On the aerodynamic interactions analysis between the main rotor and the helicopter fuselage

Abstract

This paper develops a numerical method that is capable of analyzing the aerodynamic characteristic of the helicopter main rotor in consider the influence of fuselage. The method is based on an unsteady nonlinear vortex-lattice method that can be used to simulate the interactions among the helicopter components efficiently. To clarify the effect of the main rotor-fuselage interaction, the aerodynamic characteristics of the main rotor in consider the influence of fuselage is determined along with those of the combined main rotor-fuselage system. The paper also shows the velocity field and free wake model in several flight regimes. The fuselage is modeled as a streamlined object, which is discretized into the system of quadrilateral vortex panels. The no-penetration boundary condition is satisfied on the fuselage surface, and no vorticity is shed from the fuselage. The results obtained in this paper are validated against experimental data and some from previous numerical methods.