Low-cost rotary wing design applied to design optimization of roter blade for Mars helicopter

JAXA Supercomputer System Annual Report February 2024-January 2025

Report Number: R24EACA59

Subject Category: JSS Inter-University Research

Responsible Representative: Masahiro Kanazaki, Professor, Tokyo Metopolitan University
Contact Information: Masahiro Kanazaki, Professor(kana@tmu.ac.jp)
Members: Masahiro Kanazaki, Hikari Kono, Takashi Matsuno, Takumi Nakagawa, Riku Tokuono

Abstract

In this study, we devised rotor blades using thin corrugated airfoils as a concept for storing Mars exploration helicopters in sizes and shapes suitable for rocket transport. Numerical calculations and optimal design were conducted from the perspectives of aerodynamics and propulsion. The optimal design involved evaluations based on two-dimensional airfoil assessments using momentum theory and global exploration using Bayesian optimization, resulting in superior airfoils compared to NASA's Mars helicopter. The optimal design results were verified using three-dimensional CFD with overset grids, and basic evaluations of structural feasibility were also conducted, confirming the solution's promise.

Reference URL

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Reasons and benefits of using JAXA Supercomputer System

In this study, we conducted an optimal design using global optimization. Since the design target is the sectional airfoil shape, a 2D airfoil evaluation is required for each design solution in addition to blade element momentum theory. Although the application of evolutionary computation became possible due to the low-cost evaluation method, which is based on the blade element momentum theory, it is necessary to use JSS3, as it is a numerical calculation governed by the Navier-Stokes equations. JSS3's capability is also required when conducting numerical calculations based on the immersed boundary method for confirmation purposes.

Achievements of the Year

Based on the results of the previous year's study, this research conducted airfoil optimization using the Tree-structured Parzen Estimator, a type of Bayesian optimization. As a result, we obtained a corrugated airfoil with better aerodynamic performance than the initial airfoil and the airfoil used in NASA's Mars helicopter, which was used as a comparison benchmark. This airfoil was applied to a rotor blade and evaluated using CFD with overset grids (Figure 1), revealing that the corrugated structure is useful for suppressing flow separation.

Fig.1: Numerical result by means of CFD for the blade of a rotary wing with the corrugated airfoil.

Publications

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Usage of JSS

Computational Information

Process Parallelization Methods: MPI
Thread Parallelization Methods: OpenMP
Number of Processes: 32
Elapsed Time per Case: 2 Hour(s)

JSS3 Resources Used

Fraction of Usage in Total Resources*1(%): 0.14

Details

Please refer to System Configuration of JSS3 for the system configuration and major specifications of JSS3.

Computational Resources
System Name	CPU Resources Used (Core x Hours)	Fraction of Usage*2(%)
TOKI-SORA	3229461.33	0.15
TOKI-ST	191407.37	0.20
TOKI-GP	0.00	0.00
TOKI-XM	0.00	0.00
TOKI-LM	4069.43	0.29
TOKI-TST	0.00	0.00
TOKI-TGP	0.00	0.00
TOKI-TLM	0.00	0.00

File System Resources
File System Name	Storage Assigned (GiB)	Fraction of Usage*2(%)
/home	0.00	0.00
/data and /data2	2535.00	0.01
/ssd	0.00	0.00

Archiver Resources
Archiver Name	Storage Used (TiB)	Fraction of Usage*2(%)
J-SPACE	0.00	0.00

*1: Fraction of Usage in Total Resources: Weighted average of three resource types (Computing, File System, and Archiver).

*2: Fraction of Usage：Percentage of usage relative to each resource used in one year.

ISV Software Licenses Used

ISV Software Licenses Resources
	ISV Software Licenses Used (Hours)	Fraction of Usage*2(%)
ISV Software Licenses (Total)	608.62	0.42

*2: Fraction of Usage：Percentage of usage relative to each resource used in one year.