Equation 3 for the induced velocity factor a in the section III.B should be: (Formula presented) Instead of: (Formula presented) The first sentence of Chapter V should read that an angle of attack of 8° positions the propeller in a strong adverse pressure gradient, not a strong advance ratio.

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The unsteady flow behaviour of two side-by-side rotors in ground proximity is experimentally investigated. The rotors induce a velocity distribution interacting with the ground causing the radial expansion of the rotor wakes. In between the rotors, an interaction of the two wakes takes place, resulting in an upward flow similar to a fountain. Two types of flow topologies are examined and correspond to two different stand-off heights between the rotors and the ground: the first one where the height of the fountain remains below the rotor disks, and a second one where it emerges above, being re-ingested. The fountain unsteadiness is shown to increase when re-ingestion takes place, determining a location switch from one rotor disk to the other, multiple times during acquisition. Consequently, variable inflow conditions are imposed on each of the two rotors. The fountain dynamics is observed at a frequency that is about two orders of magnitude lower than the blade passing frequency. The dominant characteristic time scale is linked to the flow recirculation path, relating this to system parameters of thrust and ground stand-off height. The flow field is analysed using proper orthogonal decomposition, in which coupled modes are identified. Results from the modal analysis are used to formulate a simple dynamic flow model of the re-ingestion switching cycle.

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A semi-emperical model is developed, able to capture the aeropropulsive performance characteristics of Over-The-Wing propellers at incidence. The model is based on an hypothesis on the interactions of the propeller- and wing-induced flow fields. Effects of these interactions on the both the thrust and lift are written in a form in which the dominant design parameters appear explicitly. Both the flow hypothesis and model results are validated using experimental data of a single Over-The-Wing propeller. It is shown that for moderate angles of attack, the propulsive thrust is reduced by the wing’s circulation. For angles of attack greater than the stall angle of the isolated wing, thrust is increased by the ingestion of low momentum flow. The propeller is not able to delay stall but induces flow over the wing, which is returned as reduced pressure over the suction side. The model predictions closely match the experimental results for thrust, but integral loading measurements of the wing are required to validate the lift predictions.@en

An experimental investigation is conducted to study the aerodynamic behavior of a two-rotor system in ground proximity. The counter-rotating rotors are placed side-by-side in the hovering condition. The time-averaged and unsteady flow behavior is studied when the rotor-to-rotor lateral distance and the distance between the rotors and the ground are varied. The experiments are performed using three-dimensional large-scale volumetric velocimetry with helium-filled soap bubbles as tracers, tracked by the particle motion analysis technique “Shake-The-Box.” The mean velocity field reveals the wake deflection due to the ground plane and the formation of toroidal-shape regions of separated flow below each rotor. The interaction of the wall jets formed by slipstream deflection results in a separation line with the flow emerging from the wall in a fountain-like pattern. Regimes of flow re-ingestion occur when the rotors are sufficiently far apart. The flowfield exhibits the tendency toward asymmetric states, during which the fountain flow column and the domain of re-ingestion shift closer to one of the rotors. A generic classification of flow regimes is proposed in relation to the behavior of two rotors in ground effect.

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