Rotary Wing Aerodynamics

DIVClear, concise text covers aerodynamic phenomena of the rotor and offers guidelines for helicopter performance evaluation. Originally prepared for NASA. Prefaces. New Indexes. 10 black-and-white photos. 537 figures. /div

Drawing on his extensive experience as a practicing engineer, designer, educator, and researcher in rotorcraft, the author presents a comprehensive account of the fundamental concepts of structural dynamics and aeroelasticity for conventional rotary wing aircraft, as well as for the newly emerging tilt-rotor and tilt-wing concepts. Intended for use in graduate-level courses and by practicing engineers, the volume covers all of the important topics needed for the complete understanding of rotorcraft structural dynamics and aeroelasticity, including basic analysis tools, rotating beams, gyroscopic phenomena, drive system dynamics, fuselage vibrations, methods for controlling vibrations, dynamic test procedures, stability analysis, mechanical and aeromechanical instabilities of rotors and rotor-pylon assemblies, unsteady aerodynamics and flutter of rotors, and model testing. The text is further enhanced by the inclusion of problems in each chapter.

This book is developed to serve as a concise text for a course on helicopter aerodynamics at the introductory level. It introduces to the rotary-wing aerodynamics, with applications to helicopters, and application of the relevant principles to the aerodynamic design of a helicopter rotor and its blades. The basic aim of this book is to make a complete text covering both the basic and applied aspects of theory of rotary wing flying machine for students, engineers, and applied physicists. The philosophy followed in this book is that the subject of helicopter aerodynamics is covered combining the theoretical analysis, physical features and the application aspects. Considerable number of solved examples and exercise problems with answers are coined for this book. This book will cater to the requirement of numerical problems on helicopter flight performance, which is required for the students of aeronautical/aerospace engineering.. SALIENT FEATURES • To provide an introductory treatment of the aerodynamic theory of rotary-wing aircraft • To study the fundamentals of rotor aerodynamics for rotorcraft in hovering flight, axial flight, and forward flight modes • To perform blade element analysis, investigate rotating blade motion, and quantify basic helicopter performance

This title reports on the latest research in the area of aerodynamic efficency of various fixed-wing, flapping wing, and rotary wing concepts. It presents the progress made by over fifty active researchers in the field.