Analytical Calculation of Helicopter Main Rotor Blade Flight Loads in Hover and Forward Flight
Analytical Calculation of Helicopter Main Rotor Blade Flight Loads in Hover and Forward Flight
Analytical Calculation of Helicopter Main Rotor Blade Flight Loads in Hover and Forward Flight
by Ki C. Kim
Disclaimers
The findings in this report are not to be construed as an official Department of the Army position unless
so designated by other authorized documents.
Citation of manufacturer’s or trade names does not constitute an official endorsement or approval of the
use thereof.
Destroy this report when it is no longer needed. Do not return it to the originator.
Army Research Laboratory
Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD 21005-5068
Ki C. Kim
Survivability/Lethality Analysis Directorate, ARL
14. ABSTRACT
An aeroelastic analysis was conducted to calculate flight loads on the OH-58D Kiowa Warrior main rotor blade at hover and
forward flight conditions. Centrifugal force and flap and chord bending moments were calculated with the University of
Maryland Advanced Rotorcraft Code (UMARC) comprehensive helicopter aeroelastic analysis code. The calculated loads were
correlated with available flight data for the Bell model 406LM helicopter (model 406T rotor blade) to validate the analytical
model. After the correlation study, UMARC was used to calculate blade loads at the ballistic test section radial stations. These
baseline loads were represented during the ballistic tests. This report presents the methods and results of the aeroelastic
analysis.
ii
Contents
List of Figures iv
List of Tables iv
1. Introduction 1
4. Summary 12
5. References 13
Distribution List 15
iii
List of Figures
List of Tables
iv
1. Introduction
In support of Kiowa Warrior (KW) main rotor blade ballistic vulnerability tests under the Live
Fire Test and Evaluation program (1), a comprehensive helicopter aeroelastic analysis was
conducted to calculate flight loads on the OH-58D KW main rotor blade at hover and forward
flight conditions. Centrifugal force (CF) and flap and chord bending moments were calculated
with the University of Maryland Advanced Rotorcraft Code (UMARC) comprehensive
helicopter aeroelastic analysis code (2).
The calculated loads were first correlated with available flight data for the Bell Model 406LM
helicopter to validate the analytical model. After the correlation study, UMARC was used to
calculate blade loads at the ballistic test section radial stations. These baseline loads were
represented during the ballistic tests (1).
The UMARC helicopter aeroelastic model used in the present study is a nonlinear representation
of elastic rotor blades coupled to a rigid fuselage. The key feature in UMARC is the use of a
finite element (FE) methodology, which can accurately model the kinematics and elastic
behavior of the rotating blade. The rotor blade is assumed to be an elastic beam undergoing flap
bending, lag bending, elastic twist, and axial deflections. The helicopter fuselage is assumed to
be a rigid body undergoing six degrees of freedom. Each blade is modeled as a number of beam
FEs. The formulation for the blade and fuselage equations of motion is based on Hamilton’s
energy principle. The analysis is developed for helicopters with nonuniform rotor blades having
pretwist, precone, and chord-wise offsets of the center of mass, aerodynamic center, and tension
center, from the elastic axis.
This report presents the methods and results of the aeroelastic analysis. Definitions of symbols
used in the report are given in the List of Abbreviations and Symbols. In section 2, the
formulation details and aerodynamic model used in UMARC helicopter aeroelastic analysis code
are presented. Numerical results are shown and compared with available flight data in section 3.
The summary and recommendations for future work are presented in section 4.
The calculation of rotor loads is a difficult task because of the complex interactions of structural,
inertial, and aerodynamic forces acting on the rotary wing. Basically, it is necessary to calculate
the periodic aerodynamic and inertial forces of the blade, and thus the resulting motion of
structural components. Since the higher harmonic blade loading is the principal source of high
loads, an accurate analysis of the rotor aerodynamics is required, including the effects of the
1
rotor wake, stall, and compressibility. The high frequencies involved and the importance of
resonance excitation also require good inertial and structural models.
2
2.2 Vehicle Trim
Propulsive trim, which simulates an aircraft free-flight condition, is used to calculate the initial
rotor control settings. The solution is determined from the overall equilibrium—three force
(vertical, longitudinal, and lateral) and three moment (pitch, roll, and yaw) equations. (See Kim
[4] for more details.)
For a specified helicopter weight coefficient, Cw, and a forward speed, µ, the unknown quantities
to be determined from the vehicle equilibrium equations are as follows:
u T = [α s , φ s , θ . 75 , θ 1 c , θ 1 s , θ tail ] . (1)
These values are recalculated iteratively using the modified hub forces and moments, including
the blade elastic responses. The solution technique is based on a modified Newton’s method.
