Aerodynamic optimization design of general parameters for cycloidal propeller in hover based on surrogate model

A surrogate-model-based aerodynamic optimization design method for cycloidal propeller in hover was proposed, in order to improve its aerodynamic efficiency, and analyze the basic criteria for its aerodynamic optimization design. The reliability and applicability of overset mesh method were verified. An optimization method based on Kriging surrogate model was proposed to optimize the geometric parameters for cycloidal propeller in hover with the use of genetic algorithm. The optimization results showed that the thrust coefficient was increased by 3.56%, the torque coefficient reduced by 12.05%, and the figure of merit (FM) increased by 19.93%. The optimization results verified the feasibility of this design idea. Although the optimization was only carried out at a single rotation speed, the aerodynamic efficiency was also significantly improved over a wide range of rotation speeds. The optimal configuration characteristics for micro and small-sized cycloidal propeller were: solidity of 0.2-0.22, maximum pitch angle of 25°-35°, pitch axis locating at 35%-45% of the blade chord length. © 2019, Editorial Department of Journal of Aerospace Power. All right reserved.