Evaluation of an Experimental Method for Predicting Dynamic Loads of Propellers Under Oblique Inflow Conditions

Advanced air mobility concepts rely on propellers that often operate under asymmetric and highly unsteady flow conditions. The accurate prediction of the thereby resulting dynamic loads is crucial for structural integrity, vibration control, and noise reduction. This paper presents a coupled experimental-numerical approach for predicting and validating the aeroelastic behavior of lifting propellers under oblique inflow. High-fidelity unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (URANS) simulations were combined with the in-house aeroelastic solver ”Propeller Comprehensive Optimization and Design Environment“ (PropCODE), enabling two-way coupling between aerodynamic loads and structural deformation. The method was experimentally validated on a dedicated test bench featuring a partially obstructed inflow configuration, inducing periodic load excitations. Measured and simulated results showed very good agreement in mean loads and dynamic response, with both approaches capturing identical flapwise vibration modes at the blade passing frequency. The developed CFD-PropCODE methodology provides a robust and computationally efficient framework for predicting dynamic propeller loads and represents a key step toward the design of optimized, quieter, and vibration-reduced propellers for future electric aircraft.