Aerodynamic design and optimisation of main rotors for light rotorcrafts

Abstract

The main goal of the presented research has been to prove that optimal design of main-rotor blades may significantly improve a performance of light rotorcraft. The paper presents results of several studies aimed at improvement of performance of several rotorcrafts including: UAV helicopter, light gyroplane and ultralight helicopter. All the presented studies have been conducted using similar methodologies of optimal parametric design of main rotor. Blades of all main rotors have been built based on the airfoils optimised towards specific design criteria and conditions resulting from the priority flight conditions and assumed primary mission of the designed rotorcraft. Whole the design process has been conducted based on advanced computational methods and software.