2020
In propeller design, fast calculation methods offer significant advantages for building an initial geometry and narrowing a broad design space. However, details such as blade tip vortices, three-dimensional profile transitions, hub effects, local separations and interactions between blades require more extensive flow analysis. Tulkas developed its in-house OpenFOAM-based propeller flow analysis program in 2020 to build a validation tool complementing its own propeller design software.
The goal was to establish infrastructure that could bring propeller geometry into a standard analysis workflow and report results in a form usable for design decisions, rather than building a complex CFD setup from scratch for every project.
The program combined repeated steps — placing the propeller geometry in the analysis domain, preparing the flow volume, applying mesh settings and defining boundary conditions — into a shared workflow. Rotational effects were handled in a way that could be evaluated using a rotating-reference-frame or a time-dependent rotating-region approach, depending on project needs.
By entering RPM, forward flow speed, air properties and operating conditions, different mission points could be examined on the same geometry. This structure allowed the static-thrust condition to be separated from the forward-flight condition, so the propeller was not evaluated based solely on maximum ground thrust.
In addition to thrust and torque values, the analysis program made visible the pressure distribution on the blade surface, how load changes along the radius, the tip vortex structure and possible low-performance regions. This made it possible to examine how different geometries with similar overall results diverge in terms of load distribution, noise tendency and structural strain.
Pressure data was also used as input for composite ply layout and structural control. Seeing where the load is concentrated on the blade helped determine not just the aerodynamic profile but where the carbon fiber structure needed reinforcement.
Rather than accepting CFD results as the final validation on their own, Tulkas evaluated them together with its own thrust test system. Thrust and torque curves from analysis were compared with measurements from produced propellers; differences were investigated for causes such as mesh structure, boundary conditions, surface tolerances or actual composite deformation.
This approach kept the analysis tool from remaining just software that produces impressive visuals. The program became an in-house engineering tool that narrowed design options, reduced the number of prototypes needed, and helped understand the causes behind test results. In this way, Tulkas united design, CFD, composite manufacturing and thrust testing within the same product development chain.
You can get in touch with Tulkas to evaluate the flow performance of your existing or new propeller geometry together with the design and test process.
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