Structural Design and Aeromechanical Analysis of Unconventional Blades for Future Mars Rotorcraft

The structural design for rotor blades with thin, unconventional airfoils for Earth-based testing is obtained using three-Dimensional (3D) aeromechanical analysis in support of the NASA ROAMX project. The outer mold line was provided by NASA, but the internal structural design was developed at the University of Maryland and is presented here along with a thorough aeromechanical analysis. The main objectives are to verify the structural integrity of the design and understand the unique aeroelastic behavior of the non-conventional airfoils designed for low-Reynolds number and high subsonic Mach number. Four different blade models are considered, with the pitch axis varied from quarter-chord to mid-chord to determine the effect of C.G. offset on natural frequencies, blade deformations, root loads, and 3D stresses. First, torsional stability is calculated for each of the designs – especially important due to the low Lock number on Mars. All four blade designs are studied under rotation in vacuum, and significant reductions in root loads and 3D stresses are achieved by moving the pitch axis closer to mid-chord to reduce the C.G. offset. Based on the vacuum analysis, the blade design with the pitch axis at 40% chord is selected for aeromechanical analysis. The blade control load, airloads, deformations, and 3D stresses are studied for steady hover. Dynamic control load and dynamic 3D stresses are studied for unsteady hover achieved using cyclic. Significant elastic twist is observed due to the trapeze effect and propeller moment, affecting the spanwise distribution of aerodynamic loads on the blades. The dynamic control load is found to increase significantly due to inertial coupling from the C.G. offset. The dynamic stresses also increase, although still have factors of safety greater than two for both tensile and compressive stress.