The computation of rotor wake trajectories in hover is important for the accurate determination of rotor loads and moments. These values are necessary for aeroelastic computations.
Vorticity contours can define the wake trajectory. As vorticity is computed from the derivative of the primitive velocity variables, it is a higher order computation. The initial solution requires a refined mesh on the blade surface. Additionally, in order to compute vorticity in the wake local mesh refinement is necessary. This local refinement procedure is carried out by adaptivity methods developed at SCOREC.
Solutions in the form of wake trajectories for a simple rotor blade in hover are shown on the page to follow. Description of the test case rotor blade is given below.