Propeller and wake interaction in distributed propulsion systems

Entry requirements

Please use this Research Proposal, Personal statement and CV writing guide when preparing an application.

Months of entry

Anytime

Course content

To reduce the environmental impact of flight in line with the 2050 net-zero goal, a few novel electric propulsion prototypes have been proposed over the past few years, with more aircraft to be developed over the coming years.

Electric-powered aircraft use propellers for thrust generation. Propellers currently used in aviation generally operate (optimally) at constant revolutions per minute (RPM), have variable pitch and have been designed to function together with gas turbine or piston engines. However, propellers required by many proposed electric aircraft designs will likely be fixed pitch and will operate over a wide range of RPM in a multi-rotor or distributed propulsion arrangement. Furthermore, these aircraft will operate over a wide range of sizes, from small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) to future large-scale passenger aircraft.

Currently, there is a lack of understanding on how to optimally design RPM-regulated propellers that efficiently operate in such multi-propeller architectures, as well as how the complex interactions between these propellers impacts the propulsive efficiency and noise generation of the flight vehicle.

The project work will be conducted along three topics. First, a study will be done into scale effects on multi-point optimised RPM-regulated propellers using blade element methods. Second, various propeller arrangements will be investigated, and empirical models will be derived for the overall propulsive efficiency and noise generation as function of system architecture. Lastly, an in-depth investigation will be done on wake interaction on the most common and promising multi-propeller architectures, either using low-speed wind tunnel testing and/or computational fluid dynamics.

Fees and funding

This programme is self-funded.

To enquire about University of Salford funding schemes – including the Widening Participation Scholarship – visit this website.