BLADE SHAPE OPTIMIZATION OF AIRCRAFT PROPELLER USING SPACE MAPPING SURROGATES

Abstract

The aim of the present study is to perform a propeller blade shape optimization for maximum aerodynamic efficiency with a minimal number of high-fidelity model evaluations. A space mapping algorithm is utilized to link two of the most common propeller analysis models: the classical blade element momentum theory to be the coarse model; and the high-fidelity computational fluid dynamics (CFD) tool as the fine model. The optimum design is obtained after few iterations with only 56 CFD simulations. Further, an optimization method based on design of experiments and kriging response surface is used to validate the results and compare the computational efficiency of the two techniques. Finally, the shape of the blade cross-sectional airfoil is optimized to gain an additional improvement of 1.75% in the overall propeller efficiency.