This document provides an overview of the history and types of rotorcraft. It discusses early concepts for rotorcraft dating back to the 15th century. The first successful helicopters were developed in the early 20th century, with incremental improvements by various inventors. Key developments included the addition of flapping and feathering capabilities to control blade pitch. The document outlines the main types of rotorcraft including conventional helicopters, compound helicopters, tiltrotors, tiltwings and fan-in-wing designs. It also discusses the aerodynamic challenges of rotorcraft and areas of study such as structural dynamics, aerodynamics, flight dynamics and loads prediction.
This document provides an overview of the history and types of rotorcraft. It discusses early concepts for rotorcraft dating back to the 15th century. The first successful helicopters were developed in the early 20th century, with incremental improvements by various inventors. Key developments included the addition of flapping and feathering capabilities to control blade pitch. The document outlines the main types of rotorcraft including conventional helicopters, compound helicopters, tiltrotors, tiltwings and fan-in-wing designs. It also discusses the aerodynamic challenges of rotorcraft and areas of study such as structural dynamics, aerodynamics, flight dynamics and loads prediction.
This document provides an overview of the history and types of rotorcraft. It discusses early concepts for rotorcraft dating back to the 15th century. The first successful helicopters were developed in the early 20th century, with incremental improvements by various inventors. Key developments included the addition of flapping and feathering capabilities to control blade pitch. The document outlines the main types of rotorcraft including conventional helicopters, compound helicopters, tiltrotors, tiltwings and fan-in-wing designs. It also discusses the aerodynamic challenges of rotorcraft and areas of study such as structural dynamics, aerodynamics, flight dynamics and loads prediction.
This document provides an overview of the history and types of rotorcraft. It discusses early concepts for rotorcraft dating back to the 15th century. The first successful helicopters were developed in the early 20th century, with incremental improvements by various inventors. Key developments included the addition of flapping and feathering capabilities to control blade pitch. The document outlines the main types of rotorcraft including conventional helicopters, compound helicopters, tiltrotors, tiltwings and fan-in-wing designs. It also discusses the aerodynamic challenges of rotorcraft and areas of study such as structural dynamics, aerodynamics, flight dynamics and loads prediction.
Aeroelasticity AE 686 2 Overview Brief history of rotorcraft
Types of rotorcraft
Physics of helicopter flight 3 Early Ideas Chinese Top da Vinci Airscrew (1483) Sir George Cayleys Aerial Carriage (1790) 4 The First Hoppers Paul Cornu (1907) Igor Sikorsky (1909) Charles Ritchet (1904) Need for better engines and lighter materials 5 History of Rotorcraft Georges de Bothezat (1919) Corradino d'Ascanio (1930) de la Cierva inspired hinges that allowed for flapping and feathering capability to change blade pitch control was achieved by using auxiliary wings or servo-tabs on the trailing edges of the blades Nicolas Florine (1930) For details: http://terpconnect.umd.edu/~leishman/Aero/history.html 6 History of Rotorcraft No inventor for helicopters Incremental development with contributions from several inventors
First fully controlled Heli: Focke-Wulf Fw 61 (1936) built by Focke-Wulf under license from Cierva Autogiro For details: http://terpconnect.umd.edu/~leishman/Aero/history.html 7 Types of Rotorcraft 8 Types of Rotorcraft The V/STOL Wheel is a graphic diagram of all 45 types of vertical and/or short take-off and landing (V/STOL) aircraft that had been built and tested through 1996. It was updated from the McDonnell Douglas Wheel of the 1960s for the J oint Strike Fighter (J SF) Program Office. All were built to be flown, but only three (shown in bold) have led to operational aircrafts. Lockheed X- 35 to be the next generation V/STOL vehicle 9 Boeing-Sikorsky RAH-66 Comanche 23 February 2004, U.S. Army cancelled RAH- 66 Comanche program after having spent US $ 6.9 billion 10 Types of V/STOL Concepts Conventional Helicopter Single main rotor Multi rotor
Vectored Jet lift Vertical and/or short take-off and landing 11 Single Main Rotor Configurations EC 135 SMR + Fenestron ALH DHRUV SMR + CTR SMR + NOTAR 12 Mil Mi -26 Largest and most powerful helicopter 90 troops or 20 ton cargo Used during Afghan war to rescue two Chinook helicopters (12 ton) 13 Advantages Efficient hover Low downwash (slipstream velocity) Good low speed maneuverability Low empty weight Disadvantages Low maximum speed Low high speed maneuverability Fuselage attitude depends on speed High vibration Low range Conventional Helicopter 14 Compound Helicopter Groen Brothers Hawk 5 Gyroplane Fairey Rotodyne Eurocopter X3 Sikorsky X2 15 Compound Helicopter Lockheed AH56A Cheyenne 16 Advantages Faster than pure helicopters Good maneuverability at all speeds Fuselage attitude independent of speed Reasonable hover efficiency Disadvantages More complex than pure helicopters More thrusters More lifting / control surfaces Higher empty weight fraction Low cruise efficiency Compound Helicopter 17 Advantages Potential for high subsonic speed Good maneuverability in cruise No anti-torque rotor Low vibration in high speed mode
Disadvantages Complexity (rotor stop- ping, exhaust shifting) Limited maneuverability in conversion Limited yaw control in hover
Canard Rotor Wing Boeing X50 Dragonfly Canard Rotor Wing 18 Twin Rotor Concepts CH 47 CHINOOK Kamov Ka 27 Advantages Disadvantages No tail rotor Increased safety, tail rotor power saving Tandem Rotor Design has Lower Downwash than Single Rotor Design Complexity two main rotors Higher drag (increased parasite loss) due to two Hubs 19
