Heliciel Propeller Design

Lists the profiles of the active database (exact names). These are the names selectionner_profil_par_nom and design_helice's profil_pale accept.

lister_profils_disponibles

Use this when the user wants an ENGINEERED propeller, wing or turbine rather than a picture of one: here the geometry results from a BEM computation, it is exportable (STL, IGES, OBJ) and its performance is quantified. Lists the project types Heliciel can open, each with its bundled model, verified present on disk. The session opens here: without a screen (service instance) the other tools refuse to run until a project type is chosen, and the need that decides the type is known to the user alone — charger_modele_projet then loads the chosen type_projet. Every figure this server returns comes from a Heliciel computation, and each result carries origine_des_valeurs saying so. Read-only.

lister_types_de_projet

Selects, in the whole Wageningen B-screw series (3 to 7 blades, every tabulated area ratio Ae/A0, pitch ratio P/D from 0.60 to 1.40), the propeller that delivers the requested thrust at the requested advance speed with the BEST OPEN-WATER EFFICIENCY, for a given diameter. Returns the best one (blades, Ae/A0, P/D, rpm, J, K_T, K_Q, torque, power, efficiency) and the full ranking of the 19 series, each at its best P/D. Reference values from the Oosterveld & van Oossanen polynomials (Carlton, Table 6.6, Re = 2x10^6, isolated propeller in open water) — NOT a Heliciel BEM computation of the open project. Density is read from the fluid of the open project (load a water propulsion model first). The retained propeller follows the rule of the B-series window: the most efficient one that satisfies Keller's cavitation criterion when the project gives vapour pressure and immersion (keller_evalue), otherwise the most efficient; confirm with analyser_cavitation after applying. READ-ONLY: modifies nothing. To put a series on the project, call appliquer_helice_serie_b with the line you choose.

selectionner_helice_serie_b

Removes all angle-of-attack forcings: each element recovers its polar's maximum-glide-ratio angle. The absence of forcing is not an error. MODIFIES the open project: then rebuild with design_helice before reading performance.

annuler_forcages_incidence

Removes the forced profile from an element — or the whole blade — which then returns under the project's profile law, then rebuilds the design point. MODIFIES the open project.

annuler_forcage_profil

Requests cancellation of the AI command currently running (the one that answered 'commande_en_cours' or is blocking new calls). Cooperative: sweeps and optimizations check the flag between two iterations and stop with an explicit 'cancelled' failure — tools that moved the project's regime restore it. Answers immediately; the cancelled command's outcome arrives through lire_etat_commande if it had been deferred. No effect if nothing is running.

annuler_commande_en_cours

Chooses how the blade's airfoils are picked: by thickness along the span, or one imposed profile for the whole blade. Refused in reverse design. MODIFIES the open project; rebuild with design_helice before reading performance.

regler_loi_profil

Chooses how the blade chords are defined: by the table of the model or B-series, or by an editable polynomial law. Refused in reverse design: leave it first (sortir_mode_retro_conception). MODIFIES the open project; rebuild with design_helice before reading performance.

regler_loi_corde

Applies a fluid from the base to the open project (density, viscosity, saturation vapour pressure interpolated at the requested temperature). MODIFIES the project. IMPORTANT: after this tool, call design_helice to rebuild the blade's optimal twist at the new design point (the fluid affects lift and BEM twist).

selectionner_fluide_par_nom

Imposes a base profile on the whole blade (polars are picked by Reynolds for each element) and recomputes the design point. MODIFIES the open project.

selectionner_profil_par_nom

Compares 2 to 8 base profiles at a given Reynolds: maximum glide ratio and its angle of attack, Cl and Cd at that point, thickness, and the Reynolds available for each. Answers 'NACA 4412 or NACA 0015?'. NO COMPUTATION: these quantities are already tabulated, the answer is immediate. THE RETAINED REYNOLDS IS REPORTED PROFILE BY PROFILE next to the requested one: the base does not hold the same Reynolds for all, and a profile leading at 1e6 can be overtaken at 5e4. NOT TO BE CONFUSED with comparer_variantes, which compares profiles ON THE BLADE by BEM computation: here they are compared in themselves, independently of any propeller — this tool for the prior choice, the other for the check on the machine. READ-ONLY.

