Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “HUB LOADS”

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.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 55 records · Page 3
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2007

Modeling Tool Advances Rotorcraft Design

Continuum Dynamics Inc. (CDI), founded in 1979, specializes in advanced engineering services, including fluid dynamic modeling and analysis for aeronautics research. The company has completed a number of SBIR research projects with NASA, including early rotorcraft work done through Langley Research Center, but more recently, out of Ames Research Center. NASA Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grants on helicopter wake modeling resulted in the Comprehensive Hierarchical Aeromechanics Rotorcraft Model (CHARM), a tool for studying helicopter and tiltrotor unsteady free wake modeling, including distributed and integrated loads, and performance prediction. Application of the software code in a blade redesign program for Carson Helicopters, of Perkasie, Pennsylvania, increased the payload and cruise speeds of its S-61 helicopter. Follow-on development resulted in a $24 million revenue increase for Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation, of Stratford, Connecticut, as part of the company's rotor design efforts. Now under continuous development for more than 25 years, CHARM models the complete aerodynamics and dynamics of rotorcraft in general flight conditions. CHARM has been used to model a broad spectrum of rotorcraft attributes, including performance, blade loading, blade-vortex interaction noise, air flow fields, and hub loads. The highly accurate software is currently in use by all major rotorcraft manufacturers, NASA, the U.S. Army, and the U.S. Navy.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1983

The vibration characteristics of a coupled helicopter rotor-fuselage by a finite element analysis

The dynamic coupling between the rotor system and the fuselage of a simplified helicopter model in hover was analytically investigated. Mass, aerodynamic damping, and elastic and centrifugal stiffness matrices are presented for the analytical model; the model is based on a beam finite element, with polynomial mass and stiffness distributions for both the rotor and fuselage representations. For this analytical model, only symmetric fuselage and collective blade degrees of freedom are treated. Real and complex eigen-analyses are carried out to obtain coupled rotor-fuselage natural modes and frequencies as a function of rotor speed. Vibration response results are obtained for the coupled system subjected to a radially uniform, harmonic blade loading. The coupled response results are compared with response results from an uncoupled analysis in which hub loads for an isolated rotor system subjected to the same sinusoidal blade loading as the coupled system are applied to a free-free fuselage.

Rutkowski, M. J.↗
NASA NTRS2014

Shake Test Results and Dynamic Calibration Efforts for the Large Rotor Test Apparatus

Prior to the full-scale wind tunnel test of the UH-60A Airloads rotor, a shake test was completed on the Large Rotor Test Apparatus. The goal of the shake test was to characterize the oscillatory response of the test rig and provide a dynamic calibration of the balance to accurately measure vibratory hub loads. This paper provides a summary of the shake test results, including balance, shaft bending gauge, and accelerometer measurements. Sensitivity to hub mass and angle of attack were investigated during the shake test. Hub mass was found to have an important impact on the vibratory forces and moments measured at the balance, especially near the UH-60A 4/rev frequency. Comparisons were made between the accelerometer data and an existing finite-element model, showing agreement on mode shapes, but not on natural frequencies. Finally, the results of a simple dynamic calibration are presented, showing the effects of changes in hub mass. The results show that the shake test data can be used to correct in-plane loads measurements up to 10 Hz and normal loads up to 30 Hz.

Large Rotor Test Apparatus↗
NASA NTRS1991

Coupled rotor-flexible fuselage vibration reduction using open loop higher harmonic control

A fundamental study of vibration prediction and vibration reduction in helicopters using active controls was performed. The nonlinear equations of motion for a coupled rotor/flexible fuselage system have been derived using computer algebra on a special purpose symbolic computer facility. The trim state and vibratory response of the helicopter are obtained in a single pass by applying the harmonic balance technique and simultaneously satisfying the trim and the vibratory response of the helicopter for all rotor and fuselage degrees of freedom. The influence of the fuselage flexibility on the vibratory response is studied. It is shown that the conventional single frequency higher harmonic control is capable of reducing either the hub loads or only the fuselage vibrations but not both simultaneously. It is demonstrated that for simultaneous reduction of hub shears and fuselae vibrations a new scheme called multiple higher harmonic control is required.