The rotor controls, which are updated at the ith iteration, can be expressed in a canonical form as
follows:
u i +1 ≅ u i + ∆u i , (2)
in which
∂F
∆u i = − |u =u0 F (u i ) , (3)
∂u
where uo is the trim control settings obtained initially using the rigid flapping blade solution and
∂F
the Jacobian is calculated using the finite difference approach. For computational
∂u
efficiency, the Jacobian is computed only once initially and used for subsequent iterations.
3
2.4 Rotor Wake Modeling
For the induced in-flow distribution on the rotor disk, a free-wake model is fully coupled in the
rotor aeroelastic analysis. The model can account for wake self-distortion by updating its
geometry according to newly calculated in-flow and blade circulation distributions. The
geometry of the free wake is divided into the following three regions: (1) near wake, (2) rolling
up wake, and (3) far wake. The near wake consists of a series of radial panels, each with linear
circulation distributions. The rolling-up wake consists of an inboard linear circulation
distribution panel, and a tip panel that represents the rolling up of the tip vortex. The far wake is
modeled as one panel with a linear circulation distribution and a concentrated tip vortex whose
strength is proportional to the maximum circulation value on the rotor blade. The helical
geometry of the concentrated tip vortex is updated, while the inboard wake portions are not
changed.
The free-wake analysis is implemented in three stages. First, blade motion and loading are
calculated using a linear in-flow model. Next, wake-induced coefficients are calculated for
undistorted wake geometry. The nonuniform inflow is calculated and used to obtain blade
motion and loading. Finally, the free-wake geometry is calculated. For this, the influence
coefficients are reevaluated, and blade motion and loading are again obtained using nonuniform
in-flow values. For subsequent iterations, the free-wake geometry is generally held fixed, and
only the strength of vortices is updated. This comprehensive rotor wake model is used in the
present blade flight loads calculation.
4
3. Results and Discussion
Numerical results are first calculated for the OH-58D KW helicopter at the gross weight of
4500 lb with the forward speed of 120 kn (equivalent advance ratio, µ, of 0.28). This flight
condition is selected for the benchmark correlation with the available test data obtained on the
Bell Model 406T rotor blade (5, 6). The 406T rotor blade is also used on the OH-58D KW.
Following the correlation, blade loads were calculated for the KW at a gross weight of 4086 lb
for hover and a cruising forward speed of 100 kn (µ = 0.23).
The KW helicopter is equipped with a four-bladed, soft in-plane, advanced geometry, hingeless
main rotor system. Some important aerodynamic characteristics of this helicopter rotor are given
in table 1. In the present study, an effort was made to model the helicopter main rotor blade
characteristics as accurately as possible. The rotor blade structural properties data obtained from
manufacture (7, 8) were used to create a finite element model (FEM) (see table 2). Figure 1
shows the global and local degrees of freedom of the FE blade model for the whole rotor blade.
Nonlinear twist distribution of the blade was also modeled in the blade FEs.
No. of
Blades Main Main
in Helicopter Rotor Blade Blade Rotor Rotor Rotor
Main Gross Blade Tip Mean Solidity Blade Shaft Blade Disk
Air Density, Rotor, Weight(s), Radius, Speed, Chord, Ratio, Twist, Tilt, Precone, Area,
ρ Nb W R ΩR cm σ θtw αs βp A
(slug/ft3) (lb) (ft) (ft/s) (ft) (degree) (degree)a (degree) (ft2)
.002378(ρSL) 4 4500, 4086 17.5 723.88 0.786 0.057 –12 5 2 962
a
Positive for forward tilt.
5
For the calculation of blade dynamic response, each rotor blade is discretized into eight beam
elements, and each beam element consists of 15 nodal degrees of freedom (see figure 1). For
normal mode reduction, five coupled rotating natural modes comprised of two flaps, two lags,
and one torsion mode are used. For periodic response, one cycle of time is discretized into eight
time elements, and each time element represents a fifth-order polynomial distribution of motion.
Figure 2 shows the correlation of the blade rotating natural frequencies. The UMARC calculated
values are compared with the experimental data (7) obtained on the Bell 406 helicopter rotor
blade. The UMARC results are calculated with the nominal operating rotational value of
395 rpm. There is a good correlation between the analytical UMARC results and the
experimental data, especially for the lower modes. It is also seen that UMARC slightly
underpredicts the torsional frequency.
6
Correlation of Rotor Blade Natural Frequencies
Ω = 395 r.p.m.
