Experimental and Numerical Study of a Pitching Blade

The objective of the present study is to investigate the effects of the reduced frequency on the aerodynamic characteristics of a three dimensional pitching blade. Experimental data are recorded at three sections of the blade model; tip, middle, and root sections at low and high turbulence intensities. A 2D numerical simulation is also conducted based on the Unsteady Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes (URANS) equations and Finite Volume Method (FVM) and the results are compared with those of the experimental observations. The results show that 2D numerical simulations are useful in obtaining the qualitative behavior of the flow field. Moreover, it is shown experimentally that the reduced frequency is of great importance to the flow physics. It affects the maximum lift coefficients, hysteresis loops, lift curve slopes, and angles at which stall occurs.