Papavassiliou, I.↗
NASA NTRS1990

A study of coupled rotor-fuselage vibration with higher harmonic control using a symbolic computing facility

A fundamental study of vibration prediction and vibration reduction in helicopters using active controls was performed. The nonlinear equations of motion for a coupled rotor/flexible fuselage system have been derived using computer algebra on a special purpose symbolic computing facility. The details of the derivation using the MACSYMA program are described. The trim state and vibratory response of the helicopter are obtained in a single pass by applying the harmonic balance technique and simultaneously satisfying the trim and the vibratory response of the helicopter for all rotor and fuselage degrees of freedom. The influence of the fuselage flexibility on the vibratory response is studied. It is shown that the conventional single frequency higher harmonic control (HHC) capable of reducing either the hub loads or only the fuselage vibrations but not both simultaneously. It is demonstrated that for simultaneous reduction of hub shears and fuselage vibrations a new scheme called multiple higher harmonic control (MHHC) is required. The fundamental aspects of this scheme and its uniqueness are described in detail, providing new insight on vibration reduction in helicopters using HHC.

Papavassiliou, I.↗
NASA NTRS2014

Shake Test Results and Dynamic Calibration Efforts for the Large Rotor Test Apparatus

A shake test of the Large Rotor Test Apparatus (LRTA) was performed in an effort to enhance NASAscapability to measure dynamic hub loads for full-scale rotor tests. This paper documents the results of theshake test as well as efforts to calibrate the LRTA balance system to measure dynamic loads.Dynamic rotor loads are the primary source of vibration in helicopters and other rotorcraft, leading topassenger discomfort and damage due to fatigue of aircraft components. There are novel methods beingdeveloped to reduce rotor vibrations, but measuring the actual vibration reductions on full-scale rotorsremains a challenge. In order to measure rotor forces on the LRTA, a balance system in the non-rotatingframe is used. The forces at the balance can then be translated to the hub reference frame to measure therotor loads. Because the LRTA has its own dynamic response, the balance system must be calibrated toinclude the natural frequencies of the test rig.

Shake Test Results↗
NASA NTRS2018

Shake Test Results and Dynamic Characterization of the Large Rotor Test Apparatus in the NFAC 40- by 80-Foot Wind Tunnel

Prior to the full-scale wind tunnel test of the UH-60A Airloads rotor, a shake test was completed on the Large Rotor Test Apparatus. The goal of the shake test was to characterize the oscillatory response of the test rig and provide a dynamic calibration of the balance to permit accurate measurement of vibratory hub loads. This paper provides a summary of the shake test results, including balance, shaft bending gauge, and accelerometer measurements. Sensitivity to hub mass and angle of attack were investigated during the shake test. Hub mass was found to have an important impact on the vibratory forces and moments measured at the balance, especially near the UH-60A 4/rev frequency. Comparisons were made between the accelerometer data and an existing finite-element model, showing agreement on mode shapes, but not on natural frequencies. The results suggest that the shake test data can be used to correct in-plane loads measurements up to 10 Hz and normal loads up to 30 Hz.

Shake Test↗
NASA NTRS1989

A study of fundamental issues in higher harmonic control using aeroelastic simulation

This paper describes a higher harmonic control (HHC) study of a four-bladed helicopter rotor using a coupled flap-lag-torsional aeroelastic stability and response analysis which incorporates finite-state, time-domain aerodyamics. The rotor trim condition is determined using a simplified flap-lag-torsional aeroelastic analysis. Deterministic and cautious controllers based on local and global HHC models are implemented to reduce 4/rev hub loads on roughly equivalent articulate and hingeless rotors. Results obtained for the case when the objective function requires reduction of hub shears alone are compared with results obtained when hub shears and moments are reduced simultaneously. The effects of HHC on blade aeroelastic stability are also considered. Finally, the power requirements for implementing HHC on a hingeless rotor are compared with those obtained for an articulated rotor. It is concluded that hingeless rotors require considerably more power and higher control angles than comparable articulated rotors.

