- #1
mishaparem
- 5
- 0
Hello,
I was hoping someone on here could suggest some affordable software to model the flow produced by a ducted fan. I saw someone using Solidworks flow simulation, which is convenient because I can use SW to model the fan AND get a rough estimate of the thrust produced. I'm not looking for something super accurate and complex, but I AM hoping for something that gives me a rough indication of thrust produced, and torque required to turn the fan at the simulated RPM.
As a side note, I majored in aero, but had to make a quick career change shortly after, so I've forgotten a lot. Even so, I don't remember ever discussing propellers or fans in any of my classes. Is it safe to assume a very rough estimate can be calculated by:
I'd be grateful for any suggested software or literature.
Thanks,
Misha
I was hoping someone on here could suggest some affordable software to model the flow produced by a ducted fan. I saw someone using Solidworks flow simulation, which is convenient because I can use SW to model the fan AND get a rough estimate of the thrust produced. I'm not looking for something super accurate and complex, but I AM hoping for something that gives me a rough indication of thrust produced, and torque required to turn the fan at the simulated RPM.
As a side note, I majored in aero, but had to make a quick career change shortly after, so I've forgotten a lot. Even so, I don't remember ever discussing propellers or fans in any of my classes. Is it safe to assume a very rough estimate can be calculated by:
- obtaining angle of incidence of a section of a blade against the air, obtained by adding the vector of incoming air (velocity of plane through air) with the rotational velocity of the section of the blade
- calculating the produced forces using air foil calculations
- adding produced forces along the length of the blade using 1&2
- multipying by # of blades
I'd be grateful for any suggested software or literature.
Thanks,
Misha