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Summary and Motivation
Summary and Motivation
A gyrocopter is a special rotorcraft that uses auto-rotation to drive the rotor blades and generate lift. A propeller engine provides thrust and propels the gyrocopter. The vehicle, analogous to a helicopter, provides the legion benefits of no-stall, minimal take-off and landing distances, reduced cost, low speed, and reduced cost.
For my Bachelor's Senior Design Project, I collaborated with my team members to develop a 3D model of a novel gyrocopter aircraft and its components based on a reference drawing in SolidWorks.
Our thesis project aimed to promote gyrocopters' applicability as a convenient transportation medium, with cost-effective benefits compared to a helicopter. To demonstrate the flight vehicle's unique auto-rotation phenomenon, I performed a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulation of the gyrocopter assembly in ANSYS Fluent to obtain velocity contours and flight characteristics (lift and drag coefficients).
Project Details and Achievements
Project Details and Achievements
3D Modeling of the Gyrocopter Body (Airframe and Propeller)
I assisted my team member (Sharath), who designed the gyrocopter and propeller engine's airframe. For the reference gyrocopter model, we used commands such as flex, mate, float, fillets, extrude cut, and spline in SolidWorks to design the body, tail part, and landing gear.
We selected a NACA 2415 airfoil profile to design the propeller blades (as per relevant gyrocopter design literature)
Design of Rotor Blades
A gyrocopter is unique in that the rotor derives energy from the airflow (auto-rotation) without an input power. To represent this phenomenon, I designed a rotor blade 3D model using NACA 8-H-12 airfoil in SolidWorks. The rotor blade serves as the lift-generating component of the gyrocopter.
Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) Simulation of the Gyrocopter Assembly
To demonstrate the flight characteristics of our gyrocopter, I took the initiative to perform a challenging task. I conducted a transient CFD flow simulation of the gyrocopter assembly in ANSYS Fluent by applying inlet velocity and outlet pressure.
As shown in the figure, I created a rectangular domain for the airframe while assigning cylindrical domains to the propeller and rotor.
A few important simulation parameters for this simulation were:
Flow type: viscous laminar (transient)
Boundary conditions – inlet velocity of 15 m/s and propeller cell zone angular velocity of 100 rad/s
Flow time – 0.01 seconds
Results - What Did I Achieve?
Results - What Did I Achieve?
After designing the gyrocopter in SolidWorks and running the CFD simulation in ANSYS Fluent, I obtained velocity contours for the vehicle. The lift and drag coefficients were relatively high.
A probable cause was our computer system's limited computational power, which constrained simulation accuracy and convergence.
Overall, the 3D modeling task helped us understand the auto-rotation phenomenon of the aircraft. The simulation attempt provided us with a framework to evaluate and promote gyrocopter's applicability in transport applications.
Helpful Resources
Helpful Resources
I understand you have a busy schedule, so please find my project's summary below for a quick overview.
Thank you very much, and please feel free to contact me for feedback or if you have any questions.
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