Investigation of rotor blade element airloads for a teetering rotor in the blade stall regime

A model of a teetering rotor was tested in a low speed wind tunnel. Blade element airloads measured on an articulated model rotor were compared with the teetering rotor and showed that the teetering rotor is subjected to less extensive flow separation. Retreating blade stall was studied. Results show that stall, under the influence of unsteady aerodynamic effects, consists of four separate stall events, each associated with a vortex shed from the leading edge and sweeping over the upper surface of the rotor blade. Current rotor performance prediction methodology was evaluated through computer simulation.