Numerical Investigation on the Aerodynamics and Aeroacoustics of a Lifting Propeller Interacting with a Wing

Propeller-wing interaction is an important aerodynamic and aeroacoustic problem for eVTOL and distributed electric propulsion configurations. This paper presents a numerical investigation of a four-bladed lifting propeller in hover and its interaction with a NACA 0012 wing. The propeller has a diameter of D = 0.303 m and operates at 9800 RPM. The flow field is simulated using a GPU-accelerated Lattice Boltzmann Method. The isolated propeller is first validated against far-field acoustic measurements, showing good agreement in blade-passing-frequency tones, broadband spectral content, and OASPL directivity. The validated framework is then applied to an installed propeller-wing configuration. The near-field results show that the wing interrupts and redirects the propeller slipstream, producing local pressure build-up, enhanced spanwise vorticity, and elevated turbulent kinetic energy in the overlap region. The far-field results show that the installed wing modifies both the tonal and broadband acoustic response of the propeller. Broadband noise increases over a wide frequency range, particularly between approximately 700 Hz and 7000 Hz, while the OASPL directivity shows an increase of up to approximately 8 dB near theta = 210 degrees. These changes are associated with installation-induced aerodynamic loading, slipstream blockage, vortex deformation, enhanced turbulence generation, and wake-surface interaction in the overlap region between the propeller slipstream and the wing.