Coupled Viscous Vortex Particle Method and Unstructured CFD Solver for Rotorcraft Aerodynamic Interaction Modeling

The helicopter rotor wake is a complicated problem and remains an extremely challenging aspect of rotorcraft performance and dynamic response analysis. The rotor/fuselage and/or rotor/ship aerodynamic interaction further complicates the problem. This STTR is dedicated to developing a solution for the complicated rotorcraft aerodynamic interaction problem. The development will couple the state-of-the-art vortex particle method (VPM) with an unstructured Navier-Stokes CFD body surface solver for a high fidelity rotor/body aerodynamic interaction simulation. The Phase I research will accomplish the formulation of the VPM/CFD coupling, prototype the coupling algorithm, and demonstrate the feasibility with rotorcraft aerodynamic interaction examples.