Thanks to Computational Fluid Dynamics techniques, it is now possible to investigate more complex interaction phenomena, which in the past could not be taken into account during the early phases of a helicopter design. This paper presents the studies performed at EUROCOPTER on the interaction of the main rotor wake with the helicopter fuselage. The paper first shows the necessity to couple a CFD code and a helicopter overall simulation code in order to take into account the significant interaction effects on the trim. These computations are performed thanks to coupling techniques between the elsA code (ONERA) and HOST (EUROCOPTER). The second part assesses the complex interaction flow between the rotor hub and the fuselage in terms of drag. The Chimera technique developed in elsA by ONERA is intensively used for these computations. The very encouraging results of this study show the necessity to develop deeper coupling between CFD codes and a global helicopter simulation code. CFD shows here its tremendous capacity to capture phenomenon that cannot easily be reproduced by wind tunnel techniques. This allows a clearer understanding of characteristics rotor hub/fuselage interactions and can lead to a better optimisation of the aerodynamic behaviour of a helicopter.
Influence of rotor wakes on helicopter aerodynamic behaviour
2009
13 Seiten, 29 Bilder, 9 Tabellen, 8 Quellen
Aufsatz (Konferenz)
Datenträger
Englisch
Influence of Rotor Wakes on Helicopter Aerodynamic Behaviour
British Library Conference Proceedings | 2009
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