Wake-ingesting propellers are attractive for low-speed propulsion due to their potential fuel savings and aircraft configuration benefits. Aeroacoustic concerns must be addressed for such installed pusher-propeller configurations, though limited validation of reduced-order models has constrained designers requiring rapid and accurate predictions of unsteady blade loading and noise due to non-uniform inflow. The current work introduces a benchmark experiment aimed at low-speed pusher-propeller configurations including ingestion of thick wakes such as from an unstreamlined pylon or muffler. Data derive from wind tunnel measurements on 2-bladed propellers downstream of a blunt-ended NACA0015 airfoil and include inflow characterization, on-blade unsteady pressure measurements, and far-field aeroacoustic measurements. The experimental data are compared with blade loading predictions stemming from existing indicial gust response functions combined with Ffowcs Williams-Hawkings calculation of acoustic sources. A good correlation is found between the performance of the gust response functions for blade loading and for far-field noise levels. The reduced-order approach presented here demonstrates promising accuracy, especially considering its low computational expense compared to CFD.
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