Abstract
The fact that helicopter rotors encounter transonic aerodynamic flow problems has been recognised for several years, and with this realisation there has been considerable activity in recent years in the study of ways of improving rotor performance through blade section and tip design [1–12]. Research into transonic aerodynamics has tended to be aimed essentially at fixed wing aircraft, but the field of rotor design has offered a particularly fruitful area for the application of the knowledge and advances that have been acquired. This particular outlet for transonic aerodynamic advances may not be fully appreciated by the specialist in the field, so this paper sets out to review the way in which these advances are leading to a revolution in rotor design. Until recently, many production helicopter rotors had blades of constant symmetric section (typically the NACA 0012 profile). Now, helicopters are flying with blades of cambered section, with spanwise variation, and also with novel tip planforms. The optimum blade geometry, for a given helicopter, can only be derived if its characteristics in transonic flow are well understood.
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© 1976 Springer-Verlag, Berlin/Heidelberg
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Wilby, P.G., Grant, J. (1976). Transonic Aerodynamics and the Helicopter Rotor. In: Oswatitsch, K., Rues, D. (eds) Symposium Transsonicum II. International Union of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-81005-3_39
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-81005-3_39
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