Comparison of calculated and measured model rotor loading and wake geometry

The calculated blade bound circulation and wake geometry are compared with measured results for a model helicopter rotor in hover and forward flight. Hover results are presented for rectangular tip and ogee tip planform blades. The correlation is quite good when the measured wake geometry characteristics are used in the analysis. Available prescribed wake geometry models are found to give fair predictions of the loading, but they do not produce a reasonable prediction of the induced power. Forward flight results are presented for twisted and untwisted blades. Fair correlation between measurements and calculations is found for the bound circulation distribution on the advancing side. The tip vortex geometry in the vicinity of the advancing blade in forward flight was predicted well by the free wake calculation used, although the wake geometry did not have a significant influence on the calculated loading and performance for the cases considered.