Experimental Study Of Rotor Ground Effect In Low-Density Environment

Abstract

Ground effect is a widely studied phenomenon in rotorcraft at standard atmospheric conditions of earth. With increasing interest in flights on Mars and other atmospheric conditions, the ground effect in those environments is a pertinent question. The current work is focused on experimental study of a rotor in low atmospheric densities in ground effect. Measured thrust and torque are reported, and the results at different densities are compared. A significant effect of recirculation is observed in the rotor performance due to the confined space of the low-density chamber.