Wind Tunnel Evaluation of a Model Helicopter Main-Rotor Blade With Slotted Airfoils at the Tip
Abstract
Data for rotors using unconventional airfoils are of interest to permit an evaluation of this technology's capability to meet the U.S. Army's need for increased helicopter mission effectiveness and improved safety and survivability. Thus, an experimental investigation was conducted in the Langley Transonic Dynamics Tunnel (TDT) to evaluate the effect of using slotted airfoils in the rotor blade tip region (85 to 100 percent radius) on rotor aerodynamic performance and loads. Four rotor configurations were tested in forward flight at advance ratios from 0.15 to 0.45 and in hover in-ground effect. The hover tip Mach number was 0.627, which is representative of a design point of 4000-ft geometric altitude and a temperature of 95 degrees F. The baseline rotor configuration had a conventional single element airfoil in the tip region. A second rotor configuration had a forward-slotted airfoil with a -6 degrees slat, a third configuration had a forward-slotted airfoil with a -10 degrees slat, and a fourth configuration had an aft-slotted airfoil with a 3 degrees flap (trailing edge down). The results of this investigation indicate that the -6 degrees slat configuration offers some performance and loads benefits over the other three configurations.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Dec 01, 2001
- Accession Number
- ADA406408
Entities
People
- Jeffrey D. Singleton
- Kevin W. Noonan
- Matthew L. Wilbur
- Paul H. Mirick
- William T. Yeager Jr.
Organizations
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration