Fuselage aerodynamic drag prediction by CFD

The aim of this work is the development of a new methodology to predict fuselage aerodynamic drag through CFD aerodynamic calculations. The investigation has been focused on typical large turboprop fuselage geometry. The geometry has been divided into three main components: nose, cabin, and fuselage tail. Fuselage fineness ratio, windshield angle (Ψ), and upsweep angle (θ), have been used as independent (geometric) variables to derive the drag prediction methodology. These parameters have been varied one by one, keeping the others constant. Several fuselage geometries have been generated and then analysed with Star-CCM+ in viscous, compressible flow regime. The effect of a high-wing-fuselage fairing has been also evaluated in terms of fuselage drag, varying the length and the fairing height. Results present a simple method to estimate the isolated fuselage drag coefficient and to take into account for a high-wing fairing geometry, typical for a turboprop aircraft.