An active control system for helicopter vibration reduction by higher harmonic pitch

Abstract

An analytical study defining the basic configuration of an active control system to reduce helicopter vibrations is presented. Theoretical results for a nonlinear four-bladed single rotor helicopter simulation are discussed, showing that vibration reductions on the order of 80-90% for airspeeds up to 150 kn can be expected when using a higher harmonic pitch in an active feedback control system. The rotor performance penalty associated with this level of vibration reduction is about 1-3% and the increase in rotor blade stresses is considered to be low. The location of sensor accelerometers proved to be significant for vibration reductions, and it is noted that the RTSA controller is tolerant of sensor signal noise.