Nicely produced video on new propeller design (well practically new, as the theory behind the design has been around for a while) from MIT.
Given that turboprop aircraft outside of long haul, are about 60% more efficient than a regional jet, this could bring back turboprops as the regional aircraft of choice?
Thank you for posting. It’s very interesting.
Making it variable pitch will be interesting!
Some outside the box thinking for a small drone application – where a failure is a non event. A propeller has standing vibrations along the blade, and in some cases critical stress conditions at some propeller speeds, which for a few types, result in “avoid” RPM ranges – for a straight blade prop. I’m imagining a very demanding test and certification process to demonstrate freedom from critical high stress areas for a prop with intersecting blades. I have a friend who lost six inches of blade tip from a Piper Arrow a few years back. He told me it was an immediate power to idle, and forced landing straight ahead while the plane shook horribly. I can’t imagine the outcome if a part of a looped propeller blade let go in flight!
On the other hand we have much better tools for predicting stresses and resonances than we did when Macaulay designed the fixed pitch prop that’s on the front of my aircraft.
How would you make it stiff enough and light enough? There is a lot of volume there, and it is hanging on the end of the crankshaft.
