Nonlinear Dynamics in the Modeling of Helicopter Rotor Blade Lead/Lag Motion.

Abstract

Until recently, computer simulations of helicopter rotor dynamics have employed equations of motion that have been linearized or simplified. These modified equations of motion did not allow for the evaluation of nonlinear material properties in the rotor since higher order terms in the dynamics had been modified in the simplification process. With recent advances in both computer simulation hardware and symbolic mathematic manipulation software, the full nonlinear equations of motion may be utilized in helicopter rotor simulations. This dissertation reports on the use of the full nonlinear equations of motion in the analysis of rotor blade lead/lag motion and its effect on rotor hub and rigid body fulselage motion. Nonlinear modeling methods are implemented using Maple symbolic mathematic manipulation software and Matlab and Simulink computer simulation environments. Results are compared to the RAH-66 Comanche Froude scale wind tunnel article and new methodologies evaluated in the search for a damperless rotor system that is free of ground and air resonance mechanical instabilities.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jun 01, 1999
Accession Number
ADA366866

Entities

People

  • Robert L. King

Organizations

  • Naval Postgraduate School

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Ground and Sea Platforms

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Aircraft Equipment
  • Aircrafts
  • Airframes
  • Composite Materials
  • Computational Science
  • Computer Simulations
  • Computers
  • Equations
  • Equations Of Motion
  • Fuselages
  • Helicopter Rotors
  • Helicopters
  • Nonlinear Dynamics
  • Resonant Frequency
  • Rotary Wing Aircraft
  • Wind Tunnel Tests
  • Wind Tunnels

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Aerospace Engineering
  • Computational Modeling and Simulation
  • Control Systems Engineering.