Aerial propellers

The aerial propeller is the propulsion mode that has accompanied the development of aeronautics from the very beginning. Today, despite competition from other concepts, it is still widely used on aircraft operating at subsonic speeds. Today, the propeller is an ever-modern piece of equipment, benefiting from the latest technological advances in a wide range of disciplines.

This article outlines the key issues that a propeller builder needs to master, in order to design the best product (in terms of safety, performance and operating costs). Although not exhaustive, it will also provide non-specialists with an overview of the process involved in designing such equipment.

Topics covered range from aerodynamic performance to system regulation, structural sizing and integration of the propeller into its environment (acoustics, various types of protection and installation on aircraft).

Although detailed for high-power aerial propellers, the approach presented here can also be applied to related products such as wind turbines, marine propellers or fans, for example.