Heliciel Software Functions Up Close: The Manual for the Most Used Functions

This page is the Heliciel software user manual: it groups, by stage of a propeller or wing project, the most frequently used functions, from opening the project to the results and 3D export. Each line points to a page that describes the function, its settings and what it changes in the calculation. Follow the order given if you are discovering Heliciel, or jump straight to the function you are missing.

On this page:

The main interface: opening a project and setting the display
Fluid, velocities and operating point
The geometry of the blade or wing
The interactive profile database
Results, optimization and 3D export

1: The main interface: opening a project and setting the display

These pages describe the main window of the propeller and wing software, its menus and its appearance.

Open a propeller or wing construction project: the three ways to start from the File menu, from a model, a saved project or a new project;
Editing performance, plans and drawing of a propeller or wing: saving performance and blade plans in various formats;
The View menu: design information and parameters of a propeller or wing: reaching the detailed parameters, point by point;
Colors of the propeller and wing design interface: working comfort and presentable screenshots;
Type of propeller, turbine or wing calculation: propulsive propeller, capture propeller, wing or hydrofoil, depending on your project's goal.

2: Fluid, velocities and operating point

A propeller's operating point combines the fluid velocity and the rotation speed; it sets the blade twist. These pages describe each input.

Ambient fluid: air or water, to be checked at the start of the project;
The fluid velocity: the velocity used in the calculation, measured upstream and undisturbed;
The rotational speed of the propeller: setting it on the gauge or by typing it in;
Propeller advance: the J parameter, which compares propellers of different sizes;
Operating point of a propeller blade and twist: why fluid velocity and rotation speed set the twist.

3: The geometry of the blade or wing

Dimensions, chord and thickness distribution, the profile selection law and the structure define the blade. The following pages detail each of these settings.

Propeller diameter and blade length: the diameter sets the area swept by the rotor;
Propeller area: the swept area, with or without the hub;
Distribution of the chord of wing and blade profiles;
Thickness distribution of the blade or wing: constant profile or imposed distribution;
Selection law for propeller or wing profiles: how Heliciel chooses profiles in its database;
Managing the angle of attack of profiles: forcing the angle of attack of an element;
Changing the pitch angle and the pitch of the blade: automatic pitch angle, forcing, pitch variator;
Blade or wing frame: material and structure, for the strength calculation;
Generatrix of the propeller blade: its position, its curvature and the pitching moment;
Losses at the blade tip: the loss of lift at the tip of a wing or blade.

4: The interactive profile database

Heliciel's interactive profile database holds the profiles and their polars. Its user guide is split into functions:

5: Results, optimization and 3D export

Once the blade is rebuilt, Heliciel shows the performance, flags weak points and proposes optimizations. You then export the 3D shape.

Calculation results and propeller or wing performance: tables, charts and alerts;
Propeller performance charts: thrust, torque and efficiency against rotation speed or fluid speed;
Messages, advice and information for building the propeller: the Alerts tab;
Optimizing rotation speed and number of blades of capture or propulsion propellers;
Propeller or foil cavitation: detecting the risk;
Exporting the 3D shape of the wing or propeller blade: IGES, STL, STEP and other formats.

The Heliciel website combines these tutorials with a lot of information by topic. To go further, we invite you to browse the sitemap of the Heliciel propeller and wing site.