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Results for “Rotor Performance”

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 55 records · Page 3
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1991

Ongoing development of a computer jobstream to predict helicopter main rotor performance in icing conditions

Work is currently underway at the NASA Lewis Research Center to develop an analytical method for predicting the performance degradation of a helicopter operating in icing conditions. A brief survey is performed of possibilities available to perform such a calculation along with the reasons for choosing the present approach. A complete description of the proposed jobstream is given as well as a discussion of the present state of the development.

Britton, Randall K.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Ongoing development of a computer jobstream to predict helicopter main rotor performance in icing conditions

Work is currently underway at the NASA Lewis Research Center to develop an analytical method for predicting the performance degradation of a helicopter operating in icing conditions. A brief survey is performed of possibilities available to perform such a calculation along with the reasons for choosing the present approach. A complete description of the proposed jobstream is given as well as a discussion of the present state of the development.

Britton, Randall K.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Analysis of small-scale rotor hover performance data

Rotor hover-performance data from a 1/6-scale helicopter rotor are analyzed and the data sets compared for the effects of ambient wind, test stand configuration, differing test facilities, and scaling. The data are also compared to full scale hover data. The data exhibited high scatter, not entirely due to ambient wind conditions. Effects of download on the test stand proved to be the most significant influence on the measured data. Small-scale data correlated resonably well with full scale data; the correlation did not improve with Reynolds number corrections.

Kitaplioglu, Cahit↗
NASA NTRS2007

Comparison Between Simulated and Experimentally Measured Performance of a Four Port Wave Rotor

Performance and operability testing has been completed on a laboratory-scale, four-port wave rotor, of the type suitable for use as a topping cycle on a gas turbine engine. Many design aspects, and performance estimates for the wave rotor were determined using a time-accurate, one-dimensional, computational fluid dynamics-based simulation code developed specifically for wave rotors. The code follows a single rotor passage as it moves past the various ports, which in this reference frame become boundary conditions. This paper compares wave rotor performance predicted with the code to that measured during laboratory testing. Both on and off-design operating conditions were examined. Overall, the match between code and rig was found to be quite good. At operating points where there were disparities, the assumption of larger than expected internal leakage rates successfully realigned code predictions and laboratory measurements. Possible mechanisms for such leakage rates are discussed.

Paxson, Daniel E.↗
NASA NTRS1980

Multicyclic control for helicopters - Research in progress at Ames Research Center

The term multicyclic control describes a blade pitch control technique used by helicopter designers to alleviate vibration in rotorcraft. Because rotor-induced vibrations are periodic, a multicyclic system, synchronized to the main rotor's azimuth position, is suitable. Many types of rotors - ranging from the jet-flap and circulation-control rotors to the conventional full-blade feathering rotors - have utilized multicyclic control. Multicyclic control systems may be designed to reduce blade-bending stresses, to reduce rotor-induced vibration, and to improve rotor performance. Rotor types are reviewed, primarily to highlight their differences. The increased use of composites in blade construction is seen to indicate that vibration alleviation will be the prime focus of multicyclic control. Adaptive feedback control systems, which also incorporate gust alleviation, are considered to be the ultimate application of multicyclic control.

Mccloud, J. L., III↗
NASA NTRS1992

Multidisciplinary analysis and sensitivity derivatives for isolated helicopter rotors in hover

A new method is presented for using Navier-Stokes results in the system analysis and sensitivity derivative computations for a helicopter rotor in hover. The system coupling includes the interactions between rotor performance, rotor structural properties and aerodynamics (i.e., airfoil shape). Emphasis is placed on the use of high fidelity Navier-Stokes algorithms for the aerodynamic problem. The present formulation is chosen to reduce the number of sensitivity derivative equations and their dimensions as much as possible. In addition, an alternative adjoint formulation is presented which dramatically reduces the computational requirement for disciplines in which there may be a large number of design variables (e.g., aerodynamics). The theoretical method makes use of a combination of derivatives from each discipline; the computation of these derivatives has already been shown to be feasible. Sample computations for the aerodynamic-rotor model coupling and an associated sensitivity derivative are also presented.