Robinson, Lawson H.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Coupled rotor-fuselage vibration reduction with multiple frequency blade pitch control

A nonlinear coupled rotor/flexible fuselage analysis has been developed and used to study the effects of higher harmonic blade pitch control on the vibratory hub loads and fuselage acceleration levels. Previous results, obtained with this model have shown that conventional higher harmonic control (HHC) inputs aimed at hub shear reduction cause an increase in the fuselage accelerations and vice-versa. It was also found that for simultaneous reduction of hub shears and fuselage accelerations, a pitch input representing a combination of two higher harmonic components of different frequencies was needed. Subsequently, it was found that this input could not be implemented through a conventional swashplate. This paper corrects a mistake originally made in the representation of the multiple frequency pitch input and shows that such a pitch input can be only implemented in the rotating reference frame. A rigorous mathematical solution is found, for the pitch input in the rotating reference frame, which produces simultaneous reduction of hub shears and fuselage acceleration. New insight on vibration reduction in coupled rotor/fuselage systems is obtained from the sensitivity of hub shears to the frequency and amplitude of the open loop HHC signal in the rotating reference frame. Finally the role of fuselage flexibility in this class of problems is determined.

Papavassiliou, I.↗
NASA NTRS1978

Application of higher harmonic blade feathering for helicopter vibration reduction

Higher harmonic blade feathering for helicopter vibration reduction is considered. Recent wind tunnel tests confirmed the effectiveness of higher harmonic control in reducing articulated rotor vibratory hub loads. Several predictive analyses developed in support of the NASA program were shown to be capable of calculating single harmonic control inputs required to minimize a single 4P hub response. In addition, a multiple-input, multiple-output harmonic control predictive analysis was developed. All techniques developed thus far obtain a solution by extracting empirical transfer functions from sampled data. Algorithm data sampling and processing requirements are minimal to encourage adaptive control system application of such techniques in a flight environment.

Powers, R. W.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Vibration reduction in helicopter rotors using an active control surface located on the blade

A feasibility study of vibration reduction in a four-bladed helicopter rotor using individual blade control (IBC), which is implemented by an individually controlled aerodynamic surface located on each blade, is presented. For this exploratory study, a simple offset-hinged spring restrained model of the blade is used with fully coupled flap-lag-torsional dynamics for each blade. Deterministic controllers based on local and global system models are implemented to reduce 4/rev hub loads using both an actively controlled aerodynamic surface on each blade as well as conventional IBC, where the complete blade undergoes cyclic pitch change. The effectiveness of the two approaches for simultaneous reduction of the 4/rev hub shears and hub moments is compared. Conventional IBC requires considerably more power to achieve approximately the same level of vibration reduction as that obtained by implementing IBC using an active control surface located on the outboard segment of the blade. The effect of blade torsional flexibility on the vibration reduction effectiveness of the actively controlled surface was also considered and it was found that this parameter has a very substantial influence.

