Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-2plfb Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-30T16:14:03.559Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Experimental investigation of the rotor-wing aerodynamic interaction in a tiltwing aircraft in hover

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 January 2016

G. Droandi ,
A. Zanotti ,
G. Gibertini ,
D. Grassi  and
G. Campanardi
A. Zanotti
Affiliation:
Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Aerospaziali, Politecnico di Milano, Milano, Italy
G. Gibertini
Affiliation:
Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Aerospaziali, Politecnico di Milano, Milano, Italy
D. Grassi
Affiliation:
Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Aerospaziali, Politecnico di Milano, Milano, Italy
G. Campanardi
Affiliation:
Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Aerospaziali, Politecnico di Milano, Milano, Italy
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The hovering performance and the lifting capability of tiltrotor aircraft are strongly affected by the aerodynamic interaction between wing and rotors. The tiltwing concept represents a promising technology to increase the hover performance by reducing the wing-rotor interference. The present work describes an experimental activity carried out on a ¼ scaled tiltwing aircraft half-model to achieve a detailed insight about the main issues characterising the aerodynamic interaction between wing and rotor in hover. The results of the experimental campaign, including both force measurements and Particle Image Velocimetry surveys, enabled to evaluate both the aircraft performance for different configurations of the tilting wing and to achieve a detailed insight about the flow physics of the rotor wake in the interaction with the wing. The test activity provided a comprehensive experimental database that was obtained over a not confidential aircraft configuration.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Aeronautical Journal , Volume 119 , Issue 1215 , May 2015 , pp. 591 - 612
Copyright
Copyright © Royal Aeronautical Society 2015

