Investigation of influence of aircraft propeller modal parameters on small airplane performance

Abstract

The aim of the current paper is to investigate a small airplane model propeller of class F2D according to requirements of Fédéra-tion Aéronautique Internationale (FAI, or World Air Sports Federation). In some cases, practical tests show that F2D models with flexible propellers produce specific extra noise and increase flight speed in comparison with “rigid” propellers. Therefore, the following hypothesis could be proposed: flexible characteristics of the increased noise are related to the resonant eigenfrequencies of the propeller. The operating range of the F2D class propeller (28,000-35,000 rpm) is close to or equal to the eigenfrequency resonance. The current investigation addresses dynamic/flexible vibrations of elastic propeller during engine run and researches dynamic parameters of the propeller as well as the contribution of these parameters to the model flight characteristics. To resolve this type of a problem, a stand, which allows completing a physical investigation of flexible propeller vibration modes and dynamic characteristics was created.