Unmanned Aircraft Design, Modeling and Control

VTOLAircraft Lecture1:IntroductiontoRotorcraft
Dr.SamirBouabdallah

VTOL=VerticalTakeOffandLanding

Coursesectioncontents

Lecture1:Introductiontorotorcraft(today)

Lecture2:Dynamicmodelingofrotorcraft

Lecture3:Controlofrotorcraft

Lecture4:HelicopterElements:Rotorhead

Lecture5:OutlookonMAVResearch,UASCollisionAvoidance,Q&A

AircraftandSpacecraftSystemsDesign RotorcraftPart

Introduction
Unfortunately,theuseofhelicoptersisrestrictedtoapplicationswhereother conceptsarenotsuitable!
Himaintenancecosts Highpowerrequiredforflying

However,thehelicopterabilitytohover,allowsittolandalmosteverywhere
Idealforrescuemissions(inmountains,inoceans,...)

The helicopter is probably the most complex flying machine A helicopter is a collection of vibrations held together by differential equations John Watkinson AircraftandSpacecraftSystemsDesign RotorcraftPart 3

Ashorthistory

Aflying...dreamer

Chinesetops(2000yearsago...) DaVincishelicalairscrew(1490)

FirstmannedhelicopterGyroplanNr.1byBreguet&Richet(1907)
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Typesofrotorcraft

Helicopter
Powerdrivenmainrotor+tailrotor Thethrust(T)istothetippathplane TheairflowsfromTOPtoBOTTOM Tiltsitsmainrotortoflyforward T

Gyroplane(Autogyro)
Undrivenmainrotor,tiltedaway Forwardpropellerforpropulsion

Gyrodyne
Powerdrivenmainrotor+tailrotor Rearwardpropellerforpropulsion

TheairflowsfromBOTTOMtoTOP Mainrotorremains//todir.offlight Notailrotorrequired Notcapableofhovering exceptin: wind TheairflowsfromTOPtoBOTTOM

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Rotorconfigurations

Tandemrotor(frontrear)

Tandemrotor(sidebyside)

Contrarotating,noneedfortailrotor Contrarotating,noneedfortailrotor Totaldiskarea< 2xdiskarea TheCoGpositionisnotcritical Higherefficiencyinforwardflight Highstructuraldrag

Muchlesssensitivetowinddirection Rarelyused duringhovering

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Rotorconfigurations

Synchropter

Coaxial

Intermeshedcontrarotatingrotors, (drivenbyonlyonegearbox) Torquesdonotcancelperfectlyinthe horizontalplane Theadvancingbladesareonthe "inside(becauseofdragonthehullinFF)

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Contrarotating,noneedfortailrotor Lossesduetoupperrotordownwash (somerecoveredfromtheswirlenergy) Compactsize

AirfoilTheoryin2D(seelecture#1)
with

Pressuredistributiononthesurfacecan bereduced to2forcesandonemoment:

Liftforce

S v CL CD

: Density of fluid (air) : Wing area : Flight speed : Lift coefficient : Drag coefficient

FL C L

S v2

Dragforce

FD C D

CM : Moment coefficient

Moment

2 M CM S v 2 chord 2

S v2

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Drag

Profiledrag isthedragincurredfromfrictionalresistanceofthebladespassing throughtheair. Induceddrag isthedragincurredasaresultofproductionoflift.Itistheportion ofthetotalaerodynamicforce whichisorientedinthedirectionopposingthe movementoftheairfoil.(decreaseswithFwdspeed,thankstocleanair!) Parasitedrag isthedragincurredfromthenonliftingportionsoftheaircraft (fuselage,etc.)
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Flightwitharigidrotorhead
T

Hover
Thrust(T)balancesexactlytheweight(W) TheforcesonthebladesdoNOT varyastheyturn W

Forwardflight
Forwardspeed=130mph Propellerspeed(linear)=420mph Relativeairspeedunbalance Maximumspeedat=90 (min.at=270)

Largeforceunbalance
Largestress@rotorroot=largerollingmoment
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Forcesontherotorhead

FLift

FLift

>0

=0

>0

Fg

Fg

Fg

Bladesareaffectedbycentrifugalforceduetorotationandliftingforce(leads torotorconing) Coningeffectslargemomentsatbladeroots

