Fundamental Aeroelastic Analysis of an Urban Air Mobility Rotor

A computational investigation was conducted of the aeroelastic characteristics of a representative rotor typical of aircraft for Urban Air Mobility. A rotorcraft comprehensive analysis was used to examine the aeroelastic characteristics of the model, both in hover and in forward flight. Throughout the study, parameters examined included rotor rotational speed, forward flight speed, blade torsion stiffness, and chordwise locations of the blade elastic axis and center of gravity. Three sets of airfoil properties were analyzed: NACA 0012, VR8, and VR12. For hover, the effect of dynamic inflow was studied via a comparison of uniform inflow and dynamic inflow models. Thrust coefficient and blade tip twist were analyzed to ascertain performance characteristics, and eigen analysis was employed to determine stability. For the forward flight cases, rpm and forward flight speed were swept separately, and the effect of each on performance and stability was assessed. Thrust coefficient and mean drag coefficient were used to evaluate performance of the rotor, and eigen analysis was invoked to study rotor stability. Forward flight stability results generated via a constant coefficient analysis were compared with results generated via Floquet Theory.