Millott, T. A.↗
NASA NTRS2015

SMART Rotor Wind Tunnel Test Report

The Boeing Company, Mesa Arizona, has been developing smart material actuated rotor technology (SMART) under in-house, DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency), NASA and Army funding. A whirl tower test of the SMART active flap rotor system was successfully conducted at the remote test facility (RTF) in Mesa, Arizona, in 2003. Under DARPA and NASA funding, the SMART rotor system was tested in the NASA Ames National Full Scale Aerodynamic Complex (NFAC) 40- by 80-Foot Wind Tunnel in 2008. The DARPA program objectives were to demonstrate the active flap impact on rotor acoustics in forward flight and establish a validation database for noise prediction tools. Under NASA funding, additional wind tunnel tests were conducted, with the objective to demonstrate and quantify vibration, noise, and performance improvements.Wind tunnel testing was successfully and safely concluded, meeting all high priority objectives. The authority, effectiveness, and reliability of the flap actuation system were demonstrated in 65 hours of testing at up to 155 knots and 7,700 pound thrust. Validation data was successfully acquired for four test conditions; blade loads were too high for the high speed condition. The effectiveness of the flap for noise and vibration control was demonstrated conclusively, with results showing significant reductions in BVI (Blade-Vortex Interaction) and in-plane noise as well as vibratory hub loads. The impact of the flap on control power and rotor smoothing was also demonstrated. Data evaluating any benefits in aerodynamic performance and impact on flight controls were acquired, but will need more detailed evaluation. Both open loop control and closed loop feedback control, using continuous time and higher harmonic controllers, were applied.The purpose of the Test Report is to provide a comprehensive document that describes the preparation for and conduct of the wind tunnel test and summarizes the processing and evaluation of wind tunnel test data for the DARPA and the NASA portion of the test. An overview of the wind tunnel test and results can be found in Reference 1. Details on the testing and results for BVI noise, in-plane noise, and vibrations can be found in References 2-4, respectively. These references are four papers, presented at the American Helicopter Society Annual Forum in 2009. A brief description of the delivered electronic data is provided in Reference 5.

Rotor↗
NASA NTRS1987

Rotor-body coupling revisited

Two analytical procedures are discussed that are currently used to couple rotor and body equations. The first approach, a 'rotor-body iteration' procedure, is often used in flight dynamics simulations. In this approach, acceleration response at the hub interface between the rotor and body are calculated from the body set of equations. These hub acceleration responses are substituted into the rotor set of equations and the remaining rotor acceleration responses are calculated. These rotor responses are used to calculate the rotor hub loads which are transferred back to the body equations to initiate the next iteration. The second method is a 'fully coupled' equations approach that is used in finite element-based analyses. The body and rotor sets of equations are coupled using a kinematic constraint relation at the hub interface. This paper compares the advantages of the two approaches and shows where convergence problems occur in the rotor-body iteration procedure.

Stephens, Wendell B.↗
NASA NTRS2009

Wind Tunnel Test of the SMART Active Flap Rotor

Boeing and a team from Air Force, NASA, Army, DARPA, MIT, UCLA, and U. of Maryland have successfully completed a wind-tunnel test of the smart material actuated rotor technology (SMART) rotor in the 40- by 80-foot wind-tunnel of the National Full-Scale Aerodynamic Complex at NASA Ames Research Center. The Boeing SMART rotor is a full-scale, five-bladed bearingless MD 900 helicopter rotor modified with a piezoelectric-actuated trailing edge flap on each blade. The eleven-week test program evaluated the forward flight characteristics of the active-flap rotor at speeds up to 155 knots, gathered data to validate state-of-the-art codes for rotor aero-acoustic analysis, and quantified the effects of open and closed loop active flap control on rotor loads, noise, and performance. The test demonstrated on-blade smart material control of flaps on a full-scale rotor for the first time in a wind tunnel. The effectiveness of the active flap control on noise and vibration was conclusively demonstrated. Results showed significant reductions up to 6dB in blade-vortex-interaction and in-plane noise, as well as reductions in vibratory hub loads up to 80%. Trailing-edge flap deflections were controlled within 0.1 degrees of the commanded value. The impact of the active flap on control power, rotor smoothing, and performance was also demonstrated. Finally, the reliability of the flap actuation system was successfully proven in more than 60 hours of wind-tunnel testing.