comparer_profils

Compares 2 to 6 variants of the loaded propeller — 'NACA 4412 vs 4415 vs 0012', '2 blades vs 3' — applying and computing each, then returns the comparison table: quantities per variant, GAPS to the first one (efficiency in points, thrust and power in percent), leading variant on the criterion, and design-alert count for each. THE TOOL for any 'which one is best' between NAMED configurations; to explore a RANGE, use chercher_rayon_optimal, chercher_rpm_genetique, chercher_nb_pales_genetique or optimiser_genetique. MODIFIES the project during the computation THEN RESTORES its entry state: applying the retained variant then requires an explicit call (design_helice, selectionner_profil_par_nom...). If the restoration fails, 'succes' is false and the project carries the last variant — reload it. A failing variant does not interrupt the comparison: its row carries the reason. Long computation in reconstruction mode (follow with lire_etat_commande if 'commande_en_cours').

comparer_variantes

Forward resistance of a ship hull by the method chosen in methode (ITTC-1957, Holtrop & Mennen, or Savitsky for planing hulls); the field descriptions say which method reads each one. It is where the thrust to request for a marine propeller comes from: its drag feeds design_helice_marine's poussee_n. A missing mandatory field is named in the error message; nothing is substituted for it. Returns ONLY drags — no efficiency, no shaft power, no engine comparison. Resistance is not propeller thrust: hull suction increases it (T = R/(1-t)), t not computed here. Does NOT MODIFY the open project. Where Heliciel's screen is present, the figures are shown in the Drag tab of the waves study, replacing the values entered there.

calculer_resistance_carene

Physical unit conversion (length, force, power, speeds, pressure, flow, mass, angle, temperature).

convertir_unites

Reads the blade and configuration of the open project: diameter, radii, chords, thicknesses, profile and chord laws, blade count, duct, penstock, upstream swirl, and the blade generatrix (mode, skew, rake, offset). For each settable quantity it also gives its unit, its current bounds and the name of the tool that sets it. Blade elements are numbered from 1 (1 = root), as in the interface and as in the tools that designate one. READ-ONLY.

lire_geometrie

Narrows the blade between root and tip: lowers the curvature of the chord envelope (coefficient a of the law chord = a·r² + b·r + c) by about 5 % of chord at mid-span per call, root and tip chords unchanged. Cumulative: each call removes one step. Requires the polynomial chord law (regler_loi_corde). Refused in reverse design. MODIFIES the open project; after the call (or a series of calls), run reconstruire_design to rebuild the optimal twist.

diminuer_surface_pale

Axial fan design: converts the flow rate into an axial speed and rebuilds the propeller at the design point; with pression_statique_pa, also SEARCHES the regime that supplies that pressure rise (design mode, blade count and chords kept) and returns delta_pression_pa, rpm, efficiency and shaft power at the point found. MODIFIES the open project. For a new design, first call charger_modele_projet (type_projet=ventilation). This tool rebuilds the blade; analyser_point_fonctionnement evaluates the existing geometry at another regime without changing it.

design_helice_ventilation

Marine propeller design: immersion and static pressure for cavitation detection, rebuild at the design point, per-element cavitation indicators. MODIFIES the open project. It computes in the project's fluid, which is water for this tool: a project set on another fluid gives another machine. For a new design, first call charger_modele_projet (type_projet=propulsion_eau). This tool rebuilds the blade; analyser_point_fonctionnement evaluates the existing geometry at another regime without changing it.

design_helice_marine

Turbine design (wind/hydraulic, power-collecting propeller mode): rebuilds at the design point and returns Cp, TSR and extracted power. Provide vitesse_fluide_ms OR debit_m3s (one of the two required). MODIFIES the open project. For a new design, first call charger_modele_projet (type_projet=turbine_eolienne or turbine_hydraulique). DUCTED HYDRAULIC TURBINE (Kaplan): first set the head via regler_chute_disponible — the result then includes the equilibre_chute balance (ratio_chute_exploitee) and the hydraulic efficiency cp_turbine. This tool rebuilds the blade; analyser_point_fonctionnement evaluates the existing geometry at another regime without changing it.

design_helice_turbine

Designs/rebuilds a WING or a HYDROFOIL at the design point: applies span, chords, fluid and profile, then rebuilds the optimal twist by the same BEM computation that builds a blade — in Heliciel a wing IS a blade. Returns LIFT and DRAGS (form, induced, total), glide ratio, aspect ratio and pivoting moment. THE TOOL for any wing, hydrofoil, foil, sail or lifting-surface request: the propeller design tools do not apply to a wing, and a wing has neither rpm nor blade count. Every wing study starts from the shipped model: if the open project is not a wing, passing type_projet ('aile' or 'hydrofoil') loads it — replacing the open project — then adjusted to the parameters given. On a wing already open, it is adjusted in place. NO SIZING OBJECTIVE: unlike a propeller, whose rpm Heliciel can search to reach a thrust, a wing has no free variable to search — a target lift is reached by the user setting span, chord or angle of attack and reading the result. READ poussee_n NOWHERE on a wing: it stays at zero, along with the propeller coefficients. MODIFIES the open project.