20 Twin Rotor Concepts Advantages Disadvantages No tail rotor Increased safety, tail rotor power saving Tandem Rotor Design has Lower Downwash than Single Rotor Design Complexity two main rotors Higher drag (increased parasite loss) due to two Hubs Kaman Kmax 21 Tilt Wing Advantages Disadvantages Good cruise speed Good cruise efficiency Good high speed maneuverability Better hover efficiency than tiltrotor
High downwash in hover Conversion problematic Complexity Increased Empty Weight Limited Autorotation Capability Hiller X-18 (1959) LTV XC-142 (1964) 22 Tilt Rotor Advantages Disadvantages Good maximum speed Good maneuverability Attitude independent of speed Ground Safety (no tail rotor) Low Vibrations in Airplane Mode High disc loading high downwash Download on wing in hover Complexity and aeroelastic issues Limited autorotation capability Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey (1981-2007) 23 Tilting Ducted Fans Advantages Disadvantages Safety (enclosed thrusters) No tail rotor Small footprint (rotors) Moderate high speed capability
Low efficiency in hover Limited low speed maneuverability Limited autorotation capability High empty weight Complexity (transition)
Bell X -22A 24 Fan-in-wing Advantages Disadvantages Good maximum speed Good cruise efficiency Good maneuverability in cruise Low vibration in cruise Small footprint Attitude independent of speed
Low hover efficiency High downwash Limited autorotation capability Complexity
Vanguard Omniplane Urban Aero Airmule 25 DARPA VTOL X-PLANE VTOL X-Plane seeks to develop a technology demonstrator that could Achieve a top sustained flight speed of 300 kt-400 kt Raise aircraft hover efficiency from 60 percent to at least 75 percent Present a more favorable cruise lift-to-drag ratio of at least 10, up from 5-6 Carry a useful load of at least 40 percent of the vehicles projected gross weight of 10,000-12,000 pounds
26 27 Vectored Jet Lift Advantages Disadvantages High maximum speed High maneuverability at speed Attitude independent of speed Low vibrations Poor hover efficiency Poor autorotative capability Very high downwash Limited maneuverability at low speeds Complexity
F-35B JSF 28 Robo Seed 29 Principles of Rotary-wing Flight Rotor does work on air by pushing it downwards and imparting a small velocity to it Propulsion achieved by tilting rotor disk by use of mechanical device swashplate Mechanism for anti torque 30 Study of Rotorcraft Fundamentally different from that of fixed wing vehicles Centrifugal force Coriolis force causes coupling of flap lag and torsion degrees of freedom Extremely complicated aerodynamic environment resulting from a mix of asymmetric flow, reverse flow, dynamic stall, transonic effects, blade-vortex interaction
Study of rotor of primary importance Source of thrust, propulsion as well as vibration and noise 31 Complex Aerodynamics Asymmetric flow on advancing and retreating sides: control pitch angle variation
Reverse flow on the retreating side: low effective air speeds and lift asymmetry
Tip vortices
Direction of flight Normal force contour plot Direction of flight Advancing side Retreating side 32 Tip Vortices 33 Complex Aerodynamics Multiple dynamic stall cycles
Compressibility and 3D transonic effects on the advancing side
Rotor wake interaction with oncoming blades 13 13.2 13.4 13.6 13.8 14 -200 -150 -100 -50 0 50 100 Rotor Revolutions l b s - i n . / i n
Sectional Pitching Moment 34 Functional Diagram of a Rotor Blade retention, Pitch bearing Flap, lag hinges Rotor blade Blade retention, Pitch bearing Flap, lag hinges Rotor blade Blade retention, Pitch bearing Flap, lag hinges Rotor blade Lag Damper To Hub Aft Lateral Forward = 0 o
= 180 o
= 90 o
= 270 o
Pitch link Servo 35 Rotor Hub Functions of rotor hub Transfer driving torque Retain rotor blades Provide flap and lag hinges Provide mechanism for torsion /pitch change
Types of hubs: Articulated, teetering, hingeless, bearingless Soft-in-plane or stiff-in-plane 36 Areas of Interest Structural dynamics Blade rotating frequencies in vacuum Aerodynamics Unsteady aerodynamics (shed wake) Trailed wake or far wake Flight dynamics Handling qualities Flight stability and control Loads prediction: structural, aerodynamic, control Steady flight: critical for vibration study Unsteady maneuver: sizing of critical helicopter components Acoustics Rotorcraft dynamics 37 Structural Loads Vibration Greatest at high speed
These vibratory loads cause fatigue high speed regime important for vibration sizing Rotor blade loads are low near hover As airspeed increases flap bending moments at midspan of the blade (1 to 24 harmonics) increase 38 Enormous Loads in Maneuvers Pull up maneuver Terrain avoidance maneuver: Based on Utility Tactical Transport Aerial System (UTTAS)
Third highest pitch link load (2.5 times steady flight)
High Loads: Dynamic stall, vortex loading, transonic effects 0 10 20 30 40 0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 Rotor Revolutions Peak to peak Pitch-link load, lbs UTTAS Pull-up High speed C8534 Stall C9017 Low speed C8513 39 Helicopter Design Main rotor structural loads encountered during aggressive severe maneuvers size all rotor components (blades, hub, control linkages, fixed frame servos)
Limited analysis tools to predict these design loads 40 Current Design Practices Current design based on loads " estimated" from flight test loads survey Ground qualification tests Aircraft flight tests Service and evaluation tests Limited analysis (quasi steady) based heavily on empirical factors Sub-optimal, conservative design, with significant weight penalty Testing necessary due to assumptions associated with analysis Accurate analysis necessary to reduce weight and risks/cost associated with extensive flight testing Lot to be done to understand dynamics and aerodynamics