Assessment of the Vortex Feature-Based Vorticity Confinement Method Applied to Rotor Aerodynamics and Aeroacoustics

Abstract

The accurate prediction of helicopter rotor aerodynamics and aeroacoustics using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) techniques still remains a challenge, as the over-dissipation of numerical schemes results in a higher diffusive rate of rotor wake and vortices than what can be expected from the fluid governing equations. To alleviate this issue, a vortex feature-based vorticity confinement (FVC2-L2) method that combines the locally normalized λ2 vortex detection method with the standard second vorticity confinement (VC2) scheme is presented to counterbalance the truncation error introduced by the numerical discretization of the convective term while avoiding the over-confinement inside the boundary layer. The FVC2-L2 scheme is adopted for helicopter rotor aerodynamic and aeroacoustic predictions through its implementation in the multi-block structured grid CFD solver ROSITA and coupling with the aeroacoustic code ROCAAP based on the permeable surface Ffowcs Williams–Hawkings (PS-FWH) equation. This approach is assessed in helicopter rotor flows via three databases. Firstly, the well-documented HART-II rotor in the baseline condition is used to evaluate the capability of the presented VC scheme in blade–vortex interaction (BVI) phenomena prediction. Subsequently, the UH-1H non-lifting hovering rotor and the AH-1/OLS low-speed descending flight rotor are adopted for assessment of such a method in aeroacoustics. The benefits of the FVC2-L2 scheme in terms of aerodynamics prediction, wake preservation, and noise signal prediction are well demonstrated by comparison with the experimental data and the results obtained without VC schemes. Particularly, the FVC2-L2 scheme mainly improves the highly unsteady airloads prediction, and results in an improvement of BVI noise prediction by more than 5 dB with respect to the case without VC schemes for AH-1/OLS rotor case. Additionally, some shortcomings of the approach are noticed in engineering applications. On the basis of a simplified convective vortex, some provisional guidelines on the required εo value in terms of number of cells per vortex diameter are provided: an εo value ranging from 0.01 to 0.04 for grids which may represent the vortex core diameter with 6 to 12 cells.