Helicopter performance enhancement by alleviating retreating blade stall using active flow control
In this study, a model was created numerically to study the effect of active flow control on helicopter blade to improve the retreating blade stall. Active flow control is applied to helicopter blades to improve retreating blade stall along with the overall helicopter performance. The novel aspect o...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Elsevier
2023-09-01
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| Series: | Scientific African |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2468227623003435 |
| _version_ | 1797676230294634496 |
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| author | Tarek Mokhtar Tawfik Soltan M.M. Abdelrahman |
| author_facet | Tarek Mokhtar Tawfik Soltan M.M. Abdelrahman |
| author_sort | Tarek Mokhtar Tawfik Soltan |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In this study, a model was created numerically to study the effect of active flow control on helicopter blade to improve the retreating blade stall. Active flow control is applied to helicopter blades to improve retreating blade stall along with the overall helicopter performance. The novel aspect of this study is using active control in a helicopter with a complex aerodynamic environment and using it in all significant flight modes. This has the advantage of practical application since active control can be used constantly without having to turn it off. The flow control is established by using blowing jets at the leading edge of the airfoil that is used at the tip part of the main rotor blade. 2D and 3D computational fluid dynamics (CFD) Turbulent-unsteady models are developed to investigate the effect of applying blowing jets on different helicopter modes of flight (hover and forward flight). Different excitation parameters and turbulence models are compared to get the maximum possible enhancement of the aerodynamic characteristic of the flow both in 2D and 3D. The results are validated against a NASA helicopter main rotor hub with known geometry and available performance parameters. Both models illustrated a good agreement with the published benchmark problem. The results revealed that the active control blowing jets can enhance the stall characteristics and aerodynamic performance of helicopter blades. The method delays the flow separation and increase the blade lift by about 10% in addition to a 40% increase in the lift to drag ratio. Thus, we can conclude that the present active control technique can enhance the helicopter in forward flight by delaying the retreating blade stall. This research offers insightful information on the usage of blowing jets for rotor flow control. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T22:25:58Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-86fc911c0e8a4904b2a1fb3e5dee4c11 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2468-2276 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T22:25:58Z |
| publishDate | 2023-09-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Scientific African |
| spelling | doaj.art-86fc911c0e8a4904b2a1fb3e5dee4c112023-09-24T05:16:30ZengElsevierScientific African2468-22762023-09-0121e01888Helicopter performance enhancement by alleviating retreating blade stall using active flow controlTarek Mokhtar Tawfik Soltan0M.M. Abdelrahman1Corresponding author.; Aerospace Engineering Department, Cairo University, Cairo, EgyptAerospace Engineering Department, Cairo University, Cairo, EgyptIn this study, a model was created numerically to study the effect of active flow control on helicopter blade to improve the retreating blade stall. Active flow control is applied to helicopter blades to improve retreating blade stall along with the overall helicopter performance. The novel aspect of this study is using active control in a helicopter with a complex aerodynamic environment and using it in all significant flight modes. This has the advantage of practical application since active control can be used constantly without having to turn it off. The flow control is established by using blowing jets at the leading edge of the airfoil that is used at the tip part of the main rotor blade. 2D and 3D computational fluid dynamics (CFD) Turbulent-unsteady models are developed to investigate the effect of applying blowing jets on different helicopter modes of flight (hover and forward flight). Different excitation parameters and turbulence models are compared to get the maximum possible enhancement of the aerodynamic characteristic of the flow both in 2D and 3D. The results are validated against a NASA helicopter main rotor hub with known geometry and available performance parameters. Both models illustrated a good agreement with the published benchmark problem. The results revealed that the active control blowing jets can enhance the stall characteristics and aerodynamic performance of helicopter blades. The method delays the flow separation and increase the blade lift by about 10% in addition to a 40% increase in the lift to drag ratio. Thus, we can conclude that the present active control technique can enhance the helicopter in forward flight by delaying the retreating blade stall. This research offers insightful information on the usage of blowing jets for rotor flow control.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2468227623003435HelicopterRetreating stallAerodynamicsTurbulenceActive control |
| spellingShingle | Tarek Mokhtar Tawfik Soltan M.M. Abdelrahman Helicopter performance enhancement by alleviating retreating blade stall using active flow control Scientific African Helicopter Retreating stall Aerodynamics Turbulence Active control |
| title | Helicopter performance enhancement by alleviating retreating blade stall using active flow control |
| title_full | Helicopter performance enhancement by alleviating retreating blade stall using active flow control |
| title_fullStr | Helicopter performance enhancement by alleviating retreating blade stall using active flow control |
| title_full_unstemmed | Helicopter performance enhancement by alleviating retreating blade stall using active flow control |
| title_short | Helicopter performance enhancement by alleviating retreating blade stall using active flow control |
| title_sort | helicopter performance enhancement by alleviating retreating blade stall using active flow control |
| topic | Helicopter Retreating stall Aerodynamics Turbulence Active control |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2468227623003435 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT tarekmokhtartawfiksoltan helicopterperformanceenhancementbyalleviatingretreatingbladestallusingactiveflowcontrol AT mmabdelrahman helicopterperformanceenhancementbyalleviatingretreatingbladestallusingactiveflowcontrol |