Active Control of Performance and Vibratory Loads using Trailing-Edge Flaps and Leading-Edge Slats

dc.contributor.advisorChopra, Inderjiten_US
dc.contributor.authorRavichandran, Kumaren_US
dc.contributor.departmentAerospace Engineeringen_US
dc.contributor.publisherDigital Repository at the University of Marylanden_US
dc.contributor.publisherUniversity of Maryland (College Park, Md.)en_US
dc.date.accessioned2019-06-19T05:34:58Z
dc.date.available2019-06-19T05:34:58Z
dc.date.issued2019en_US
dc.description.abstractThe objective of this research work is to develop a comprehensive analysis version of UMARC (University of Maryland Advanced Rotor Code) to study the capabilities of trailing-edge flaps (TEFs)and leading-edge slats (LESs) for helicopter vibration reduction and performance improvement and rec- ommend flap and slat configurations for a typical helicopter rotor such as UH-60A rotor, which maximize these benefits. This study uses propulsive free-flight trim except in hover. Using TEFs , the rotor performance in hover was improved with a combination of torsionally softer blades and positive TEF deflections. For the vibration reduction studies, a multicyclic control algorithm was used to determine the actuation schedule . Suitable combi- nations of lower harmonic TEF inputs were shown capable of reducing the rotor power requirement by about 4-5 % at an advance ratio of μ = 0.4. The TEF was shown to be capable of suppressing the vibratory loads at a range of forward speeds, using half peak-to-peak deflections of about 5 °-10 ° . Softening the blades in torsion resulted in larger flap actuation requirements for vibration reduction. Parametric sweeps of TEF actuations were carried out to determine suitable combinations of steady and various frequencies of actuation of flaps , which yield overall power reductions and it is observed that a combination of 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5/rev TEF inputs resulted in a power reduction of 1.5% , while also reducing certain vibratory loads by more than 50% in high speed-forward flight. To explore the advantages of leading-edge slats, the slatted airfoils with configurations S0, S1 and S6 (used by Sikorsky) were used. The slatted blade sections had the SC2110 baseline/slatted airfoils in place of the baseline UH- 60A airfoils. Dynamic actuations are chosen to retain the high-lift benefits of the slats while seeking to minimize profile drag penalties over regions of the rotor disk operating at lower angles of attack, i.e., the advancing side. The effects of leading-edge slats extending over 20%, 30% and 40% of the blade span on rotor performance and vibratory hub loads were examined. The study uses propulsive free flight trim. In moderate to high-speed forward flight,leading-edge slats were shown to enhance the maximum rotor thrust by 15-30% at advance ratios larger than 0.2 and reduce power requirements by 10-20% at high thrust levels. 20% span slats offered a good compromise between power reductions and adverse effect on vibratory hub loads. The rotor with leading-edge slats could be trimmed at a maximum forward speed that was about 20 knots greater than for the baseline rotor with no slats. This study also shows that additional power reduction is achievable by suitable TEF deployments superimposed on certain slat actuations in high-speed forward flight.en_US
dc.identifierhttps://doi.org/10.13016/wr3g-fznd
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/21897
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.subject.pqcontrolledAerospace engineeringen_US
dc.titleActive Control of Performance and Vibratory Loads using Trailing-Edge Flaps and Leading-Edge Slatsen_US
dc.typeDissertationen_US

Files

Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Loading...
Thumbnail Image
Name:
Ravichandran_umd_0117E_19743.pdf
Size:
4.16 MB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format