CFD Based Determination of Aerodynamic Characteristics of Swietenia Mahagoni Seed

Abstract

Swietenia mahagoni (mahogany) seed has the uniqueness on its falling characteristics. At the time of falling, mahogany seed rotates in the axis centre which is similar to the gyration of propeller towards its pivot point. The seeds look and behave like helicopter rotors. The gyration slows down the falling time whereby it is furthering the falling distance of the mahogany seeds. This is caused by the effect of aerodynamics that works on mahogany seeds while rotating in the axis centre. The aerodynamic characteristics from the falling movement of the mahogany seed will be determined based on Computational Fluid Dyanmics (CFD). The computational solution will be compared with analytical solution using Blade Element Theory (BET). The analytical solution is obtained by using source panel method which is generated from 2D analysis software such as javafoil and XFLR5 (X Foil Low Reynold number).