Scaling and configuration effects on helicopter rotor hub interactional aerodynamics

David Reich; Steven Willits; Sven Schmitz

doi:10.2514/1.C034250

Scaling and configuration effects on helicopter rotor hub interactional aerodynamics

David Reich, Steven Willits, Sven Schmitz

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

20 Scopus citations

Abstract

A 1:17 scale model of a notional rotor hub of a large helicopter was tested in the Pennsylvania State University Applied Research Laboratory 12 in. test-section water tunnel. Objectives of the experiment were to quantify the effects of Reynolds number, advance ratio, and hub geometry configuration on the drag and shed wake of the rotor hub. A range of flow conditions was tested, with hub-diameter-based Reynolds numbers ranging from 1.0 × 10⁶ to 2.6 × 10⁶ and advance ratios ranging from 0.2 to 0.6, as well as nonrotating cases. Five hub geometry configurations were tested with various combinations of components including blade stubs, spiders, scissors, the swashplate, pitch links, and beanie fairing. Measurements included the steady and unsteady hub drag and particle image velocimetry at two downstream locations. Results include time-averaged and phase-averaged analyses of the unsteady drag and wake velocity. A strong dependence of the steady and unsteady hub drag and wake on the advance ratio, Reynolds number, and configuration was observed, demonstrating the importance of adequate Reynolds number scaling for model helicopter rotor hub tests.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	1692-1704
Number of pages	13
Journal	Journal of Aircraft
Volume	54
Issue number	5
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.2514/1.C034250
State	Published - Sep 2017

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

Aerospace Engineering

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10.2514/1.C034250

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@article{c206547f9206424cae504b199dec8d7f,

title = "Scaling and configuration effects on helicopter rotor hub interactional aerodynamics",

abstract = "A 1:17 scale model of a notional rotor hub of a large helicopter was tested in the Pennsylvania State University Applied Research Laboratory 12 in. test-section water tunnel. Objectives of the experiment were to quantify the effects of Reynolds number, advance ratio, and hub geometry configuration on the drag and shed wake of the rotor hub. A range of flow conditions was tested, with hub-diameter-based Reynolds numbers ranging from 1.0 × 106 to 2.6 × 106 and advance ratios ranging from 0.2 to 0.6, as well as nonrotating cases. Five hub geometry configurations were tested with various combinations of components including blade stubs, spiders, scissors, the swashplate, pitch links, and beanie fairing. Measurements included the steady and unsteady hub drag and particle image velocimetry at two downstream locations. Results include time-averaged and phase-averaged analyses of the unsteady drag and wake velocity. A strong dependence of the steady and unsteady hub drag and wake on the advance ratio, Reynolds number, and configuration was observed, demonstrating the importance of adequate Reynolds number scaling for model helicopter rotor hub tests.",

author = "David Reich and Steven Willits and Sven Schmitz",

note = "Funding Information: This work was supported under Vertical Lift Research Center of Excellence task 1.2 at the Pennsylvania State University, funded by the U.S. Army, the U.S. Navy, and NASA. Tom Maier, Mahendra Bhagwat (Army Aeroflightdynamics Directorate), and Judah Milgram (Office of Naval Research) are the technical Points Of Contact. This research is partially funded by the U.S. Government under agreement number W911W6-11-2-0011. The authors would also like to thank Leonard Metkowski for invaluable assistance in setup and running experiments, as well as Michael McPhail and Grant Dowell for their invaluable assistance in performing the particle image velocimetry measurements. The views and conclusions contained in this document are those of the authors and should not be interpreted as representing the official policies, either expressed or implied, of the U.S. Government. Publisher Copyright: Copyright {\textcopyright} 2017 by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Inc. All rights reserved.",

year = "2017",

month = sep,

doi = "10.2514/1.C034250",

language = "English (US)",

volume = "54",

pages = "1692--1704",

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issn = "0021-8669",

publisher = "American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Inc. (AIAA)",

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T1 - Scaling and configuration effects on helicopter rotor hub interactional aerodynamics

AU - Reich, David

AU - Willits, Steven

AU - Schmitz, Sven

N1 - Funding Information: This work was supported under Vertical Lift Research Center of Excellence task 1.2 at the Pennsylvania State University, funded by the U.S. Army, the U.S. Navy, and NASA. Tom Maier, Mahendra Bhagwat (Army Aeroflightdynamics Directorate), and Judah Milgram (Office of Naval Research) are the technical Points Of Contact. This research is partially funded by the U.S. Government under agreement number W911W6-11-2-0011. The authors would also like to thank Leonard Metkowski for invaluable assistance in setup and running experiments, as well as Michael McPhail and Grant Dowell for their invaluable assistance in performing the particle image velocimetry measurements. The views and conclusions contained in this document are those of the authors and should not be interpreted as representing the official policies, either expressed or implied, of the U.S. Government. Publisher Copyright: Copyright © 2017 by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Inc. All rights reserved.

PY - 2017/9

Y1 - 2017/9

N2 - A 1:17 scale model of a notional rotor hub of a large helicopter was tested in the Pennsylvania State University Applied Research Laboratory 12 in. test-section water tunnel. Objectives of the experiment were to quantify the effects of Reynolds number, advance ratio, and hub geometry configuration on the drag and shed wake of the rotor hub. A range of flow conditions was tested, with hub-diameter-based Reynolds numbers ranging from 1.0 × 106 to 2.6 × 106 and advance ratios ranging from 0.2 to 0.6, as well as nonrotating cases. Five hub geometry configurations were tested with various combinations of components including blade stubs, spiders, scissors, the swashplate, pitch links, and beanie fairing. Measurements included the steady and unsteady hub drag and particle image velocimetry at two downstream locations. Results include time-averaged and phase-averaged analyses of the unsteady drag and wake velocity. A strong dependence of the steady and unsteady hub drag and wake on the advance ratio, Reynolds number, and configuration was observed, demonstrating the importance of adequate Reynolds number scaling for model helicopter rotor hub tests.

AB - A 1:17 scale model of a notional rotor hub of a large helicopter was tested in the Pennsylvania State University Applied Research Laboratory 12 in. test-section water tunnel. Objectives of the experiment were to quantify the effects of Reynolds number, advance ratio, and hub geometry configuration on the drag and shed wake of the rotor hub. A range of flow conditions was tested, with hub-diameter-based Reynolds numbers ranging from 1.0 × 106 to 2.6 × 106 and advance ratios ranging from 0.2 to 0.6, as well as nonrotating cases. Five hub geometry configurations were tested with various combinations of components including blade stubs, spiders, scissors, the swashplate, pitch links, and beanie fairing. Measurements included the steady and unsteady hub drag and particle image velocimetry at two downstream locations. Results include time-averaged and phase-averaged analyses of the unsteady drag and wake velocity. A strong dependence of the steady and unsteady hub drag and wake on the advance ratio, Reynolds number, and configuration was observed, demonstrating the importance of adequate Reynolds number scaling for model helicopter rotor hub tests.

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Scaling and configuration effects on helicopter rotor hub interactional aerodynamics

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