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1.Maisel, M., Giulianetti, D. and Dugan, D. The history of the XV-15 tilt rotor research aircraft: from concept to flight, Monographs in Aerospace History, 17 SP-2000-4517, NASA History Division, 2000.Google Scholar
2.Gazdag, D. and Altonin, L. Potential use of tiltrotor aircraft in Canadian aviation, Technical Report TM-102245, NASA Technical Memorandum, 1990.Google Scholar
3.Darabi, A., Stalker, A., McVeigh, M. and Wygnanski, I.The Rotor Wake Above a Tiltrotor AirplaneModel in Hover, 33rd AIAA Fluid Dynamics Conference, Orlando, Florida, USA, 23-26 June 2003.Google Scholar
4.McVeigh, M.A.The V-22 Tiltrotor large-scale rotor performance/wing download test and comparison with theory, Vertica, 1986, 10, (3/4), pp 281–297.Google Scholar
5.Felker, F. and Light, J.S. Aerodynamic interactions between a rotor and wing in hover, J American Helicopter Society, April 1988, pp 53–61.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
6.McCluer, M. and Johnson, J.Full-Span Tiltrotor Aeroacoustic Model (FS TRAM). Overview and Initial Testing, American Helicopter Society Aerodynamics, Acoustics, and Test and Evaluation Technical Specialists Meeting, San Francisco, CA, USA, 23-25 January 2002.Google Scholar
7.Johnson, W.Calculation of Tilt Rotor Aeroacoustic Model (TRAM DNW) Performance, Airloads, and Structural Loads, American Helicopter Society Aeromechanics Specialists Meeting, Atlanta, Georgia, USA, November 2000.Google Scholar
8.Felker, F.Wing Download results from a test of a 0•658-Scale V-22 rotor and wing, J American Helicopter Society, October 1992, 37, (4), pp 58–63.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
9.McVeigh, M., Grauer, W. and Paisley, D.Rotor/airframe interaction on tiltrotor aircraft, J American Helicopter Society, July 1990, 35, (3), pp 43–51.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
10.Polak, D., Rehm, W. and George, A.Effects of an image plane on the tiltrotor fountain flow, J American Helicopter Society, April 2000, 45, (2), pp 90–96.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
11.Alli, P., Nannoni, F. and Cicalè, M.ERICA: The european tiltrotor design and critical technology projects, International Air and Space Symposium and Exposition: The Next 100 Years, Dayton, Ohio, USA, 14-17 July 2005.Google Scholar
12.Gupta, V. and Baeder, J.D.Investigation of Quad Tiltrotor Aerodynamics in Forward Flight Using CFD, 20th AIAA Applied Aerodynamics Conference, St Louis, Missouri, USA, 24-26 June 2002.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
13.Lefebvre, T., Beaumier, P., Canard-Caruana, S., Pisoni, A., Pagano, A., Sorrentino, A., der Wall, B. V., Yin, J., Arzoumanian, C., Voutsinas, S. and Hermans, C.Aerodynamic and aero-acoustic optimization of modern tilt-rotor blades within the ADYN project, 4th European Congress on Computational Methods in Applied Sciences and Engineering, Jyvaskyla, Finland, 24-28 July 2004.Google Scholar
14.Decours, J., Burguburu, S. and Falissard, F.Performance Assessment of the Erica Tilt-Rotor in Cruise, 36th European Rotorcraft Forum, Paris, France, 7-9 September 2010.Google Scholar
15.Droandi, G., Gibertini, G. and Biava, M.Wing-Rotor Aerodynamic Interaction in Tiltrotor Aircraft, 38th European Rotorcraft Forum, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 4-7 September 2012.Google Scholar
16.Droandi, G., Gibertini, G., Lanz, M., Campanardi, G. and Grassi, D.Wing-Rotor Interaction On A ¼-Scale Tiltrotor Half-Model, 39th European Rotorcraft Forum, Moscow, Russia, 3-6 September 2013.Google Scholar
17.Gibertini, G., Auteri, F., Campanardi, G., Macchi, C., Zanotti, A. and Stabellini, A.Wind tunnel tests of a tilt-rotor aircraft, Aeronaut J, May 2011, 115, (1167), pp 315–322.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
18.Beaumier, P., Decours, J. and Lefebvre, T.Aerodynamic and Aeroacoustic Desing of Moder Tilt-Rotors: the Onera Experience, 26th International Congress of the Aeronautical Sciences, Anchorage, Alaska, USA, 14-19 September 2008.Google Scholar
19.Grife, A., Darabi, A. and Wygnanski, I.Download Reduction on a Three Dimensional V-22 Model Using Active Flow Control, 1st AIAA Flow Control Conference, St Louis, Missouri, USA, 24-26 June 2002.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
20.Droandi, G.Wing-Rotor Aerodynamic Interaction in Tiltrotor Aircraft, PhD thesis, Politecnico di Milano, Milan, Italy, 2014.Google Scholar
21.Droandi, G. and Gibertini, G.Aerodynamic blade design with multi-objective optimization for a tiltrotor aircraft, Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, 2015, 87, N. 1, pp 19–29.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
22.Abbott, I. and Doenhoff, A.V.Theory of Wing Sections, Including a Summary of Aerofoil Data, McGraw-Hill, (Reprinted by Dover Publications, 1959), 1949.Google Scholar
23.Loftin, L.K. Jr, Theoretical and Experimental Data for a Number of NACA 6A-Series Aerofoil Section, Technical Report TR-903 (Supersedes NACA TN-1368), NACA, 1948.Google Scholar
24.Zanotti, A., Grassi, D. and Gibertini, G.Experimental investigation of a trailing edge L-shaped tab on a pitching aerofoil in deep dynamic stall conditions, Proc of IMechE, Part G: J Aerospace Engineering, 228, N. 12, 2014, pp 2371–2382.Google Scholar
25. PIVTEC, PIV view 2C version 3.0. User manual, www.pivtec.com, January 2009.Google Scholar
26.Raffel, M., Willert, C. and Kompenhans, J.Particle Image Velocimetry, a practical guide, Springer, 1998.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
27.Young, L., Lillie, D., McCluer, M., Yamauchi, G. and Derby, M.Insights into Airframe Aerodynamics and Rotor-on-Wing Interactions from a 0.25-Scale Tiltrotor Wind Tunnel Model, American Helicopter Society Aerodynamics, Acoustics, and Test and Evaluation Technical Specialists Meeting, San Francisco, California, USA, 23-25 January 2002.Google Scholar
28.Bhagwat, M. and Leishman, G.On the aerodynamic stability of helicopter rotor wakes, AIAA J, 2000, 38, (2), pp 301–308.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
29.Metcalfe, R., Orszag, S., Brachet, M., Menon, S. and Riley, J.Secondary instability of a temporally growing mixing layer, J Fluid Mechanics, 1987, 184, pp 207–243.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
30.Gibertini, G., Mencarelli, A. and Zanotti, A., Oscillating aerofoil and perpendicular vortex interaction, Proc of IMechE, Part G: J Aerospace Engineering, 2014, 228, N. 6, pp 846–858.Google Scholar