A summary of hingeless-rotor structural loads and dynamics research
Research review on helicopter hingeless rotor structural loads and dynamics
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Research review on helicopter hingeless rotor structural loads and dynamics
Aerodynamic and performance characteristics of unpowered rotor reentry vehicle
Various existing unsteady aerodynamic strip theories which have been developed in the past for both fixed and rotary wing aeroelastic analyses are modified in the paper so as to make them applicable to the coupled flap-lag-torsional aeroelastic problem of a rotor blade in hover. These corrections are primarily due to constant angle of attack, constant inflow and variable free stream velocity due to lead-lag motion. Next, the modified strip theories are incorporated in a coupled flap-lag-torsional aeroelastic analysis of the rotor blade in hover and the sensitivity of the aeroelastic stability boundaries to the aerodynamic assumptions is examined.
The analysis CAMRAD/JA is used to model two aircraft, a Puma with a swept-tip blade and a UH-60A Black Hawk. The accuracy of the analysis in predicting the torsion loads is assessed by comparing the predicted loads with measurements from flight tests. The influence of assumptions in the analytical model is examined by varying model parameters and comparing the predicted results to baseline values for the torsion loads. Flight test data from a research Puma are used to identify the source of torsion loads. These data indicate that the aerodynamic section moment in the region of the blade tip dominates torsion loading in high-speed flight. Both the aerodynamic section moment at the blade tip and the pitch-link loads are characterized by large positive (nose-up) moments in the first quadrant with rapid reversal of load so that the moment is negative in the second quadrant. Both the character and magnitude of this loading are missed by the CAMRAD/JA analysis.
Hand calculation procedures for predicting aerodynamic noise from propellers, rotors, and lift fans
The aerodynamics of propellers and rotors is especially complicated because of the highly three-dimensional and compressible nature of the flow field. However, in linearized theory the problem is governed by the wave equation, and a numerically-efficient integral formulation can be derived. This reduces the problem from one in space to one over a surface. Many such formulations exist in the aeroacoustics literature, but these become singular integral equations if one naively tries to use them to predict surface pressures, i.e., for aerodynamics. The present paper illustrates how one must interpret these equations in order to obtain nonambiguous results. After the regularized form of the integral equation is derived, a method for solving it numerically is described. This preliminary computer code uses Legendre-Gaussian quadrature to solve the equation. Numerical results are compared to experimental results for ellipsoids, wings, and rotors, including effects due to lift. Compressibility and the farfield boundary conditions are satisfied automatically using this method.
An externally driven, 1.2 pressure ratio full-scale fan stage with an adjustable pitch rotor was tested in an outdoor facility at the Lewis Research Center. Rotor pitch angles resulting in minimum sideline perceived noise levels are defined as a function of stage thrust. Thrust-corrected fan noise variations are examined for operation at constant thrust, rotor tip speed, and stage work coefficient. At constant stage thrust, reducing the rotor pitch angle below design values increased the fan noise with the greatest change occurring in the blade passing tone level. At constant fan speed the minimum noise occurred at a particular rotor pitch angle, which was not the minimum thrust condition. With constant stage work coefficient, rear quadrant noise increased at above-design speed conditions.
(Previously announced in STAR as N81-28056)
A new general boundary-element methodology for the analysis of helicopter rotors in potential compressible flows is presented. The methodology is based on the use of the velocity potential (instead of the more common acceleration potential). The derivation of the integral equation is outlined, along with the boundary-element algorithm used for the computational implementation. In addition, numerical results for a helicopter rotor in hover are studied in detail, with particular emphasis on the convergence analysis. The numerical resutls are in excellent agreement with existing results by Rao and Schatzle (1977).
The two-dimensional, compressible, unsteady, thin-layer Navier-Stokes equations have been used to study the turbulent flow field of a turbine rotor/stator configuration in the high pressure oxidizer turbopump of the Space Shuttle main engine. The calculations were performed on a system of patched and overlaid grids. The grid system consists of 'O-' and 'H-' grids, with the inner 'O-'grid enclosing the blade surface for an accurate resolution of the leading and trailing edges, while the outer 'H-'grid makes the treatment of boundary conditions easier. The integration scheme used is an iterative, factored, implicit method with numerical fluxes evaluated by the third-order accurate upwind-biased Osher scheme. Computed results in the form of pressure contours, Mach number contours, time-averaged surface pressure, unsteady pressure amplitude and unsteady velocity vectors are presented. Many flow phenomena, such as wake cutting by rotor airfoils and evolution of unsteady passage vortices, are discussed.
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The high-fidelity and reduced order CFD method's validation and analysis are presented for the Multirotor Test Bed. The reduced-order method uses a rotor-disk model in the OVERFLOW CFD code and is an important aspect of this study. A rotor-trim option loosely coupling the Comprehensive code CAMRAD II with the OVERFLOW CFD code is included in the simulation that captures rotor blade aerodynamics, blade and rotor performance, rotor-rotor, and rotor-body interactions. Detailed comparison and validation were performed for both higher-fidelity full rotor unsteady flows and reduced-order rotor-disk methods. The tunnel geometry is included in the detailed computational effort. Computations of the low-Reynolds number flows were performed for a different number of in-plane rotors as well as for a single rotor modeled inside the tunnel.
Equations and procedures are presented for numerically determining the aerodynamic characteristics of lifting rotors. The equations are general and can account for stall and compressibility effects, as well as variations in hub and blade configurations, that are normally omitted from conventional analytical rotor treatments. The application of the method to solution by automatic computing machines is discussed.
A theoretical investigation of dynamic response characteristics of rotor blades was carried out with special emphasis on torsional degrees-of-freedom. Coupled equations of motion for flapwise bending and torsion were formulated at varying azimuth positions for rotor blades with noncollinear aerodynamic, elastic and mass axes. Both structural and aerodynamic mass, damping and stiffness coefficients were included. The variations of a sample blade at different flight conditions were investigated from these equations. The obtained numerical results were illustrated. The sensitivity of overall blade vibration characteristics to torsional oscillations was also investigated from the equations of motion for the sample blade. The illustrated results show the importance of torsional degrees-of-freedom in rotor blade analysis. Various possibilities of improving the overall response by tuning blade geometric, structural and aerodynamic characteristics are discussed.
An experimental investigation of rotor/wing aerodynamic interactions in hover is described. The investigation consisted of both a large-scale and a small-scale test. A 0.658-scale V-22 rotor and wing was used in the large-scale test. Wing download, wing surface pressure, rotor performance, and rotor downwash data from the large-scale test are presented. A small-scale experiment was conducted to determine how changes in the rotor/wing geometry affected the aerodynamic interactions. These geometry variations included the distance between the rotor and wing, wing incidence angle, wing flap angle, rotor rotation direction, and configurations both with the rotor axis at the tip of the wing (tilt rotor configuration) and with the rotor axis at the center of the wing (compound helicopter configuration).
Advanced rotorcraft technology and tilt rotor aircraft were discussed. Rotorcraft performance, acoustics, and vibrations were discussed, as was the use of composite materials in rotorcraft structures. Rotorcraft aerodynamics, specifically the aerodynamic phenomena of a rotating and the aerodynamics of fuselages, was discussed.
Experimental aerodynamic performance characteristics of rotor entry vehicle configuration - subsonic
Experimental aerodynamic performance characteristics of rotor entry vehicle configuration - transonic