Development of a conceptual design tool for various compound helicopters

Abstract

Recent rotorcraft community has suggested various forms of compound helicopters capable of carrying out a high-speed maneuver. These aircraft have disparate aerodynamic characteristics and propulsion system due to their unique way of generating lift and thrust. In view of the unique features, each concept is adapted with a specific mission profile. To provide an appropriate concept for a specific mission, this study developed a comprehensive conceptual design tool for the three concepts, winged helicopter, tip-jet gyroplane, and fan-in-body concept. This design tool enables sizing of the compound helicopters with comparable analysis fidelity, while considering their distinctive propulsion system at the conceptual design phase. With the developed tool, the design optimizations were conducted for six different mission profiles covering various flight range, hover and loiter time. Subsequently, systematic comparisons and analyses were carried out to deduce the most appropriate configuration for each mission