CFD analysis of a micro-rotor in ground effect

Abstract

In this work, computational fluid dynamics is used to compare experimental results for a two-bladed small rotor Out of Ground Effect and In Ground Effect conditions. The paper focuses on the evalutation and prediction of the performance of the rotor and investigates the outwash generated in ground effect. Time and phase averaged outflow velocities with two different scaling methods are compared with experiments. The results are also scaled to a full-size rotor, and compared with the PAXman model of crew operating in close rotor proximity. A particle pickup model is also used showing the dust cloud generated by the rotor.