Stability of the Vertical Autorotation of a Single-Winged Samara

Abstract

A numerical model to investigate the stability of the vertical autorotation of a singlewinged samara is presented. This model is obtained after the method of small perturbations about an equilibrium state is applied on the nonlinear equations of motion of the samara. The aerodynamic stability derivatives of the wing are obtained by numerical differentiation. The model is used in order to study the influence of different parameters on the stability. Since the stability is highly dependent on the basic equilibrium state, the influence of the different parameters on the basic state is also presented and discussed. The theoretical model is validated by comparing its results with qualitative experimental results.