Influence by the hub vortex on the instability of the tip vortices shed by propellers with and without winglets

Abstract

Large-eddy simulations on a cylindrical grid consisting of 5 × 109 points are reported on both conventional and winglets propellers with and without a downstream shaft. Comparisons are focused on the influence by the hub vortex on the process of instability of the tip vortices. They demonstrate that in straight ahead conditions, this influence is actually quite limited for both propellers. The presence of the hub vortex at the wake core results in only a slight upstream shift of the instability of the tip vortices. Meanwhile, the development of the instability of the hub vortex is always delayed, compared to that of the tip vortices, and the former keeps coherent further downstream of their breakup. The results of this study highlight that the hub vortex is not a major source of instability of the tip vortices. Therefore, simplified configurations with no hub vortex, often adopted in the literature, can also provide a good approximation of the process of instability of the tip vortices shed by actual propellers. In contrast, the instability of the tip vortices could be the trigger of that of the hub vortex, whose development is slower. Therefore, experimental and computational studies aimed at analyzing the dynamics of the hub vortex should be designed accordingly, extending to further downstream distances.