Non-linear flap-lag dynamics of hingeless helicopter blades in hover and in forward flight.
The aeroelastic instability of the coupled nonlinear flap-lag motion of a torsionally rigid helicopter blade is treated by using the perturbation method in multiple time scales. The nonlinearities present in the equations are those arising from the inclusion of moderately large deflections in the inertia and aerodynamic loading terms. The stability boundaries, amplitudes of nonlinear response, and conditions for existence of limit cycles are obtained analytically. Thus the different roles played by the forcing, parametric excitation, and nonlinear coupling in affecting the solution can be easily identified. Numerical results illustrating the behavior of the blade are presented.