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Articulatedrotorhead
Reductionofstressatbladeroot Rotorbladesarenotrigidlyattachedto head,buthingesupported Threejoints:Feathering,laggingand flapping Flapping (up &down) Reduces stressdueto rolling moments But,allows largeCoriolismoments inthe planeof rotation (dueto Centerof Mass displacement) Lagging (forward &backward) Releasesthe rotor from these Coriolismoments Feathering Enablesthepitchangletobechanged
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Flapping

Lagging Feathering

Rotorcontrol:theswashplate

Swashplateconvertssteeringsignalinto bladepitchchange (rotationaboutfeatheringaxis)

Collectivepitchforaltitudecontrol

Cyclicpitchforrollandpitchcontrol

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Gyroscopicprecession
Therotorofahelicopterisagyroscope Anappliedforceismanifested90 laterin thedirectionofrotationfromwherethe forcewasapplied.

Helicopterswithcontrarotatingrotors minimizethegyroscopiceffect (coaxial,synchropter,quadrotor,...)

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Stabilityaugmentation:theflybar
Gyroscopicbehavior Actsonthefeatheringaxis Slowstherateoftherotorchangeofattitude, proportionallytotheflybarinertia Theflybartiltisproportionaltotheroll(or pitch)rateofturn theanglebetweentheflybar&themastisa measureofroll(orpitch)rate Withsensorbasedcontrol,theflybarbecame obsoleteforfullscalehelicopters Onsomemodelhelicopters(coaxial),theflybaris stillused(becauseofthehighdynamics) Ithasfullcontrolofpitchoftheupperrotor
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Courtesy of E-flight

E.g.TheBellbarsystem

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Thetailrotor

Fail Tail

Thetailrotorprovidesatorquetobalancethe mainrotorcountertorque Variablebladepitchenablesyawcontrol (BladepitchvariationbySwashplate mechanism) (collectivepitchonly)

TipJetHelicopters

Isthereapossibilitytogetridofthetailrotor?
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Tailrotoralternativeconcepts

Fenestron Workslikeaductedfan (tipsenclosed,large#ofblades) Morequietandsafer

NOTAR(NOTAilRotor)
Tailboombehaveslikeawinginthemain rotordownwash (effectedbyairstreamfromCoanda*slots) Highergroundclearance Morequietandsafer
(*SeeCoandaeffect)

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Groundeffect
Itisdueto:
Theinterference ofthegroundwiththeairflowpatternoftherotorsystem ...Whichcausesreductionofthevelocityoftheinducedairflow ...Whichcauseslessinduceddragandamoreverticallift

FlyinginGEtendstoreducetherotortipvortex ...Whichcauseshigherrotorbladeefficiency upto~onerotordiameter.

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Kineticenergy
Groundspeed =Speedofapointonthehelicopter,seenfromtheground Windspeed =Speedofaparticleofair(incaseofwind),seenfromtheground
Airspeed =

Groundspeed Windspeed

Helicopterflyingat30ktINTO a30ktwind KE=m.V=m.(Airspeed Windspeed) KineticEnergy:KE=0

Ifcaseof180 turn LackofKE Altitudeloss

Helicopterflyingat30ktWITH a30ktwind KE=m.V=m.(Airspeed+Windspeed) KineticEnergy:KE>0

Incaseof180 turn ExcessofKE Altitudegain
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HelicoptersattheUAVMAVsize

Quadrotor
4rotorsincrossconfiguration Directdrive(nogearbox) Verygoodtorquecompensation Hiagility

Coaxial(swashplateless)
Passivelystable Compact Suitableforminiaturization

Std.Helicopter
Veryagile Complextocontrol

CGshift
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References
BOOKS J.Watkinson:TheArtoftheHelicopter (mainsourceforthislecture,AvailableinNEBIS.CHinelect.format) BramwellsHelicopterDynamics R.W.Prouty:HelicopterPerformance,Stability,andControl

WEBSITES http://www.cybercom.net/~copters/helo_aero.html(helicopter) http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/K12/airplane/short.html(general)

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 AdditionalSlides

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HelicopterPrinciple

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AutogyroPrinciple

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NOTAR

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