Unmanned Aircraft Design,

Modeling and Control

Rotorcraft
Lecture 1: Introduction
Konrad Rudin

Course section contents

Lecture 1: Introduction to rotorcraft

(today)

Lecture 2: Dynamic modeling of rotorcraft

(exercises)

Lecture 3: Case Study: Modeling of a coax

Lecturer: Christoph Hrzeler

Lecture 4: Control of rotorcraft

Unmanned Aircraft Design, Modeling and Control - Rotorcraft

(exercises)

Part 1

ROTORCRAFT OVERVIEW

Unmanned Aircraft Design, Modeling and Control - Rotorcraft

Introduction
Unfortunately, the use of helicopters is restricted to applications where other
concepts are not suitable!
High maintenance costs
High power required for flying

However, the helicopter ability to hover, allows it to land almost everywhere

Ideal for rescue missions (in mountains, in oceans, ...)

The helicopter is probably the most complex flying machine

A helicopter is a collection of vibrations held together by differential equations John Watkinson
Unmanned Aircraft Design, Modeling and Control - Rotorcraft

A short history

A flying... dreamer

DaVincis helical airscrew (1490)

First practical helicopter FW61 (1936)

First manned helicopter Gyroplan Nr. 1 by Breguet & Richet (1907)

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Unmanned Aircraft Design, Modeling and Control - Rotorcraft

Types of rotorcraft

Helicopter
- Power driven main rotor

- The thrust (T) is

to the tip path plane

Gyroplane (Autogyro)

Gyrodyne

- Un-driven main rotor, tilted away

- Power driven main rotor

- Forward propeller for propulsion

- Additional propeller for propulsion

- The air flows from TOP to BOTTOM

- The air flows from BOTTOM to TOP - Main rotor remains // to dir. of flight

- Tilts its main rotor to fly forward

- No tail rotor required

- The air flows from TOP to BOTTOM

- Not capable of hovering

except in: wind
Unmanned Aircraft Design, Modeling and Control - Rotorcraft

Rotor configurations

Tandem rotor (front-rear)

Tandem rotor (side-by-side)

Contra-rotating, no need for tail rotor Contra-rotating, no need for tail rotor
Total disk-area < 2x disk-area

Higher efficiency in forward flight

The CoG position is not critical

High structural drag

Much less sensitive to wind direction

during hovering

Rarely used
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Unmanned Aircraft Design, Modeling and Control - Rotorcraft

Rotor configurations

Synchropter

Coaxial

Intermeshed contra-rotating rotors, Contra-rotating, no need for tail rotor

(driven by only one gearbox)
Losses due to upper-rotor downwash
Torques do not cancel perfectly in the
Compact size
horizontal plane

Unmanned Aircraft Design, Modeling and Control - Rotorcraft

Helicopters at the UAV-MAV size

Quadrotor

Coaxial

Std. Helicopter

- 4 rotors in cross configuration

- Passively stable

- Very agile

- Direct drive (no gearbox)

- Compact

- Complex to control

- Very good torque compensation

- Suitable for miniaturization

- Hi agility

Unmanned Aircraft Design, Modeling and Control - Rotorcraft

Coaxial configurations

Ducted fan

Coaxial

Fixed rotor

Lower rotor with swash-plate

Moment produced by control

surfaces

Complex mechanics

Heavier

Unmanned Aircraft Design, Modeling and Control - Rotorcraft

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Helicopters at the UAV-MAV size

Helicopter:
Large rotor
High inertia

Slow motor dynamics

=> Keep a constant rotor speed
Change thrust by adjusting angle of attack

MAV-UAV
Smaller rotors
High dynamic brushless DC motors
=> Keep collective pitch constant
Change thrust by adjusting rotor speeds

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Unmanned Aircraft Design, Modeling and Control - Rotorcraft

Airfoil theory in 2D (see lecture #1)

Pressure distribution on the surface can

be reduced to 2 forces and one moment:
Lift force

dL Cl

Drag force

dD Cd

Moment

dM Cm

c dy v

c dy v

with

: Density of fluid (air)

: Chord length

: Relative flight speed

Cl

: Lift coefficient

Cd

: Drag coefficient

Cm : Moment coefficient

c dy v 2 c

Unmanned Aircraft Design, Modeling and Control - Rotorcraft

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Basics forces and moments on rotor

On each part of the blade lift and drag
is generated
Represent aerodynamic force by dFz
and dFx
Integrate dFz and dFx over the blade
Vind

v
Wr

dFz
f

dL

dFx
dD

Sum of forces Fz creates thrust T and

rolling moment R
Sum of forces Fx create drag moment Q
and hub force H

Unmanned Aircraft Design, Modeling and Control - Rotorcraft

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Force distribution over a blade