7
6
UMARC Code Prediction
0
First First Flap Second Second Torsion
Lag Flap Lag
7
Correlation of Axial Blade Loads on OH-58D KW Blade
V N = 120 knots, GW = 4500 lbs
50000
Uniform Blade Assumption
UMARC Code Prediction (Non-Uniform Blade FEM Model)
Flight Test Data (Model 406LM)
40000
Centrifugal Force (lbf)
30000
20000
10000
0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
Blade Station (r/R) Blade Tip
Blade Root
The computed blade bending moments were also correlated with the flight test data. In reference
(5), three flap bending moment values are given at three inboard blade stations—stations 31
(r/R = 0.148), 40 (r/R = 0.191), and 50 (r/R = 0.238), respectively. In reference (6), only one
bending value is given at the outboard blade station 96 (r/R = 0.457). These flight values were
replicated and shown in table 3. Also, shown in the fourth column of the table are the peak-to-
peak values of the moments. The peak-to-peak value is a good indication of loading on the
structural component. It is seen that the bending moment is largest inboard and decreases
outboard.
Figure 4 shows the correlation of the UMARC flap-bending moments with the flight test data.
There are some discrepancies between the UMARC results and the flight test data. However,
considering the complexities associated with rotor loads and vibration analysis, a reasonably
good agreement is observed. In particular, the general trend and the peak-to-peak magnitude of
the moments are well correlated with flight test data, especially at inboard blade stations.
8
Table 3. Flap bending moments of Bell model 406T helicopter main rotor blade.
Mean Peak-to-peak
Blade Station Value Oscillatory Value Value
(r/R) (in-lbf) (in-lbf) (in-lbf)
0.148 2125 ±2725 5450
0.191 1725 ±2360 4720
0.238 1275 ±2000 4000
0.457 –180 ±780 1560
5000
-5000
-10000
0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
Blade Station (r/R)
Blade Root Blade Tip
Figure 5 shows the correlation of UMARC lag bending moments with flight test data. Again,
there are some discrepancies between the analytical results and the test data. A comparison
reveals that the UMARC values are slightly greater than the test data values. However, a
reasonable correlation with the test data is observed, and the general trend is especially well
correlated.
9
Lag Bending Moment Variation Along Blade Span
(Envelope Curves)
30000
Lag (Chord-wise) Bending Moment (in- lbf)
15000
-15000
-30000
0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
Blade Station (r/R)
Blade Root Blade Tip
Next, the UMARC calculated blade torsional moments were correlated with the flight test data in
Figure 6. There are only two blade stations where the flight torsional data are available—the
inboard blade station 24.25 (r/R = 0.116) (5) and the outboard blade station 96 (r/R = 0.457) (6).
The inboard station (r/R=0.116) is where the main rotor blade is connected with the pitch link.
Again, there are some discrepancies between the two results. However, a reasonable correlation
is observed.
3.2 Blade Flight Load Calculations for Hover and 100-kn Forward Speed
From the correlation study, it was determined that the UMARC code adequately calculated flight
loads. Excellent agreement with test dada was observed for the most dominant loading (i.e., the
axial load), giving a certain confidence in the helicopter rotor subsystem model. Next, a new set
of bending moments was calculated for the ballistic test flight conditions—the gross weight of
4086 lb at hover and a cruising forward speed of 100 kn (µ = 0.23) for three blade radial
10
Torsional Moment Variation Along Blade Span
(Envelope Curves)
1500
MODEL 406 Flight Data (Pitch Up)
MODEL 406 Flight Data (Pitch Down)
1000 UMARC-120knots
Torsional Moment (in- lbf)
500
-500
-1000
-1500
0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
Blade Root Blade Station (r/R) Blade Tip
stations. Since the new flight conditions had a negligible influence on the centrifugal force on
the blade, the previous calculated values were used for the axial loading. These loads and
moments (peak values) were used as baseline loads during the ballistic test events. The results
are summarized in table 4.
Table 4. Reference blade loads and moments for test phase I-B.
FB FB FB LB LB LB
Blade Hover 100 kn 120 kn Hover 100 kn 120 kn
Station CF GW = 4086 lb GW = 4086 lb GW =4500 lb GW = 4086 lb GW = 4086 lb GW = 4500 lb
(r/R) (lb) (lb-in) (lb-in) (lb-in) (lb-in) (lb-in) (lb-in)
0.286 22374 2020 2219 2691 6860 7605 8284
0.614 16220 564 795 872 1416 1743 2169
0.843 8264 202 242 379 684 690 1112
Notes: FB = flap bending moment, positive flapping up; LB = lag (chord-wise) bending, positive lagging back.
