A new rotor configuration called the variable camber rotor was investigated numerically for its potential to reduce helicopter control loads and improve hover performance. This rotor differs from a conventional rotor in that it incorporates a deflectable 50 % chord trailing edge flap to control is achieved by linking the blade flap to a conventional swashplate mechanism, therefore, it is the pilot action on the flap deflection that controls rotor lift and tip path plane tilt. The computer codes and their theoretical bases for the analysis of airfoil characteristics is presented. Evaluations of aerodynamics techniques to minimize hinge moment level and variability with angle-of-attack and Mach number are presented. The computer base analyses for the hovering rotor performance and the physical concepts of the blade motion and rotor control are given. The assessment of payoff for the total configuration in comparison with a conventional blade, having the same physical characteristics as an H-34 Helicopter blade was examined. The variable camber rotor configuration is shown to reduce shaft power required by at least 2.6 % for a flap deflection of 2 degrees. This power improvement was attributed to a change in the spanwise lift distribution decreasing both profile and induced power of the rotor.
Analysis of a variable camber device for helicopter rotor systems
Analyse einer variablen Anstellwinkelvorrichtung fuer Hubschrauberrotorsysteme
1981
231 Seiten
Theses
English
NTIS | 1982
|NTRS | 1982
|NTIS | 1973
NTIS | 1973