Engineering topics

Wang, James M.

Publications and source records attributed to Wang, James M..

5 records

NASA NTRS1999

A Variable Diameter Short Haul Civil Tiltrotor

The Short-Haul-Civil-tiltrotor (SHCT) component of the NASA Aviation System Capacity Program is an effort to develop the technologies needed for a potential 40-passenger civil tiltrotor. The variable diameter tiltrotor (VDTR) is a Sikorsky concept aimed at improving tiltrotor hover and cruise performance currently limited by disk loading that is much higher in hover than conventional helicopter, and much lower in cruise than turbo-prop systems. This paper describes the technical merits of using a VDTR on a SHCT aircraft. The focus will be the rotor design.

Wang, James M.↗

NASA NTRS1991

Theoretical and experimental research in aeroelastic stability of an advanced bearingless rotor for future helicopters

The aeroelastic stability of a shaft-fixed bearingless rotor is analyzed in wind-tunnel tests for a wide range of operating conditions in order to determine whether such a system could be made aeroelastically stable without incorporating auxiliary dampers. The model rotor and blade properties are determined and used as an input to a bearingless-rotor analysis. Theoretical predictions are compared with experimental results in hover and forward flights. The analysis predicts the lag mode damping satisfactorily for collective pitch between 5 deg and 10 deg; however, the quasi-steady linear aerodynamic modeling overpredicts the damping values for higher collective pitch settings. It is noted that soft blade pitch links improve aeroelastic stability in hover and at low advance ratio.

Wang, James M.↗

NASA NTRS1991

Dynamics of helicopters with dissimilar blades

The dynamics of helicopters with dissimilar rotor blades is investigated for hingeless rotors in hover. An elastic blade model with finite element formulation is used. Hub motions are included by modeling the fuselage as a rigid body with pitch and roll degrees of freedom. The aeromechanical stability solution is solved in the fixed frame via Floquet theory. A parametric study of the effects of dissimilarity among blades' structural stiffness, mass, and damping on aeromechanical stability is presented. It is found that a slight reduction in the lag stiffness of one blade stabilizes the regressing lag mode instability.

Wang, James M.↗

NASA NTRS1990

Bearingless rotor aeromechanical stability measurements and correlations using nonlinear aerodynamics

The aeromechanical stability of a 1/8th Froude scaled bearingless rotor model was investigated experimentally in a wind tunnel. Both shaft-fixed and shaft-free conditions were examined to study the aeroelastic stability of a bearingless rotor without the incorporation of auxiliary dampers. This wind tunnel investigation generated a set of stability data for four different advance ratios, and a wide range of collective pitch settings. Theoretical analysis was performed using the newly developed University of Maryland Advanced Rotorcraft Code (UMARC). For analysis, the blade is modeled as an elastic beam undergoing flap bending, lag bending, elastic twist, and axial deformation. Blade response is calculated using a finite element method in time. Nonlinear aerodynamic effects are included by using a semiempirical stall modeling. The linearized periodic rotor perturbation equations in the nonrotating frame are solved for stability roots using Floquet transition matrix theory, as well as constant coefficient approximation. The predicted results are compared with the experimental data.

Wang, James M.↗

NASA NTRS1989

Theoretical and experimental investigation of the aeroelastic stability of an advanced bearingless rotor in hover and forward flight

The aeroelastic stability of a shaft-fixed, 1/8th Froude scaled bearingless rotor was investigated in a series of wind tunnel experiments simulating a wide range of operating conditions. A finite element formulation was used to perform a parallel theoretical analysis, with the goal of determining whether a bearingless rotor system could be made aeroelastically stable without the incorporation of auxilliary dampers. A quick estimate of lag mode damping was provided by a refined moving-block analysis implemented in real time which predicted similar damping values. Model rotor and blade properties were also determined, and these properties were used as inputs for a newly refined bearingless rotor analysis. Predicted results were compared with experimental results in hover and forward flight. Results indicated that soft pitch link stiffness increases pitch-lag coupling and stabilizes lag mode stability in hover and at low advance ratios, but destabilizes at higher advance ratios.

Wang, James M.↗