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At least 37 records · Page 2
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1986

Flap-lag-torsional dynamics of helicopter rotor blades in forward flight

A perturbation/numerical methodology to analyze the flap-lead/lag motion of a centrally hinged spring restrained rotor blade that is valid for both hover and for forward flight was developed. The derivation of the nonlinear differential equations of motion and the analysis of the stability of the steady state response of the blade were conducted entirely in a Symbolics 3670 Machine using MACSYMA to perform all the lengthy symbolic manipulations. It also includes generation of the fortran codes and plots of the results. The Floquet theory was also applied to the differential equations of motion in order to compare results with those obtained from the perturbation analysis. The results obtained from the perturbation methodology and from Floquet theory were found to be very close to each other, which demonstrates the usefullness of the perturbation methodology. Another problem under study consisted in the analysis of the influence of higher order terms in the response and stability of a flexible rotor blade in forward flight using Computerized Symbolic Manipulation and a perturbation technique to bypass the Floquet theory. The derivation of the partial differential equations of motion is presented.

Crespodasilva, M. R. M.↗
NASA NTRS1984

DFVLR rotorcraft: Construction and engineering

A helicopter rotor test stand is described. Full scale helicopter components can be tested such as hingeless fiberglass rotors and two blade rotor with flapping hinge, or a hybrid system. The facility is used to test stability, rotor components and downwind components.

Langer, H. J.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Finite element analysis for bearingless rotor blade aeroelasticity

A conventional articulated rotor blade has mechanical flap and lag hinges, a lag damper, and a pitch bearing. In connection with an interest in designs of greater mechanical simplicity and increased maintainability, hingeless and bearingless rotors have been developed. A hingeless blade lacks the hinges and is cantilevered at the hub. It does have a pitch bearing for pitch control. A bearingless design eliminates the hinges and the pitch bearing as well. In the present investigation of bearingless rotor blade characteristics, finite element analysis has been successfully applied to determine the solutions of the nonlinear trim equations and the linearized flutter equations of multiple-load-path blades. The employed formulation is based on Hamilton's principle. The spatial dependence of the equations of motion is discretized by dividing the flexbeams, the torque tube, and the outboard into a number of elements.

Sivaneri, N. T.↗
NASA NTRS1985

The use of active controls to augment rotor/fuselage stability

The use of active blade pitch control to increase helicopter rotor/body damping is studied. Control is introduced through a conventional nonrotating swashplate. State variable feedback of rotor and body states is used. Feedback parameters include cyclic rotor flap and lead-lag states, and body pitch and roll rotations. The use of position, rate, and acceleration feedback is studied for the various state variables. In particular, the influence of the closed loop feedback gain and phase on system stability is investigated. For the rotor/body configuration analyzed, rotor cyclic inplane motion and body roll-rate and roll-acceleration feedback can considerably augment system damping levels and eliminate ground resonance instabilities. Scheduling of the feedback state, phase, and gain with rotor rotation speed can be used to maximize the damping augmentation. This increase in lead-lag damping can be accomplished without altering any of the system modal frequencies. Investigating various rotor design parameters (effective hinge offset, blade precone, blade flap stiffness) indicates that active control for augmenting rotor/body damping will be particularly powerful for hingeless and bearingless rotor hubs.

Straub, F. K.↗
NASA NTRS1985

The use of active controls to augment rotor/fuselage stability

The use of active blade pitch control to increase helicopter rotor/body damping is studied. Control is introduced through a conventional nonrotating swashplate. State variable feedback of rotor and body states is used. Feedback parameters include cyclic rotor flap and lead-lag states, and body pitch and roll rotations. The use of position, rate, and acceleration feedback is studied for the various state variables. In particular, the influence of the closed loop feedback gain and phase on system stability is investigated. For the rotor/body configuration analyzed, rotor cyclic inplane motion and body roll-rate and roll-acceleration feedback can considerably augment system damping levels and eliminate ground resonance instabilities. Scheduling of the feedback state, phase, and gain with rotor rotation speed can be used to maximize the damping augmentation. This increase in lead-lag damping can be accomplished without altering any of the system modal frequencies. Investigating various rotor design parameters (effective hinge offset, blade precone, blade flap stiffness) indicates that active control for augmenting rotor/body damping will be particularly powerful for hingeless and bearingless rotor hubs.

Straub, F. K.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Study to eliminate ground resonance using active controls

The effectiveness of active control blade feathering in increasing rotor body damping and the possibility to eliminate ground resonance instabilities were investigated. An analytical model representing rotor flapping and lead-lag degrees of freedom and body pitch, roll, longitudinal and lateral motion is developed. Active control blade feathering is implemented as state variable feedback through a conventional swashplate. The influence of various feedback states, feedback gain, and weighting between the cyclic controls is studied through stability and response analyses. It is shown that blade cyclic inplane motion, roll rate and roll acceleration feedback can add considerable damping to the system and eliminate ground resonance instabilities, which the feedback phase is also a powerful parameter, if chosen properly, it maximizes augmentation of the inherent regressing lag mode damping. It is shown that rotor configuration parameters, like blade root hinge offset, flapping stiffness, and precone considerably influence the control effectiveness. It is found that active control is particularly powerful for hingeless and bearingless rotor systems.

