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Simultaneous Vibration Reduction and Performance Improvement of Helicopter Rotor Using Individual Blade Pitch Control with Multiple Harmonic Inputs

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Abstract

This study attempts to minimize vibrations while improving the aerodynamic performance of a UH-60A helicopter rotor using individual blade pitch control (IBC) with multiple harmonic inputs. A nonlinear flexible multibody dynamics analysis code, DYMORE II, integrated with a free-wake model, is used for rotor aeromechanics modeling and analyses. The rotor vibration index (VI) at advance ratios of 0.40 and 0.35 are minimized by 20% and 31%, respectively, when 2P and 3P actuation frequencies are applied, respectively; however, the IBC inputs for minimization of rotor vibration increase the rotor power by 2.66% and 2.34%, respectively. Therefore, IBC using combined 2P and 3P actuations is applied to achieve simultaneous vibration minimization and performance improvement (power reduction) of the UH-60A rotor at an advance ratio of 0.35. The best IBC pitch amplitudes and control phase angles for the combined 2P and 3P actuations are determined from the design optimization using a gradient-based optimizer, fmincon, based on the sequential quadratic programming in the MATLAB Optimization ToolBox. When 2P actuation with an amplitude of 2.15° and a control phase angle of 198° (2P/2.15°/198°) and 3P actuation with an amplitude of 1.21° and a control phase angle of 69.93° (3P/1.21°/69.93°) are applied in combination with the IBC input, the rotor VI decreases by 38.72%, whereas the rotor power slightly decreases by 0.11%. This study shows that an IBC with optimized multiple harmonic inputs can simultaneously minimize rotor vibration and improve rotor performance at a high-speed flight.

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Data Availability

The numerical data used to support the findings of this study are included within the article.

Abbreviations

CL :

Rotor lift coefficient

CMx :

Rotor roll moment coefficient (positive for starboard down)

CX :

Rotor propulsive coefficient

F4P :

4P hub vibratory force, lb

M4P :

4P hub vibratory moment, lb-ft

M2Cd :

Section drag coefficient

M2Cl :

Section lift coefficient

R:

Rotor radius, ft

αs :

Rotor shaft angle, deg. (positive for aft tilt)

σ:

Rotor solidity

Ω:

Rotation speed of a rotor, RPM or rad/s

μ:

Advance ratio

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by Korea Research Institute for defense Technology Planning and advancement (KRIT) grant funded by the Korea government (DAPA (Defense Acquisition Program Administration)) (no. KRIT-CT-21-020, Development of Higher Harmonic Control (HHC) SW for Helicopter Vibration Reduction, 2023) (contribution rate: 50%). This study was supported by Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Education (2020R1I1A3071793) (contribution rate: 25%). This research was supported by Basic Science Research Program funded by Ministry of Science and ICT (2021R1A5A1031868) (contribution rate: 25%).

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  1. Department of Aerospace Engineering, Chungnam National University, Daejeon, 34134, Korea

    Jae-Sang Park

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Communicated by Haeseong Cho.

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Park, JS. Simultaneous Vibration Reduction and Performance Improvement of Helicopter Rotor Using Individual Blade Pitch Control with Multiple Harmonic Inputs. Int. J. Aeronaut. Space Sci. (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42405-024-00744-2

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