A computational method for the performance modeling and design of a ducted fan system

A computational model been developed for an axisymmetric ducted fan system to identify its design parameters and their influence on the system performance. The performance of the system has been investigated as its geometrical design parameters, its fan model parameters, and the thrust requirement are changed parametrically. The fan in the system is modeled as an actuator disk, which provides jumps in stagnation enthalpy and stagnation density across it. Current results show that increasing diffuser angle of the duct improves the propulsion efficiency of the ducted fan system, while the inlet geometry has little effect on it. Also, non-uniform fan strength distribution models have been proposed and investigated, which shows that the strength distribution of the fan increasing in the direction of the fan blade tip facilitates wake expansion and requires less power than the fan strength distribution which increases in the direction of the blade hub. The current results are to be validated in near future, when the experimental and computational results are available from parallel research works.