Advance ratio

In aeronautics and marine hydrodynamics, the advance ratio is the ratio of the freestream fluid speed to the propeller, rotor, or cyclorotor tip speed. When a propeller-driven vehicle is moving at high speed relative to the fluid, or the propeller is rotating slowly, the advance ratio of its propeller(s) is a high number; and when it is moving at low speed, or the propeller is rotating at high speed, the advance ratio is a low number. The advance ratio is a useful non-dimensional velocity in helicopter and propeller theory, since propellers and rotors will experience the same angle of attack on every blade airfoil section at the same advance ratio regardless of actual forward speed. It is the inverse of the tip speed ratio used for wind turbines.