Computational investigations of water collection efficiency on blades in unsteady vortex flowfield of rotor

To predict ice accretion on the helicopter rotor more accurately, a three-dimensional Eulerian method with a shadow zone dispersion model is developed for calculating the water collection efficiency on blades in the unsteady vortex flowfield of the rotor. Firstly, the unsteady vortex flowfield of the rotor is calculated using a CLORNS code. Secondly, considering the 3-D effect of the rotor deeply, the droplet flowfield on the same embedded grids is solved by the Eulerian method to overcome the defects of traditional 2-D calculation methods for predicting rotor icing. To increase the stability and efficiency of the Eulerian method, the shadow zone dispersion model is presented. Thirdly, the calculated results are respectively validated through the ice amount comparisons with experimental results of UH-1H rotor and SRB rotor. The simulated results show that the blade-tip vortex has a significant effect on the water collection efficiency and causes a drop in the water collection amount along the blade spanwise direction. Finally, the effects of the advance ratio and the forward tilting angle of the rotor shaft on the water collection efficiency are calculated and analyzed, and some new conclusions are obtained. In forward flight, the blade-tip vortex has a more obvious effect on the water collection efficiency in the advancing blade than that in the retreating blade, and this effect decreases with the increase of the advance ratio and the forward tilting angle.