Straub, Friedrich K.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Aeroelastic optimization of an advanced geometry helicopter rotor

Sensitivity derivatives of blade loads and aeroelastic stability of a helicopter rotor in forward flight are calculated as an integral part of a basic aeroelastic analysis using a direct analytical approach. Design variables include nonstructural mass and its placement, chordwise offset of blade center of gravity and aerodynamic center from the elastic axis, blade bending stiffnesses (flap, lag, torsion), and tip geometry (sweep, anhedral, pretwist and planform taper). By means of a sensitivity study, the importance of different design variables on oscillatory hub loads and damping of blade modes is examined. Aeroelastic and sensitivity analyses of the rotor based on a finite element method in space and time are linked with automated optimization algorithms to perform optimization studies of rotor blades. Optimum design solutions, calculated for a four-bladed, soft-inplane hingeless rotor achieved a reduction of 25-60 percent of all 4/rev loads.

Ganguli, Ranjan↗
NASA NTRS2011

Investigation of Rotor Performance and Loads of a UH-60A Individual Blade Control System

Wind tunnel measurements of performance, loads, and vibration of a full-scale UH-60A Black Hawk main rotor with an individual blade control (IBC) system are compared with calculations obtained using the comprehensive helicopter analysis CAMRAD II and a coupled CAMRAD II/OVERFLOW 2 analysis. Measured data show a 5.1% rotor power reduction (8.6% rotor lift to effective-drag ratio increase) using 2/rev IBC actuation with 2.0 amplitude at = 0.4. At the optimum IBC phase for rotor performance, IBC actuator force (pitch link force) decreased, and neither flap nor chord bending moments changed significantly. CAMRAD II predicts the rotor power variations with the IBC phase reasonably well at = 0.35. However, the correlation degrades at = 0.4. Coupled CAMRAD II/OVERFLOW 2 shows excellent correlation with the measured rotor power variations with the IBC phase at both = 0.35 and = 0.4. Maximum reduction of IBC actuator force is better predicted with CAMRAD II, but general trends are better captured with the coupled analysis. The correlation of vibratory hub loads is generally poor by both methods, although the coupled analysis somewhat captures general trends.

Yeo, Hyeonsoo↗
NASA NTRS2011

Investigation of Rotor Performance and Loads of a UH-60A Individual Blade Control System

Wind tunnel measurements of performance, loads, and vibration of a full-scale UH-60A Black Hawk main rotor with an individual blade control (IBC) system are compared with calculations obtained using the comprehensive helicopter analysis CAMRAD II and a coupled CAMRAD II/OVERFLOW 2 analysis. Measured data show a 5.1% rotor power reduction (8.6% rotor lift to effective-drag ratio increase) using 2/rev IBC actuation with 2.0. amplitude at u = 0.4. At the optimum IBC phase for rotor performance, IBC actuator force (pitch link force) decreased, and neither flap nor chord bending moments changed significantly. CAMRAD II predicts the rotor power variations with IBC phase reasonably well at u = 0.35. However, the correlation degrades at u = 0.4. Coupled CAMRAD II/OVERFLOW 2 shows excellent correlation with the measured rotor power variations with IBC phase at both u = 0.35 and u = 0.4. Maximum reduction of IBC actuator force is better predicted with CAMRAD II, but general trends are better captured with the coupled analysis. The correlation of vibratory hub loads is generally poor by both methods, although the coupled analysis somewhat captures general trends.

Yeo, Hyeonsoo↗
NASA NTRS1978

On methods for application of harmonic control

The paper presents data which confirm the effectiveness of higher harmonic blade pitch control in substantially reducing helicopter rotor vibratory hub loads. The data are the result of recent tests on a 2.7-m model conducted in the Langley Research Center's transonic dynamics wind tunnel. Several predictive analyses developed in support of the NASA program are shown capable of accurately predicting both amplitude and phase of the higher harmonic control input required to nullify a single 4/rev force or moment input. The use of multiple blade feathering inputs in the design of a flightworthy higher harmonic control system is discussed.

Wood, E. R.↗