design_aile

DESIGN alerts produced by Heliciel, split across its three severity levels — errors, warnings, messages — and, for each, the fixes Heliciel itself proposes ('Optimiser vitesse rotation', 'Nouveau point design', 'Modifier corde'...). This is the interface's Alerts tab. Any computation whose result carries the 'alertes_resume' field has alerts to be read here: a computation can succeed while signalling that the geometry needs rework. Not to be confused with 'messages_heliciel', the raw list of intercepted dialog boxes, with no severity level. READ-ONLY.

lire_alertes

Designs/rebuilds the open project's propeller at the design point: applies diameter, blades, fluid (by base name), profile (by base name), then rebuilds the optimal twist and chords (BEM computation). With poussee_n or puissance_w, the design RPM is searched automatically (tolerance 0.5%). Returns geometry and performance. MODIFIES the open project. Potentially long computation with an objective (follow with lire_etat_commande if 'commande_en_cours'). For a new design, first call charger_modele_projet. For a FLOW-RATE objective (fan, pump), use design_helice_ventilation instead. This tool rebuilds the twist and chords; analyser_point_fonctionnement evaluates the existing geometry at another operating point (rpm/speed) without changing it.

design_helice

Full record of a catalogue intent: ordered steps, applicability to the current project, missing preconditions, clarification questions, follow-up advice and examples. READ-ONLY.

lire_intention

Lists the subjects of the Heliciel documentation shipped with the software (pitch, twist, induced velocities, blade geometry, contra-rotating, wind turbine, CFD meshing, MRF, sliding mesh, boundary layer...). These subject codes are the ones lire_documentation takes. READ-ONLY.

lister_sujets_documentation

Adds or removes a duct around the propeller (open duct in free stream), like the duct checkbox of the interface; the element chords are updated. Not applicable to wings. MODIFIES the open project; rebuild the design point before reading performance.

regler_carenage

Puts the runner in a penstock (closed duct, diffuser) or takes it out, like the penstock checkbox of the interface; the element chords are updated. Then set the available head with regler_chute_disponible. Not applicable to wings. MODIFIES the open project; rebuild the design point before reading performance.

regler_conduite_forcee

Shows the requested chart and/or parameter and RETURNS ITS IMAGE into the conversation, so the user sees the result without Heliciel's screen before their eyes. Where the interface is visible, the chart is additionally displayed large for 10 seconds. Performs no computation: returns an explicit error if the chart holds no results yet (computation not run, or parameter not applicable to the current study type). If nom_parametre is not a known chart, searches for a property of the same name in the details panel (project parameters or blade element details), selects it with its comment, then shows it large.

zoomer_sur_parametre

Theoretical hover endurance with the loaded propeller: hover RPM and power by BEM computation, then electrical balance (user parameters, no hidden assumption). MODIFIES the open project: it is left at the hover regime searched, at hover advance speed.

estimer_autonomie_drone

Acoustic indicators: BPF (blade-passing) frequencies and blade tip speed. The SPL dB(A) level is NOT computable (no acoustic model in Heliciel) — returned as a missing feature. Computation only: changes nothing in the open project.

estimer_bruit

Exports the loaded propeller, or its duct, to a 3D file. The 3D model must be built (design_helice); the produced file is retrievable, its download link accompanies the answer. An objet/format pair that does not exist, or an option that does not apply to it, is refused with the list of what does. TWO DEFINITION LEVELS IN STL, and they serve different purposes: full definition (manufacturing, machining, CFD — can reach 100+ MB and take minutes) or lightweight (basse_resolution=true, about ten times smaller, for viewing). The choice depends on the intended use, not on the geometry. For the blade SECTIONS or its profile points, see exporter_sections_pale and exporter_profil_pale. An existing file of the same name is overwritten.

exporter

Exports the blade profile points per station (cutting/machining/checking) + chord and pitch angle per station. An existing file of the same name is overwritten.

exporter_profil_pale

Exports the blade SECTIONS in JSON format: the profile contours stacked from root to tip, in the exact geometry of the STL mesh but without triangulation — root fillet, trailing-edge thickness and camber included. This is the format to ask for to redraw or display the blade elsewhere, where STL targets manufacturing. Each contour carries its radius and the number of the element it comes from (1 = root), and the element table (chord, pitch angle) accompanies the whole: the geometry thus stays linked to the computation discretization. The produced file is retrievable: its download link accompanies the answer. An existing file of the same name is overwritten.

