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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 271 records · Page 15
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1983

Identification of helicopter rotor dynamic models

A recursive, extended Kalman-filter approach is applied to the identifiction of rotor damping levels of representative helicopter dynamic systems. The general formulation of the approach is presented in the context of a typically posed stochastic estimation problem, and the method is analytically applied to determining the damping levels of a coupled rotor-body system. The identified damping covergence characteristics are studied for sensitivity to both constant-coefficient and periodic-coefficient measurement models, process-noise covariance levels, and specified initial estimates of the rotor-system damping. A second application of the method to identifying the plant model for a highly damped, isolated flapping blade with a constant-coefficient state model (hover) and a periodic-coefficient state model (forward flight) is also investigated. The parameter-identification capability is evaluated for the effect of periodicity on the plant model coefficients and the influence of different measurement noise levels.

Molusis, J. A.↗
NASA NTRS1981

Performance and loads data from a wind tunnel test of a full-scale, coaxial, hingeless rotor helicopter

A full-scale XH-59A advancing blade concept helicopter was tested in Ames Research Center's 40 by 80 foot wind tunnel. The helicopter was tested with the rotor on and off, rotor hub fairings on and off, interrotor shaft fairing on and off, rotor instrumentation module on and off, and auxiliary propulsion thrust on and off. An advance ratio range of 0.25 and 0.45 with the rotor on and from 60 to 180 knots with the rotor off was investigated. Data on aerodynamic forces and moments, rotor loads, rotor control positions and vibration for the XH-59A as well as the aerodynamic performance of the isolated rotor are presented.

Felker, F. F., III↗
NASA NTRS1995

The transition of a real-time single-rotor helicopter simulation program to a supercomputer

This report presents the conversion effort and results of a real-time flight simulation application transition to a CONVEX supercomputer. Enclosed is a detailed description of the conversion process and a brief description of the Langley Research Center's (LaRC) flight simulation application program structure. Currently, this simulation program may be configured to represent Sikorsky S-61 helicopter (a five-blade, single-rotor, commercial passenger-type helicopter) or an Army Cobra helicopter (either the AH-1 G or AH-1 S model). This report refers to the Sikorsky S-61 simulation program since it is the most frequently used configuration.

Martinez, Debbie↗
NASA NTRS1946

Static-thrust Investigation of Full-scale PV-2 Helicopter Rotors Having NACA 0012.6 and 23012.6 Airfoil Sections

An investigation was conducted to compare the performance of two 25-ft-diam rotors which had identical dimensions and were similar in construction but different in blade airfoil-sections. Tests were conducted at indicated blade pitch angles from 3 degrees to 11.5 degrees and rotor speeds of 200, 290, and 371 rpm. The 23012.6 rotor required 2 percent less power to hover than the 0012.6. At thrust coefficients above design, the performance of the 23012.6 became better than the 0012.6 rotor.

PROPELLERS, HELICOPTER - P-V ENG FORUM 2↗
NASA NTRS1982

Reduction of high-speed impulsive noise by blade planform modification of a model helicopter rotor

The reduction of high speed impulsive noise for the UH-1H helicopter was investigated by using an advanced main rotor system. The advanced rotor system had a tapered blade planform compared with the rectangular planform of the standard rotor system. Models of both the advanced main rotor system and the UH-1H standard main rotor system were tested at 1/4 scale in the 4 by 7 Meter Tunnel. In plane acoustic measurements of the high speed impulsive noise demonstrated that the advanced rotor system on the UH-1H helicopter reduced the high speed impulsive noise by up to 20 dB, with a reduction in overall sound pressure level of up to 5 dB.

