Aeroelastic effects on stability and control of hingeless rotor helicopters

The combined effect of torsional flexibility and offset of the aerodynamic center relative to the elastic axis on the stability and control of a hingeless rotor helicopter in forward flight is studied in this paper. The aeroelastic model of the blade is based on fully coupled flap-lag-torsion equations of motion, which include kinematic nonlinearities due to moderate deflections. The equations are discretized using a finite element Galerkin method in space, and a classical Galerkin method in time. The vehicle trim calculations are coupled to the blade aeroelastic response calculations. Quasilinearization is used to compute aeroelastic stability. Reducing torsional stiffness and moving the elastic axis ahead of the aerodynamic center strongly stabilizes the phugoid mode without reducing control sensitivity. Aeroelastic stability calculations must accompany flight dynamics calculations to prevent aeroelastic instabilities that might easily go undetected.