Analytical modeling of a cyclorotor in hovering state

Abstract

In the paper it is proposed and described in detail a mathematical model that is able to assist in the design of cycloidal rotors. The method is formulated on a semi-empirical way including unsteady aerodynamic effects that are based on first principles. It is able to predict the overall generated thrust and the power required by the operation of the cycloidal rotor. The model also includes a kinematic package that can provide an instantaneous design and animation of the cycloidal rotor under different regimes of operation. For validation it was addressed three different rotor configurations where it was varied several rotor parameters, namely: pitch amplitude; pitching axis location; blade chord; airfoil thickness; phase angle of eccentricity. It was shown that the proposed model is able to provide a good estimation of thrust and power when compared with the experimental data from these different sources, showing that the semi-empirical approach could be applied in a more general way.