High-Fidelity Structural Loads Analysis Of The Double-Swept Erato Rotor

Abstract

The ERATO rotor wind tunnel test data are investigated to assess the accuracy of analytical tools in the calculation of rotor airloads and structural loads. Comprehensive analysis codes, HOST and RCAS, and coupled computational fluid dynamics/comprehensive analysis codes, elsA/HOST and Helios/RCAS, are used to calculate the ERATO rotor blade dynamics, trim, airloads, and structural loads. The calculated results are compared with the measured data for a high-speed case. RCAS shows excellent correlation with the measured non-rotating blade natural frequencies and the accuracy of the calculated frequencies with RCAS is moderately better than the predictions with HOST. The coupled analyses show improved correlations than the standalone comprehensive analysis for trim, negative lift phase, large pitching moment magnitude on the advancing side and dynamic stall on the retreating side, flap bending and torsion moment phase, and half peak-to-peak flap bending moment. However, the coupled analyses overpredict half peak-to-peak torsion moment and unable to capture 6/rev chord bending moment.