Jones, Henry E.↗
NASA NTRS2013

Wind Tunnel Measurements of the Wake of a Full-Scale UH-60A Rotor in Forward Flight

A full-scale UH-60A rotor was tested in the National Full-Scale Aerodynamics Complex (NFAC) 40- by 80-Foot Wind Tunnel in May 2010. The test was designed to acquire a suite of measurements to validate state-of-the-art modeling tools. Measurements include blade airloads (from a single pressure-instrumented blade), blade structural loads (strain gages), rotor performance (rotor balance and torque measurements), blade deformation (stereo-photogrammetry), and rotor wake measurements (Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) and Retro-reflective Backward Oriented Schlieren (RBOS)). During the test, PIV measurements of flow field velocities were acquired in a stationary cross-flow plane located on the advancing side of the rotor disk at approximately 90 deg rotor azimuth. At each test condition, blade position relative to the measurement plane was varied. The region of interest (ROI) was 4-ft high by 14-ft wide and covered the outer half of the blade radius. Although PIV measurements were acquired in only one plane, much information can be gleaned by studying the rotor wake trajectory in this plane, especially when such measurements are augmented by blade airloads and RBOS data. This paper will provide a comparison between PIV and RBOS measurements of tip vortex position and vortex filament orientation for multiple rotor test conditions. Blade displacement measurements over the complete rotor disk will also be presented documenting blade-to-blade differences in tip-path-plane and providing additional information for correlation with PIV and RBOS measurements of tip vortex location. In addition, PIV measurements of tip vortex core diameter and strength will be presented. Vortex strength will be compared with measurements of maximum bound circulation on the rotor blade determined from pressure distributions obtained from 235 pressure sensors distributed over 9 radial stations.

Wadcock, Alan J.↗
NASA NTRS1981

Wind-tunnel investigation of the effects of blade tip geometry on the interaction of torsional loads and performance for an articulated helicopter rotor

The Langley transonic dynamics tunnel was used to determine the degree of correlation between rotor performance and the dynamic twist generated by changes in blade tip geometry using an articulated rotor with four different tip geometries at advance ratios of 0.20, 0.30 and 0.35. Based on the data obtained, it is concluded that: (1) there appears to be no strong correlation between blade torsion loads and rotor performance prediction; (2) for a given rotor task at each advance ratio investigated, both the azimuthal variation of torsional moment and the mean torsional moment at 81% radius are configuration dependent; (3) reducing the nose down twist on the advancing blade appears to be more important to forward flight performance than increasing the nose down twist on the retreating blade; (4) the rotor inflow model used was important in predicting the performance of the adaptive rotor; and (5) neither rigid blade solidity effects, inflow environment, nor blade torsion loads can be used alone to accurately predict active rotor performance.

Yeager, W. T.↗
NASA NTRS2003

Performance of Swashplateless Ultralight Helicopter Rotor with Trailing-edge Flaps for Primary Flight Control

The objective of present study is to evaluate the rotor performance, trailing-edge deflections and actuation requirement of a helicopter rotor with trailing-edge flap system for primary flight control. The swashplateless design is implemented by modifying a two-bladed teetering rotor of an production ultralight helicopter through the use of plain flaps on the blades, and by replacing the pitch link to fixed system control system assembly with a root spring. A comprehensive rotorcraft analysis based on UMARC is carried out to obtain the results for both the swashplateless and a conventional baseline rotor configuration. The predictions show swashplateless configuration achieve superior performance than the conventional rotor attributed from reduction of parasite drag by eliminating swashplate mechanic system. It is indicated that optimal selection of blade pitch index angle, flap location, length, and chord ratio reduces flap deflections and actuation requirements, however, has virtually no effect on rotor performance.

Shen, Jin-Wei↗
NASA NTRS1986

Full-scale tilt-rotor hover performance

The hover performance of three full-scale rotors was measured at the Ames Outdoor Aerodynamic Research Facility. The rotors, all designed for tilt-rotor aircraft, were the original metal blades for the XV-15 Tilt Rotor Research Aircraft, a set of composite, advanced technology blades for the XV-15, and a 0.658-scale model of the proposed V-22A Osprey (JVX) rotor. The composite advanced technology blades for the XV-15 were tested with several alternate blade root and blade tip configurations. This paper presents the performance of these three rotors, shows the effects of tip Mach number and root and tip configuration changes on rotor performance, and presents data on rotor wake velocity distributions and tip vortex geometry. Measured rotor performance is compared with theoretical predictions, and the discrepancies are discussed.

Felker, F. F.↗