Hello,

I'm fairly new to OpenFOAM® and CFD simulations and I'd like to ask some questions and hope to get some directional advice on how to simulate a setup of multiple propellors.

The concept is very basic, 16 rotors are placed in a circle and the goal is to see if the whole would spin around it's axis like a wheel, and move sideways forward through water, like drill.

I have been working on a mechanical model to figure it out, but recently I've encountered some difficulties and thought of making the switch to a computer simulation. See pictures and clip to get an idea, note the propellors or driven from the inside with an electric motor and should be RC controlled.

The idea is based on a wild guess of how would physics-particles, such as electrons or photons would move through an Aether (the Vacuum) if they had any structure.

More than a year ago I posted some rather naïve questions of CFD simulations at the speed of light on the www.cfd-online.com-forum and got some good advice to try to use Blender 3D for this, from Holger Marschall who turns out to be now one of the founders of this forum.

For some time I've tried Blender and even designed the model you can see in the pictures with it, but couldn't find a way to do a simulation with their Bullet physics engine, that's why I'm passing by OpenFOAM® again to hopefully get some new advice from you experts.

What I would like to know if its possible to simulate these 16 propellor motions with OpenFOAM® and if it's affordable regarding rendering times, or is it rather a waste of time to try this with a 'regular' computer?

Looking forward to hear from you,

kind regards,

michel

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Clip:
[video]http://youtu.be/VTwqssM8yfE[/video]



Pictures: