Aerodynamic and aeroacoustic study of low-Reynolds number propeller
E. (Edoardo) Grande
Doctoral Candidate
Dr. D. (Daniele) Ragni
Assistant Professor
Dr. F. (Francesco) Avallone
Associate Professor
Nowadays, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are developing incredibly fast, both for military and commercial applications. The use of UAVs can be limited by their noise generation levels. Either for acoustic furtivity in military operations, as reconnaissance and surveillance, or noise pollution in civilian use in proximity of populated areas, noise reduction of UAVs is a goal to achieve. In this context, there is a renewed interest in the development of propellers, that represent the propulsive system commonly employed for this type of vehicles. Furthermore, rotor noise has been deeply investigated only for helicopter propulsion and not for small scale rotors
Hence the focus of the research is to identify the characteristic low-Reynolds physical phenomena and to understand how they influence the noise emitted, with the goal of designing a quiet and efficient propeller. To this purpose, a combination of wind tunnel experiments, high fidelity simulations and analytical methods are used.
Edoardo obtained his BSc in Mechanical Engineering and his MSc in Aeronautical Engineering from Roma Tre University. He is currently pursuing a PhD at Delft University of Thecnology. Edoardo’s research focus is on aerodynamics an aeroacoustics of low-Reynolds propellers for drones applications, by means of low fidelity methods, experiments and high fidelity simulations.
Daniele Ragni graduated in Thermo-Mechanical Engineering at the Polytechnic University of Marche (2007). Obtained the Ph.D. in 2012 (Faculty of Aerospace Engineering TU Delft) and joined TU Delft at the section of Wind Energy in the AWEP Department in the same year.
Francesco Avallone studied Aerospace Engineering at the University of Naples Federico II where he obtained also the PhD. His research interest focus on application of computational aeroacoustics to investigate the noise generation mechanisms and noise reduction solutions for wind energy and aeronautical applications. He is currently working on acoustic liners, porous materials and urban wind turbines on projects sponsored by Clean Sky 2, NWO and AARC.