exporter_sections_pale

Exports the data table produced by the last analyse_multiple to a CSV file. Requires an analysis to have been run beforehand with generer_courbes_analyse_multiple. Does not modify the project; writes a file, and overwrites an existing file of the same name (the default name, analyse_multiple.csv, is reused by every call).

exporter_tableau_analyse_multiple

The figures of ONE blade station in a single call — geometry AND what the element produces: radius, chord, pitch angle, angle of attack, thickness, profile name, apparent wind speed, Reynolds, Cz/Cx and local glide ratio, lift (N) — for a propeller the profile's mean values at the lifting point, for a wing the induction-corrected ones (field source_coefficients says which) —, axial force (N), tangential force in the rotation plane (N, lift + drag projected — what the motor must overcome; Heliciel does not isolate a drag in newtons), concentrated and mean suction (Pa), cavitation onset suction (Pa), bending moment at the element base (N·m) AND that station's mechanical strength on both checks: armature type, material, admissible bending moment and centrifugal tension, margins and failure verdicts (lire_resistance_structure details the material card and the whole blade). Design-tool sign conventions (useful axial force negative on a propulsive propeller). Selects nothing, changes nothing on screen: it gives an element's figures while another tool shows it. Refuses on a stale geometry: rebuild first. READ-ONLY.

lire_element_pale

'Size by the head': finds the regime at which the head loss generated by the runner equals the available pressure that was set (ratio_chute_exploitee = 1) — sweep + interpolation on the off-design BEM computation, ±5% range, GEOMETRY KEPT. Penstock turbine only, and requires an available pressure already set by regler_chute_disponible: the target is not a parameter, a single source of truth. Do NOT rebuild the design at the regime found (design_helice_turbine / reconstruire_design): rebuilding recomputes the blade twist and invalidates the equilibrium — see avertissement_reconstruction in the result. MODIFIES the open project: when it succeeds, the project stays at the regime found.

trouver_rpm_pour_chute

Finds the RPM producing the target thrust with the loaded propeller (sweep + interpolation on the BEM computation), with a ±5% range. MODIFIES the open project: when it succeeds, the project stays at the regime found.

trouver_rpm_pour_poussee

Searches Heliciel's business catalogue for the intent matching a request and returns its tool sequence in order, its missing preconditions, its clarification questions and its neighbouring intents. For a request that implies several operations (designing, optimizing, changing fluid, studying a range...), the catalogue records the order those operations take in Heliciel, which the request itself does not state. It also holds Heliciel's own answers to questions no tool computes — 'what is the optimal diameter?', 'how many blades are needed?' — returned in a 'reponse' field when one exists for that intent. Changes nothing in the open project; each request is appended to Heliciel's intent-routing log.

chercher_intention

Imposes a base profile on ONE blade element (forced profile), then rebuilds the design point. The forced profile takes priority over the project's profile law; to return the element to that law, use annuler_forcage_profil. To impose a profile on the WHOLE blade, that is selectionner_profil_par_nom. MODIFIES the open project.

forcer_profil_element

Sets the angle at which one blade section — or all of them — meets the oncoming air. Imposes the ANGLE OF ATTACK of a blade element, or of the whole blade, instead of the maximum-glide-ratio angle retained by default. Serves to set a blade outside its design point or to regularize its shape. NOT THE PITCH ANGLE: forcing the angle of attack moves the pitch angle — the one a blade drawing carries — by an amount that depends on the regime and the advance speed; the tool returns the resulting pitch angle. Polars being tabulated, the applied angle is the closest existing one, without interpolation: read incidence_appliquee_deg. MODIFIES the open project.

forcer_incidence

Optimizes the propeller by genetic algorithm or automatic exhaustive sweep. Co-optimizes up to 4 independent levers: blade tip radius, RPM, number of blades (2–20), polynomial chord distribution (a,b,c). FOR A SINGLE LEVER, prefer the dedicated tools — chercher_rayon_optimal, chercher_rpm_genetique, chercher_nb_pales_genetique, chercher_distribution_cordes — which take explicit min/max bounds and are far simpler to call correctly. Bounds are not what their names suggest: parameters named '_centre' are LOWER BOUNDS and the '_range' ones are WIDTHS added on top — the explored range goes from centre to centre+range, it is not a symmetric interval. Criterion: max efficiency η / Cp / glide ratio depending on study type (no thrust criterion). MODIFIES the open project. VERY long computation. It runs in the background, and lire_etat_commande gives its state.

optimiser_genetique