Design parameters improvement of helicopter ducted tail rotor

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to reduce the acoustic noise of helicopter ducted tail rotor. Design/methodology/approach To predict the noise accurately, a thin-body boundary element method (BEM)/Ffowcs Williams–Hawkings method is developed in this paper. It is a hybrid method combining the BEM with computational aeroacoustics and can be used efficiently to predict the propagation of sound wave in the duct. Findings Compared with the experimental results, the proposed method of acoustic noise is rather desirable. Practical implications Then several geometry parameters are modified to investigate the noise reduction of ducted tail rotor by using the numerical prediction method. Originality/value The aerodynamic and acoustic performance of different modification tasks is discussed. These results demonstrate the validity of design parameters modification of ducted tail rotor in acoustic noise reduction.