Pressure Distribution on Propeller Bladed Surface Using Numerical Lifting Surface Theory

A procedure and numerical results are presented for the prediction of the steady pressure distribution on a rotating propeller blade surface based on lifting surface theory. A computer code-named the Propeller Steady Pressure (PSP) program, has been developed by extending the existing propeller analysis program, PSF, based on vortex/source lattice techniques, developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Prediction by PSP are compared with selected experimental values that are believed to be accurately and reliably measured. Comparisons are also made between PSP predictions and other theoretical predictions. The predictions by PSP are generally in good agreement with experimental values and with other prediction methods except for the tip region where current procedures may not be accurate enough to represent the actual flow.