Predictions of JVX Rotor Performance in Hover and Airplane Mode Using High-Fidelity Unstructured Grid CFD Solver

The Bell-Boeing Joint Vertical Experimental (JVX) rotor, which was tested at the Outdoor Aerodynamic Research Facility (OARF) at NASA Ames Research Center, is numerically investigated in the present study using an unstructured grid Navier-Stokes computational fluid dynamics solver U²NCLE. The JVX rotor hover figure of merit (FM) and propulsive efficiency (PE) in airplane mode are computed using a high-fidelity computational method. Grid resolution studies are performed and steady/unsteady simulation methods are assessed to evaluate the numerical impact on predicting rotor performance and capturing the trailing tip vortices. Four turbulence model options, Spalart's detached eddy simulation (DES), delayed detached eddy simulation (DDES), local correlation-based transition model (LCTM), and stall delay model (SDM) are investigated in detail for the JVX rotor performance prediction in both hover and airplane modes. The computational results suggested that the correct modeling of rotor flow physics is the key for accurate predictions of rotor performance especially at high collective angle/thrust levels.