Conner, D. A.↗
NASA NTRS1972

A performance application study of a jet-flap helicopter rotor

A performance study was made of the application of a jet-flap to a reaction-drive rotor for a heavy-lift helicopter mission and for a high-speed-helicopter maneuverability (200 knots, 2g) mission. The results of the study are as follows: As a result of the increase in maximum airfoil lift coefficient achieved by the jet-flap, rotor solidity is reduced with the jet-flap to approximately 59% of a nonjet-flap rotor. As a result of the saving in rotor solidity, and hence in rotor weight, the jet-flap configuration had a 21% higher productivity than a nonjet-flap configuration. Of the three propulsion systems studied utilizing a jet-flap (hot cycle, warm cycle, cold cycle) the hot cycle gave the largest increase in productivity. The 200 knot 2g mission is performed best with a warm cycle propulsion system. The jet-flap permits designing for a rotor blade loading coefficient C sub T/sigma = .170 at 2g without encountering blade stall. The jet-flap rotor permits a 200 knot 2g maneuver without suffering the penalty of an unreasonable rotor solidity that would be required by a nonjet-flap rotor.

Sullivan, R. J.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Generic icing effects on forward flight performance of a model helicopter rotor

An experimental program using a commercially available model helicopter has been conducted in the TAMU 7 ft x 10 ft Subsonic Wind Tunnel to investigate main rotor performance degradation due to generic ice adhesion. Base and iced performance data were gathered as functions of fuselage incidence, blade collective pitch, main rotor rotational velocity, and freestream velocity. The experimental values have shown that, in general, the presence of generic ice introduces decrements in performance caused by leading edge separation regions and increased surface roughness. In addition to the expected changes in aerodynamic forces caused by variations in test Reynolds number, forward flight data seemed to be influenced by changes in freestream and rotational velocity. The dependence of the data upon such velocity variations was apparently enhanced by increases in blade chord.

Tinetti, Ana F.↗
NASA NTRS1995

Effect of higher harmonic control on helicopter rotor blade-vortex interaction noise: Prediction and initial validation

The paper presents a status of theoretical tools of AFDD, DLR, NASA and ONERA for prediction of the effect of HHC on helicopter main rotor BVI noise. Aeroacoustic predictions from the four research centers, concerning a wind tunnel simulation of a typical descent flight case without and with HHC are presented and compared. The results include blade deformation, geometry of interacting vortices, sectional loads and noise. Acoustic predictions are compared to experimental data. An analysis of the results provides a first insight of the mechanisms by which HHC may affect BVI noise.

Beaumier, P.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Prediction of time-dependent fuselage pressures in the wake of a helicopter rotor

A method is described for the analysis of the unsteady, incompressible potential flow associated with a helicopter. The fuselage, rotor, and rotor wake are considered together in forward flight. This method is particularly useful in low advance ratio flight due to the contribution of the deformed wake to the airloads imposed on the fuselage. The rotor geometry is prescribed and the unsteady wake geometry is computed from the local flow perturbation velocities. The fuselage is modeled as a non-lifting body of source panels and the rotor and its wake are modeled as a full vortex lattice. The rotor geometry is arbitrary and several rotor blades can be represented. The unsteady airloads are computed in the presence of the deformed rotor wake by a time-stepping technique. The wake is started impulsively from rest, allowing a natural convection of the wake with time.

Berry, John D.↗
NASA NTRS1991

General flow field analysis methods for helicopter rotor aeroacoustics

Previous work in the analysis of rotor flow fields for aeroacoustic applications involved the preliminary development of an efficient and accurate Lagrangian simulation of the unsteady vorticity field in the vicinity of helicopter main rotor that could analyze a limited class of rotor/wake interactions. The capabilities of this analysis have subsequently been considerably enhanced to allow it to serve as the foundation for a general analysis of the rotor/wake interaction noise. This paper presents the details of these enhancements, which focus on the expansion of the reconstruction approach developed previously to handle arbitrary vortex wake interactions within three-dimensional regions located near or within the rotor disk. Also, the development of nearfield velocity corrections appropriate for the analysis of such interactions is described, as is a preliminary study of methods for using the new high-resolution flow field analysis for noise predictions. The results show that by employing this novel flow field reconstruction technique it is possible to employ full-span free wake analyses with temporal and spatial resolution suitable for acoustic applications while reducing the computation time required by one to two orders of magnitude relative to traditional methods.

