Comprehensive study on tip vortex with lateral jet flow

Abstract

Comprehensive numerical and experimental investigations of tip vortical characteristics were conducted for lateral tip jet flow over a fixed wing as a step to reduce blade vortex interaction noise. The tip vortex of a NACA0012 blade was measured and visualized for the fundamental study of tip vortical flow, and the results were compared with numerical data as a validation of numerical solvers. Three-dimensional compressible Euler/Navier-Stokes codes were used to calculate the effect of jet flow from the tip of an OLS (modified BHT 540) fixed blade at various freestream velocities and jet conditions. The results show that the jet flowing from the wing tip can diffuse the tip vortex enlarging the core size of tip vortex and weakening its strength. When applied to the blade vortex interaction phenomena, this enlarged and weak vortex can produce a lower pressure gradient on the blade surface, which means that the jet flow can effectively reduce blade vortex interaction noise.