[leviterande]

Hi everyone, I am working on a device called the Vortex Thruster.

This prototype-propulsion-device is composed of:


1. A vortex chamber: a centrifugal impeller which is located in a bottom of a cylinder.

2. A diffuser: an upward lifting donut shaped airfoil, that is mounted above the vortex chamber.

3. A source of pressurized air: a high pressurized air that is delivered to the impeller from the bottom.

The principle is this: as the impeller spins, air is pushed to the wall of the vortex chamber and swirls upwards and along over the airfoil diffuser and creating a low pressure on the diffuser. Thus lift/thrust is produced.

What I am wondering is if Fluent CFD or other is capable of calculating/simulating the following:

1. The incoming and outgoing swirling airflow to and from the impeller and device.

2. Showing the low pressure zones , on the diffuser

3. Calculating the thrust/lift vs the power required.


You can see an animation where the device is shown and the airflow is shown.

(I dont know if one can post pics of the model. I tried but I couldnt here?)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0oHqkgWEcRY

Best Regards
/Karl

[otd]

I'd guess that any compressible CFD code that will do axisymmetric (rotating) flow - that's u, v, w as functions of r and z but with no variation with angle - can produce a steady-state axisymmetric flow field from which you could calculate the appropriate surface integrals for lift (thrust) etc. Probably any realistic value of throughput would require a turbulence model as well.

Please note this is a GUESS.

[Ahmed]

Originally Posted by leviterande

Hi everyone, I am working on a device called the Vortex Thruster.
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(I dont know if one can post pics of the model. I tried but I couldnt here?)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0oHqkgWEcRY

Best Regards
/Karl

When posting, scroll down the page till you see the additional options, there you find a button to manage your attachments. Good Luck
You see, I prefer not to connect to youtube and similar sites (just a security rule)