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The Art of the Helicopter John Watkinson - Karatunov.net

The Art of the Helicopter John Watkinson - Karatunov.net

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Rotors in practice 135<br />

Fig. 4.15 Various techniques used to allow fea<strong>the</strong>ring despite <strong>the</strong> root tension in <strong>the</strong> blade. (a) A torsion bar<br />

resists <strong>the</strong> axial pull. (b) Thin steel shims may be laminated to produce a flexible structure. (c) Strap made from<br />

strands <strong>of</strong> wire. (d) Elastomer under compression allows rotation in shear, but bulges under load. (e) Metal<br />

shims between layers <strong>of</strong> elastomer prevent bulging. (f) A practical elastomeric thrust bearing which is failsafe<br />

because <strong>the</strong> blade cannot come <strong>of</strong>f if <strong>the</strong> bearing fails.<br />

so <strong>the</strong> interior <strong>of</strong> thick components is unstressed. This is why tubes are used instead <strong>of</strong><br />

solid bars. A given cross-section <strong>of</strong> material will be more rugged if it is divided up into<br />

many slim elements in parallel and in addition will be easier to twist. This division into<br />

many elements also gives a degree <strong>of</strong> protection against failure because some elements<br />

can fail without <strong>the</strong> whole assembly failing.<br />

<strong>The</strong> blade may be attached by laminated steel shims shown at (b) which can twist as<br />

<strong>the</strong> pitch is changed. PTFE tape may be placed between <strong>the</strong> shims to allow one to slide<br />

over <strong>the</strong> next. A variation in <strong>the</strong> idea is used by Bell on <strong>the</strong> JetRanger. Here <strong>the</strong> tensile<br />

element is a strap made from hundreds <strong>of</strong> strands <strong>of</strong> steel wire (c) like <strong>the</strong> cable in a<br />

suspension bridge. <strong>The</strong> blade is guided by a sleeve bearing that only takes bending loads.

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