Conceptual design tradeoffs for future single main rotor compound helicopters

Abstract

A compound helicopter is defined as a helicopter with an auxiliary propulsion system which provides thrust in excess of that which the rotor(s) alone could produce, thereby permitting increased forward speeds; wings are usually provided to reduce the lift requirement from the rotor system. While there are a variety of different main rotor configurations for compound helicopters, such as single main rotor, coaxial rotor and tandem rotor, we will restrict this generic study to Single Main Rotor Compound (SMRC) Helicopters. A �Sensitivity� Tradeoff Studies approach will be utilized. The Advanced Vehicle Design Synthesis used in Georgia Tech vertical flight design classes is used for Configuration Solution and �Sensitivity� Tradeoffs for potential SMRC helicopter configuration solutions