Experimental Characterisation of Low Reynolds Number Propeller Performance from Erosion on a Triangular Aerofoil

Erosion to aerofoils significantly affects performance in high Reynolds number applications (Re > 10 ⁵ ), but erosion effects on aerofoils for low Reynolds number applications, such as micro-air-vehicle propellers, are unknown. This paper aims to determine the effects of erosion on drone propeller performance between 2-4×10 ⁴ Reynolds numbers. A propeller with a triangular aerofoil was 4 used as the baseline, and 8 erosion modes were tested to assess the sensitivity of performance changes to location, erosion magnitude, and Reynolds effects. Results show that leading-edge erosion is largely detrimental to propeller efficiency, implying that erosion can significantly impact the endurance of aerial vehicles. This study concluded that erosion location and erosion level both have a significant effect on propeller performance. Improvements and degradations to performance also depended on the testing Reynolds number, showing the importance of considering all stages of the mission profile on propeller design, vital information for micro-air and unmanned aerial vehicles.