Evaluation of CFD to Determine Two-Dimensional Airfoil Characteristics for Rotorcraft Applications
Abstract
The efficient prediction of helicopter rotor performance, vibratory loads, and aeroelastic properties still relies heavily on the use of comprehensive analysis codes by the rotorcraft industry. These comprehensive codes utilize look-up tables to provide two-dimensional aerodynamic characteristics. Typically these tables are comprised of a combination of wind tunnel data, empirical data and numerical analyses. The potential to rely more heavily on numerical computations based on Computational Fluid Dynamics "CFD" simulations has become more of a reality with the advent of faster computers and more sophisticated physical models. The ability of five different CFD codes applied independently to predict the lift, drag and pitching moments of rotor airfoils is examined for the SC1095 airfoil, which is utilized in the UH-60A main rotor. Extensive comparisons with the results of ten wind tunnel tests are performed. These CFD computations are found to be as good as experimental data in predicting many of the aerodynamic performance characteristics.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 01, 2004
- Accession Number
- ADA480606
Entities
People
- James Baeder
- Marilyn J. Smith
- Mark Potsdam
- Sujeet Phanse
- Tin-chee Wong
Organizations
- United States Army Research, Development and Engineering Command