An assessment of the transient effect on helicopter main rotor stability and power demand

Abstract

The researched object os a helicopter main rotor with blades of variable geometric twist characteristics. Variable torsion refers to systems of actuators made of shape memory alloys. The presented numerical analyses allow for evaluating both the dynamics of the rotor in transient states, i.e. in the zone between the static phase and the full activation phase and the impact of the change on the pulsation of the amplitude of the necessary power generated by the rotor corresponding the flight state, and thus covering the demand by the disposable power generated by the engine. This study follows a methodology of numerical analyses based on Multi Body Dynamics and the Finite Element Method and uses fluid mechanics elements and algorithms to analyze lift generation, compiled in a single computational environment referring to the same period of time.