Straub, F. K.↗
NASA NTRS1959

Wind-Tunnel Investigation of the Effect of Angle of Attack and Flapping-Hinge Offset on Periodic Bending Moments and Flapping of a Small Rotor

A two-blade rotor having a diameter of 4 feet and a solidity of 0.037 was tested in the Langley 300-MPH 7- by 10-foot tunnel to obtain information on the effect of certain rotor variables on the blade periodic bending moments and flapping angles during the various stages of transformation between the helicopter and autogiro configuration. Variables studied included collective pitch angle, flapping-hinge offset, rotor angle of attack, and tip-speed ratio. The results show that the blade periodic bending moments generally increase with tip-speed ratio up into the transition region, diminish over a certain range of tip-speed ratio, and increase again at higher tip-speed ratios. Above the transition region, the bending moments increase with collective pitch angle and rotor angle of attack. The absence of a flapping hinge results in a significant amplification of the periodic bending moments, the magnitudes of which increase with tip-speed ratio. When the flapping hinge is used, an increase in flapping-hinge offset results in reduced period bending moments. The aforementioned trends exhibited by the bending moments for changes in the variables are essentially duplicated by the periodic flapping motions. The existence of substantial amounts of blade stall increased both the periodic bending moments and the flapping angles. Harmonic analysis of the bending moments shows significant contributions of the higher harmonics, particularly in the transition region.

McCarty, John Locke↗
NASA NTRS1961

Some Recent Studies in Structural Dynamics of Rotor Aircraft

This paper presents a summary of four recent studies relating to the structural-dynamics problems of rotor-powered aircraft. The first study concerns the measurement by means of dynamic models of the forces and moments at the hubs of various rotor configurations. The results of this study show that the periodic components of the forces and moments are highly dependent on both the rotor configuration and the flight condition. The second study treats the problem of resonance amplifications of rotor-blade stress and shows that by using multiple flapping hinges or flex-joints it is possible to control the natural frequencies of the rotor blade so that conditions of resonance between the frequencies of the aerodynamic input forces and the natural frequencies of the lower blade modes are avoided for all rotor speeds. Two studies of the stability of rotor aircraft axe also discussed. One of these involves the mechanical instability or ground resonance of rotorcraft wherein the rotor support in each of two mutually perpendicular directions in the rotor plane is represented as a multiple-degree-of-freedom system in contrast to the system having a "single" degree of freedom normally used in helicopter analysis. The consideration of the rotor support system as a two-degree-of-freedom system predicts additional unstable ranges of rotor speed not predicted by former analyses. The other instability treated is propeller whirl for which the significant motions are the pitching and yawing motions of the propeller disk which are coupled together by gyroscopic forces. The effect of the significant variables on the instability is presented and shows that the speed at which the instability occurs can be increased by increasing the relative stiffness of the propeller in the pitch and yaw directions or by increasing the effective structural damping of the nacelle.

George W Brooks↗
NASA NTRS1941

A simplified theoretical method of determining the characteristics of a lifting rotor in forward flight

Theoretical derived expressions for the flapping, the thrust, the torque, and the profile drag-lift ratio of nonfeathering rotor with hinged, rectangular, linearly twisted blades are given as simple functions of the inflow velocity and the blade pitch. Representative values of the coefficients of each of the terms in these expressions are tabulated for a series of specified values of the tip-speed ratio. Analysis indicates that the tabulated values can be used to calculate, with reasonable accuracy, the characteristics of any rotor of conventional design.

Bailey, F J , Jr↗
NASA NTRS1980

Effects of rotor parameter variations on handling qualities of unaugmented helicopters in simulated terrain flight

A coordinated analysis and ground simulator experiment was performed to investigate the effects on single rotor helicopter handling qualities of systematic variations in the main rotor hinge restraint, hub hinge offset, pitch-flap coupling, and blade lock number. Teetering rotor, articulated rotor, and hingeless rotor helicopters were evaluated by research pilots in special low level flying tasks involving obstacle avoidance at 60 to 100 knots airspeed. The results of the experiment are in the form of pilot ratings, pilot commentary, and some objective performance measures. Criteria for damping and sensitivity are reexamined when combined with the additional factors of cross coupling due to pitch and roll rates, pitch coupling with collective pitch, and longitudinal static stability. Ratings obtained with and without motion are compared. Acceptable flying qualities were obtained within each rotor type by suitable adjustment of the hub parameters, however, pure teetering rotors were found to lack control power for the tasks. A limit for the coupling parameter L sub q/L sub p of 0.35 is suggested.

