the Large Low-Speed Facility of the German-Dutch wind tunnels (DNW-LLF). Particle-image-velocimetry measurements showed that the pylon wake's width and velocity deficit were hardly affected by the introduction of a six-degree sideslip angle. Application of pylon trailing-edge blowing reduced the integral velocity deficit in the wake by up to 65%. Evaluations of the surface pressures on the blades confirmed the sinusoidal loading behavior in angular inflow and the impulsive loading peak due to the pylon-wake encounter. The circumferential velocity components induced by the pylon tip vortex strongly affected the steady-state propeller performance by modifying the effective advance ratio sensed by the blades. Increased performance was measured when the rotation direction of the pylon tip vortex was opposite to that of the propeller. Angular inflow affected the propeller noise emissions due to the resulting unsteady blade loads and the circumferential variation of the effective Mach number of the blade sections. The installation of the pylon added a noise source due to the unsteady blade loads caused by the pylon-wake encounter. Depending on the sideslip angle, application of blowing eliminated a large part of the installation noise penalty, despite remaining non-uniformities in the blown wake profiles.