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The Art of the Helicopter John Watkinson - Karatunov.net

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114 <strong>The</strong> <strong>Art</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Helicopter</strong><br />

Fig. 3.43 In harmonic pitch control, <strong>the</strong> blade pitch is not sinusoidal, but has a waveform calculated to make<br />

<strong>the</strong> lift more uniform around <strong>the</strong> disc. This may be controlled by an actuator between <strong>the</strong> swashplate and <strong>the</strong><br />

blade pitch control arm.<br />

function <strong>of</strong> airspeed, returning to a near sinusoidal function in <strong>the</strong> hover. This is<br />

probably beyond what might be achieved mechanically but some kind <strong>of</strong> electronic<br />

system would easily generate <strong>the</strong> required functions. High speed actuators are necessary<br />

to drive <strong>the</strong> blade fea<strong>the</strong>ring, and <strong>the</strong> blades must be torsionally stiff in order to respond<br />

to <strong>the</strong> rapid pitch variations. Ano<strong>the</strong>r consideration is that as <strong>the</strong> number <strong>of</strong> blades<br />

increases <strong>the</strong> effects <strong>of</strong> lift troughs are averaged out more and <strong>the</strong>re is less <strong>of</strong> a problem.<br />

However, <strong>the</strong> elegant result <strong>of</strong> constant lift moment around <strong>the</strong> disc is one that<br />

is most desirable. <strong>The</strong> reduction in vibration makes <strong>the</strong> flight more comfortable for<br />

passengers and prolongs <strong>the</strong> life <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> machine. A fur<strong>the</strong>r consequence <strong>of</strong> constant lift<br />

is a reduction in power needed in forward flight. In a conventional rotor <strong>the</strong> increased<br />

power needed where <strong>the</strong> lift is greatest is not balanced by a reduction in power where<br />

<strong>the</strong> lift troughs are. Consequently constant lift needs <strong>the</strong> least power.<br />

It would seem clear that <strong>the</strong> greatest cost benefit <strong>of</strong> harmonic blade control would be<br />

in <strong>the</strong> two-bladed helicopter where <strong>the</strong> 2P hop could be eliminated. <strong>The</strong> improvement<br />

in ride would be greatest but <strong>the</strong> number <strong>of</strong> actuators needed is least. In some light<br />

helicopters a two-bladed harmonically controlled rotor could replace a conventional<br />

three-bladed rotor and <strong>the</strong> overall cost might be <strong>the</strong> same. At some point designers will<br />

find ways <strong>of</strong> economically achieving <strong>the</strong> goal <strong>of</strong> constant lift. Some experiments have<br />

been done with systems which rock a conventional swashplate, but this cannot give <strong>the</strong><br />

required result as each blade needs to be individually controlled.<br />

3.29 Blade design<br />

<strong>The</strong> helicopter blade is a complex subject because <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> number <strong>of</strong> interacting variables<br />

involved. <strong>The</strong>se will be considered here. It might be thought that <strong>the</strong> aerodynamic<br />

characteristics <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> blade would be determined only by shape. In general this is<br />

untrue. Figure 3.44 shows some <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> issues. <strong>The</strong> long thin structure <strong>of</strong> a practical<br />

blade can never be rigid and flight loads will cause <strong>the</strong> blade to flex. However, it is<br />

not enough to know <strong>the</strong> stiffness <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> blade to calculate <strong>the</strong> result. In forward flight<br />

<strong>the</strong> loads have a powerful alternating component and this generates harmonics. At <strong>the</strong><br />

frequencies <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> higher harmonics <strong>the</strong> motion may be mass controlled. A fur<strong>the</strong>r<br />

complexity is that <strong>the</strong> flexing <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> blade will affect <strong>the</strong> aerodynamics; a phenomenon

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