Talbot, P. D.↗
NASA NTRS1974

Hub moment springs on two-bladed teetering rotors

Two-bladed teetering rotors with elastic flapping hinge restraint are shown to be suitable for zero-g flight. The alternating moment component introduced into the fuselage by the hinge spring can be balanced about the aircraft center of gravity by alternating hub shears. Such shears can be produced in proper magnitude, frequency, and phase by additional underslinging of the hub and by judicious choice of the location of the first inplane cantilevered natural frequency. Trends of theoretical results agree with test results from a small scale model and a modified OH-58A helicopter.

Sonneborn, W.↗
NASA NTRS1973

Nonlinear Equations for Bending of Rotating Beams with Application to Linear Flap-Lag Stability of Hingeless Rotors

The nonlinear partial differential equations for the flapping and lead-lag degrees of freedom of a torisonally rigid, rotating cantilevered beam are derived. These equations are linearized about an equilibrium condition to study the flap-lag stability characteristics of hingeless helicopter rotor blades with zero twist and uniform mass and stiffness in the hovering flight condition. The results indicate that these configurations are stable because the effect of elastic coupling more than compensates for the destabilizing flap-lag Coriolis and aerodynamic coupling. The effect of higher bending modes on the lead-lag damping was found to be small and the common, centrally hinged, spring restrained, rigid blade approximation for elastic rotor blades was shown to be resonably satisfactory for determining flap-lag stability. The effect of pre-cone was generally stabilizing and the effects of rotary inertia were negligible.

Hodges, D. H.↗
NASA NTRS1979

A simplified rotor system mathematical model for piloted flight dynamics simulation

The model was developed for real-time pilot-in-the-loop investigation of helicopter flying qualities. The mathematical model included the tip-path plane dynamics and several primary rotor design parameters, such as flapping hinge restraint, flapping hinge offset, blade Lock number, and pitch-flap coupling. The model was used in several exploratory studies of the flying qualities of helicopters with a variety of rotor systems. The basic assumptions used and the major steps involved in the development of the set of equations listed are described. The equations consisted of the tip-path plane dynamic equation, the equations for the main rotor forces and moments, and the equation for control phasing required to achieve decoupling in pitch and roll due to cyclic inputs.

Chen, R. T. N.↗
NASA NTRS1971

Concepts for a theoretical and experimental study of lifting rotor random loads and vibrations. Phase 5C: Development of experimental methods

Test equipment which was built and the calibration tests are described. The test equipment consists of a two-bladed rotor of 16-in. diameter, the blades of which are elastically hinged in flapping. The feathering shaft of the blades can be harmonically rotated with the help of a cam mechanism located inside the hollow rotor shaft. The frequency range measured in the rotating system can be adjusted between 0 and 80 cps and the rotor speed between 0 and 40 cps. The test equipment is for measuring the flapping response of the blades to harmonic feathering excitation.

Hohenemser, K. H.↗
NASA NTRS1977

An experimental and analytical investigation of proprotor whirl flutter

The results of an experimental parametric investigation of whirl flutter are presented for a model consisting of a windmilling propeller-rotor, or proprotor, having blades with offset flapping hinges mounted on a rigid pylon with flexibility in pitch and yaw. The investigation was motivated by the need to establish a large data base from which to assess the predictability of whirl flutter for a proprotor since some question has been raised as to whether flutter in the forward whirl mode could be predicted with confidence. To provide the necessary data base, the parametric study included variation in the pylon pitch and yaw stiffnesses, flapping hinge offset, and blade kinematic pitch-flap coupling over a large range of advance ratios. Cases of forward whirl flutter and of backward whirl flutter are documented. Measured whirl flutter characteristics were shown to be in good agreement with predictions from two different linear stability analyses which employed simple, two dimensional, quasi-steady aerodynamics for the blade loading. On the basis of these results, it appears that proprotor whirl flutter, both forward and backward, can be predicted.

Kvaternik, R. G.↗
NASA NTRS1979

Examination of the flap-lag stability of rigid articulated rotor blades

A critical examination of flap-lag stability of a centrally hinged, spring-restrained rigid blade in both hover and forward flight is presented. Several differences in the equations of motion for blade flap-lag stability in the existing literature are identified. A rigorous and systematic development of these equations for a rigid articulated blade in forward flight shows the existence of some linear aerodynamic coupling terms associated with blade steady-state flapping and lagging in the perturbation equations. The differences identified are shown to be associated with whether or not the lag hinge flaps with the blade. The implications of these differences on stability are examined, and it is shown that the pitch-lag coupling terms associated with a hinge arrangement in which the lag hinge flaps with the blade have a marked influence on flap-lag stability, depending on the system parameters.

Kaza, K. R. V.↗