Computational Study on Tip Vortex Control Using Porous Structures on Rotor Blades

This study numerically investigates the effect of a porous blade tip on tip vortex control. The baseline rotor features an ideally twisted blade with the NACA 0012 airfoil section and a tip pitch angle of 8 degrees. A porous structure is applied around the rotor blade tip to reduce aeroacoustic noise associated with tip vortices. First, the aerodynamic performance of the smooth-blade rotor is analyzed through numerical simulations and compared with experimental data. Based on the aerodynamic simulation, broadband and tonal noise are computed. Subsequently, the aerodynamic and aeroacoustic characteristics of the porous-tip blade are investigated and compared with those of the smooth blade. To simulate the porous-tip blade, a permeable wall model is employed to enable efficient simulation. The presentation will include a comparison between experimental and computational data for the porous-tip rotor blade.