Vijay Mohan Durai raj
Experimental Investigation Into Aerodynamic Properties of a Generic Constant Chord 2 Bladed Rotor in Autorotation Configuration
Durai raj, Vijay Mohan
Authors
Abstract
Any flying vehicle needs to be able to demonstrate a clear capability of being able to land safely in conditions of total power loss. Fixed-wing aircraft are able to glide to the ground and perform a deadstick landing. The equivalent manoeuvre of a rotary wing aircraft is autorotation, a mandatory requirement of the airworthiness of the aircraft upon complete power loss. Investigations into the generic propellers used on electric motor eVTOL have revealed mediocre performance in conditions of total power loss. The 3 characteristics which enable pseudo-optimal performance and audio signature in hover and transition to low speed forward and lateral flight, which are decreasing twist, decreasing chord and low overall constant pitch from root to tip are the very characteristics that are detrimental in autorotation. On the contrary, helicopter rotor blades which are not fixed pitch and the ability to remove the collective which corresponds to the pitch of the rotor blades is a key characteristic of the ability of the rotor to generate lift in autorotating conditions where there is total power loss. The experiments have been run on a two-bladed helicopter-type rotor under conditions identical to a similarly dimensioned UAS-type propeller. The compared data has shown that autorotation is possible by a propeller only when there is negligible pitch and twist. In addition, any UAS-type propeller with a negative angle of the plane of rotation is unable to perform any form of normal, assisted or managed autorotation.
| Presentation Conference Type | Conference Paper (published) |
|---|---|
| Conference Name | AIAA Aviation Forum and ASCEND 2024 |
| Start Date | Jul 29, 2024 |
| End Date | Aug 2, 2024 |
| Online Publication Date | Jul 27, 2024 |
| Publication Date | Jul 29, 2024 |
| Deposit Date | Jan 22, 2025 |
| Publisher | American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics |
| Book Title | AIAA Aviation Forum and ASCEND co-located Conference Proceedings |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.2514/6.2024-4344 |
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