Quackenbush, Todd R.↗
NASA NTRS1997

Helicopter Rotor Noise Prediction: Background, Current Status, and Future Direction

Helicopter noise prediction is increasingly important. The purpose of this viewgraph presentation is to: 1) Put into perspective the recent progress; 2) Outline current prediction capabilities; 3) Forecast direction of future prediction research; 4) Identify rotorcraft noise prediction needs. The presentation includes an historical perspective, a description of governing equations, and the current status of source noise prediction.

Brentner, Kenneth S.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Vibratory Loads Data from a Wind-Tunnel Test of Structurally Tailored Model Helicopter Rotors

An experimental study was conducted in the Langley Transonic Dynamics Tunnel to investigate the use of a Bell Helicopter Textron (BHT) rotor structural tailoring concept, known as rotor nodalization, in conjunction with advanced blade aerodynamics as well as to evaluate rotor blade aerodynamic design methodologies. A 1/5-size, four-bladed bearingless hub, three sets of Mach-scaled model rotor blades were tested in forward flight from transition up to an advance ratio of 0.35. The data presented pertain only to the evaluation of the structural tailoring concept and consist of fixed-system and rotating system vibratory loads. These data will be useful for evaluating the effects of tailoring blade structural properties on fixed-system vibratory loads, as well as validating analyses used in the design of advanced rotor systems.

Yeager, William T., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS2018

Generation of Mars Helicopter Rotor Model for Comprehensive Analyses

The present research is aimed at providing a performance model for the Mars Helicopter (MH), to understand the complexity of the flow, and identify future regions of improvement. The low density of the Martian atmosphere and the relatively small MH rotor, result in very low chord-based Reynolds number flows. The low density and Reynolds numbers reduce the lifting force and lifting efficiency, respectively. The high drag coefficients in subcritical flow, especially for thicker sections, are attributed to laminar separation from the rear of the airfoil. In the absence of test data, efforts have been made to explore these effects using prior very low Reynolds number research efforts. The rotor chord-based Reynolds number range is observed to be subcritical, which makes boundary layer transition unlikely to occur. The state of the two-dimensional rotor boundary layer in hover is approximated by calculating the instability point, laminar separation point, and the transition location to provide understanding of the flow state in the high Mach-low Reynolds number regime. The results are used to investigate the need for turbulence modeling in Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) calculations afterwards. The goal is to generate a performance model for the MH rotor for a free wake analysis, because the computational budget for a complete Navier-Stokes solution for a rotating body-fitted rotor is substantial. In this study, a Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) based approach is used to generate the airfoil deck using C81Gen with stitched experimental data for very high angles of attack. A full Grid Resolution Study is performed and over 4,500 cases are completed to create the full airfoil deck. The laminar separation locations are predicted within the accuracy of the approximate method when compared with the CFD calculations. The model is presented through airfoil data tables (c81 files) that are used by comprehensive rotor analysis codes such as CAMRADII, or the mid-fidelity CFD solver RotCFD. Finally, the rotor performance is compared with experimental data from the 25ft Space Simulator at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and shows good correlation for the rotor Figure of Merit over the available thrust range.

Model↗
NASA NTRS1974

Evaluation of graphite composite materials for bearingless helicopter rotor application

Small scale combined load fatigue tests were conducted on twelve unidirectional graphite-glass scrim-epoxy composite specimens. The specimens were 1 in. (2.54 cm) wide by 0.1 in. (.25 cm) thick by 5 in. (12.70 cm) long. The fatigue data was developed for the preliminary design of the spar for a bearingless helicopter main rotor. Three loading conditions were tested. Combinations of steady axial, vibratory torsion, and vibratory bending stresses were chosen to simulate the calculated stresses which exist at the root and at the outboard end of the pitch change section of the spar. Calculated loads for 150 knots (77.1 m/sec) level flight were chosen as the baseline condition. Test stresses were varied up to 4.4 times the baseline stress levels. Damage resulted in reduced stiffness; however, in no case was complete fracture of the specimen experienced.

Ulitchny, M. G.↗