Numerical Analysis for Aerodynamic Interference between rotor and propeller

JAXA Supercomputer System Annual Report February 2025-January 2026

Report Number: R25ETET02

Subject Category: Skills Acquisition System

Responsible Representative: Kanako Yasue, Aviation Technology Directorate, Aviation Integration Innovation Hub
Contact Information: Takeshi Akasaka, Kanazawa Institute of Technology(akasaka@neptune.kanazawa-it.ac.jp)
Members: Wataru Morita, Hideaki Sugawara, Takeshi Akasaka

Abstract

In our country, efforts are being made toward the societal implementation of eVTOL as a new means of transportation. In lift and cruise type eVTOLs, the interacion between the rotor wake and the propulsion propeller creates a complex flow field that can affect both aerodynamic performance and noise.

This project investigates the aerodynamic performance of the propulsion propeller resulting from the aerodynamic interference between the rotor wake and the propulsion propeller using rFlow3D. An analytical model consisting of a lift rotor and a propulsion propeller was employed. The simulation conditions vary the lateral position of the propeller relative to the rotor under forward flight conditions, with the rotor advance ratio ranging from 0.4 to 0.7.

Reference URL

N/A

Reasons and benefits of using JAXA Supercomputer System

To analyze the aerodynamic performance and noise of lift and cruise type eVTOLs using the CFD solver "rFlow3D" developed by JAXA.

Achievements of the Year

The results show that the efficiency of the propulsion propeller is improved when it is positioned downstream of the advancing side of the rotor due to various interference phenomena (FIg.1,Fig.2). Furthermore, the propulsion propeller exhibits different vibration characteristics depending on its lateral position and the advance ratio of the lift rotor.

Fig.1: Visualization of tip vortex for a rotor and a propeller

Fig.2: Efficiency variation due to the lateral position of the propulsion propeller

Publications

- Non peer-reviewed papers

Wataru Morita, Hideaki Sugawara, Takeshi Akasaka, Numerical analysis of aerodynamic interactions between lift rotor and propulsion propeller in eVTOL, ANSS, JSASS, 2025

Usage of JSS

Computational Information

Process Parallelization Methods: N/A
Thread Parallelization Methods: OpenMP
Number of Processes: 1
Elapsed Time per Case: 336 Hour(s)

JSS3 Resources Used

Fraction of Usage in Total Resources*1(%): 0.10

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	0.00	0.00
TOKI-ST	767874.03	0.80
TOKI-GP	0.00	0.00
TOKI-XM	0.00	0.00
TOKI-LM	0.00	0.00
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	102400.00	0.67
/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)	0.00	0.00

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