11
4. Summary
An aeroelastic analysis was conducted to calculate flight loads on the OH-58D KW main rotor
blade for hover and cruise forward-flight conditions. Centrifugal force and flap and lag bending
moments were calculated using the UMARC code. The calculated loads were correlated with
flight test data for the Bell model 406LM helicopter to validate the analysis. The correlation
showed good general agreement between the test data and analytical results. After the
correlation study, blade loads were calculated for the desired ballistic test conditions.
In the present study, the UMARC comprehensive helicopter aeroelastic analysis, based on FE
methodology in both space and time coordinates, was conducted to analytically calculate the
flight loads. In spite of it being computer-intensive, its benefit must be appreciated as a powerful
analytical tool to validate simple design-oriented analysis.
12
5. References
1. Polyak, S. F. Detailed Test Plan for U.S. Army OH-58D Kiowa Warrior Live Fire Test and
Evaluation: Main Rotor Blade Ballistic Vulnerability Test Phase I-B (Quasi-Static); ARL-
MR-0549, U.S. Army Research Laboratory: Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD, March 2003.
2. Bir, G. S.; Chopra, I.; Kim, K. C.; Wang, J.; Smith, E.; Vellaichamy, S.; Ganguli, R.;
Nixon, M; Torok, S. University of Maryland Advanced Rotorcraft Code (UMARC) Theory
Manual; AERO report no. 94-18; University of Maryland, College Park, MD, July 1994.
3. Kim, K. C. Helicopter Trim Calculation in Forward Flight. Proceedings of the 1993
Summer Computer Simulation Conference, ISBN:1-5655-057-9, Boston, MA, July 1993,
pp 374–379.
4. Kim, K. C. Analytical Investigation Into the Helicopter Vibration Resulting From Main
Rotor Blade (MRB) Ballistic Damage; ARL-TR-1985; U.S. Army Research Laboratory:
Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD, June 1999.
5. Bell Helicopter TEXTRON. Fatigue Test of The Model 406T Main Rotor Blade, Inboard
Section, PART No 406-015-001, PART I –Test Plan & PART II – Test Results; report no.
406-998-001; Fort Worth, TX, February 1986.
6. Bell Helicopter TEXTRON. Fatigue Test of The Model 406T Main Rotor Blade, Outboard
Section, PART No 406-015-001, Part II – Test Results; report no. 406-998-002; Fort Worth,
TX, March 1986.
7. Bell Helicopter TEXTRON. OH-58D Air Vehicle Technical Description Data; report no.
406-099-026; Fort Worth, TX, May 1984.
8. Bell Helicopter TEXTRON. Model 406 Performance Analysis; report no. 406-099-080; Fort
Worth, TX, August 1983.
13
List of Abbreviations and Symbols
14
NO. OF NO. OF
COPIES ORGANIZATION COPIES ORGANIZATION
1 COMMANDING GENERAL
US ARMY MATERIEL CMD
AMCRDA TF
5001 EISENHOWER AVE
ALEXANDRIA VA 22333-0001
1 US MILITARY ACADEMY
MATH SCI CTR EXCELLENCE
MADN MATH
THAYER HALL
WEST POINT NY 10996-1786
1 DIRECTOR
US ARMY RESEARCH LAB
AMSRD ARL D
DR D SMITH
2800 POWDER MILL RD
ADELPHI MD 20783-1197
1 DIRECTOR
US ARMY RESEARCH LAB
AMSRD ARL CS IS R
2800 POWDER MILL RD
ADELPHI MD 20783-1197
3 DIRECTOR
US ARMY RESEARCH LAB
AMSRD ARL CI OK TL
2800 POWDER MILL RD
ADELPHI MD 20783-1197
3 DIRECTOR
US ARMY RESEARCH LAB
AMSRD ARL CS IS T
2800 POWDER MILL RD
ADELPHI MD 20783-1197
15
NO. OF NO. OF
COPIES ORGANIZATION COPIES ORGANIZATION
16
NO. OF
COPIES ORGANIZATION
AMSRD ARL SL BE
L ROACH
AMSRD ARL SL E
M STARKS
AMSRD ARL SL EC
J FEENEY
E PANUSKA
17
NO. OF
COPIES ORGANIZATION
20 DIR USARL
AMSRD ARL SL B
AMSRD ARL SL BB
D JORDAN
M KUNKEL
S MOULSDALE
B WALTHER
AMSRD ARL SL BD
S POLYAK
B SMITH
J FRIES
D TEN BROECK
K KIM (10 CPS)
AMSRD ARL SL BE
E FIORAVANTE
18