Experimental and numerical aerodynamic investigation of advanced tail boom designs based on optimized thick airfoil profiles

Abstract

The current paper aims at validating the aerodynamic performance of several advanced helicopter tail boom concepts answering to different aerodynamic optimization objectives. The flow solver validation has been carried out by comparing the numerical predictions with comprehensive measurement data obtained at the CNAM-IAT Wind Tunnel test facility. The comparison confirmed the accuracy and quality of the optimization results particularly in terms of ranking of the different optimal solutions. In this study, the database is further exploited to assess the capability of the CFD approach using the elsA solver to predict the aerodynamic characteristics of theses optimized shapes.