An Experimental Investigation of the Blade-Vortex Interaction Phenomenon Using a Single-Blade Non-Lifting Rotor

This dissertation describes an experimental investigation of the blade-vortex interaction (BVI) phenomenon conducted at the University of Glasgow, Scotland, using a single blade, non-lifting rotor. The vortex is generated by a fixed split-wing mounted vertically upstream of the rotor disc and five circulatory vortex strengths are considered; 1.10, 2.20, 3.40, 5.10 and 6.70m2/s. The rotor blade is instrumented with highly sensitive miniature pressure transducers which assist in measuring time-dependent surface pressures as the blade passes through or very close to the vortex. Numerous "Parallel" BVI tests are carried out by altering the geometry of the test set-up in order to study the effects of blade-vortex proximity (Yv/c), circulatory vortex strength (T) and blade-radial variations (r/R). "Oblique" BVI tests are also performed, though of a much lesser extent, using similar test set-ups but for a vortex strength of 6.70m2/s. The blade-vortex proximity distance varied between +/-1.00, at an increment of 0.20, whereas the blade span position ranged between 0.62R and 0.94R, at an increment of 0.08R. The large variety of test conditions and the vast amount of data collected in the present study can be described as one of the most comprehensive tests for the investigation of the BVI problem in the controlled environment of a wind tunnel