Title: Determining small diameter propeller efficiency through wind tunnel test

Authors: M. Sallehuddin; Mahzan Muhammad Iyas

Addresses: RAZAK School of Engineering and Advanced Technology, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Jalan Semarak, 54100 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; iKhoza Wind Engineering, Malaysia-Japan International Institute, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 54100 Jalan Semarak, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia ' RAZAK School of Engineering and Advanced Technology, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Jalan Semarak, 54100 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Abstract: Most small unmanned air vehicles are powered by a fixed pitched propeller. Since a fixed-pitch propeller will be efficient only through a narrow range of operation conditions, selecting the right propeller is crucial to airplane performance. A wind tunnel test rig was set-up to determine propeller efficiency at different diameters and pitch angles. The efficiency of each propeller is determined by applying the simple momentum theory to the airflow. Results from the tests were compared with results from software which used Glauret blade element theory. The experimental results are about 95% accurate when the propeller advance ratio is between 0.2 and 0.5.

Keywords: propeller efficiency; small diameter propellers; wind tunnel testing; test rigs; unmanned aerial vehicles; UAVs; pitch angles.

DOI: 10.1504/IJVSMT.2014.066509

International Journal of Vehicle Systems Modelling and Testing, 2014 Vol.9 No.3/4, pp.334 - 341

Published online: 30 Dec 2014 *

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