Rotational velocity increases linearly
with radius
Most of the thrust is generated in
the outer section of the blade
T ~V2

Increase the thrust in the inner

section by twisting the blade
Blade pitch angle decreases with
the radius
Used for propellers

Unmanned Aircraft Design, Modeling and Control - Rotorcraft

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Autorotation
Vertical autorotation

Forward autorotation

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Unmanned Aircraft Design, Modeling and Control - Rotorcraft

Rotor vs. Propeller

Propeller

Thrust direction is
constant
Blades fix to shaft

Rotor

Thrust is perpendicular to
tip path plane
Blades elastic

Chambered profil

Symmetrical profile

Twisted blade

Constant blade pitch

angle

Increase efficiency for a

specific operation point

Unmanned Aircraft Design, Modeling and Control - Rotorcraft

Nice aerodynamics over

whole AoA range

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Forces on the rotor head

FLift

FLift

Fg

>0

=0

Fg

>0

Fg

Blades are affected by centrifugal force due to rotation and lifting force (leads
to rotor coning)
Coning effects generates large moments at blade roots
Use of articulated rotorheads
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Unmanned Aircraft Design, Modeling and Control - Rotorcraft

Forward flight
T

Hover
Thrust (T) balances exactly the weight (W)
The forces on the blades do NOT vary as they turn

Forward flight
e.g. forward speed = 130mph
e.g. propeller speed at tip (linear) = 420mph
Relative airspeed unbalance
Maximum speed at =90 (min. at =270)
Lift force changes during one revolution
Leads to great cyclic stress at rotor roots

Unmanned Aircraft Design, Modeling and Control - Rotorcraft

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Types of rotorheads
Controlled feathering axis

Hingeless

Stiff mounting to rotor shaft

Tip path plane change through blade flapping of
flexible rotors

Controlled feathering axis

Teetering

Blades are connected through teetering hinge

Tip path plane change through teetering hinge

Controlled feathering hinge

Fully articulated

Blade attached to series of hinges

Tip path plane change through blade flapping at
flapping hinge

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Unmanned Aircraft Design, Modeling and Control - Rotorcraft

Fully articulated rotorhead

Reduction of stress at blade root
Rotor blades are not rigidly attached to
head, but hinge-supported

Flapping

Lagging

Three hinges: Feathering, lagging and

flapping

Feathering

Flapping (up & down)

Reduces stress due to rolling moments
But, allows large Coriolis moments in the plane of
rotation (due to CoG displacement)

Lagging (forward & backward)

Releases the rotor from these Coriolis moments
Feathering
Enables the blade pitch angle to be changed
Unmanned Aircraft Design, Modeling and Control - Rotorcraft

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Hingeless/Teetering rotorhead

Hingeless (rigid) rotorhead

Teetering (semi-rigid) rotorhead

One hinge: Feathering

Two hinges: Feathering and teetering

To change the blade pitch angle

To change blade pitch angle

Simpler mechanics

Blades are connected with teetering

hinge (seesaw)

Blades attached according to a

mean coning angle to reduce stress

High stress on blades

Moments are transmitted to shaft

and hull
Higher degree of control power

Combined blade flapping due to

teetering hinge

Blade flapping due to elastic blades

Unmanned Aircraft Design, Modeling and Control - Rotorcraft

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Gyroscopic precession
The rotor of a helicopter has gyroscopic
effect
An applied moment on a gyro is manifested
90 later in the direction of rotation from
where the moment was applied

Gyro
Teetering rotorheads act like a gyroscope
when trying to change the tip path plane
Hingeless and fully articulated rotorheads
have a precession of less than 90 according
to blade flapping

Unmanned Aircraft Design, Modeling and Control - Rotorcraft

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Rotor control: the swashplate

Swashplate converts steering signal into

blade pitch change

Collective pitch for altitude control

Cyclic pitch for roll and pitch control

(rotation about feathering axis)

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Unmanned Aircraft Design, Modeling and Control - Rotorcraft

Rotor control: the swashplate

Blade pitch per revolution

Pitch q []

Describe position of the

blade by angle x

Changed by
Cyclic pitch

Changed by
collective pitch

x []

Unmanned Aircraft Design, Modeling and Control - Rotorcraft

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Stability augmentation: the flybar

Gyroscopic behavior
Acts on the feathering axis
Slows the rate of the rotor change-of-attitude
The flybar tilt is proportional to the roll (or
pitch) rate of turn
the angle between the flybar & the mast is a
measure of roll (or pitch) rate
With sensor-based control, the flybar became
obsolete for full-scale helicopters
On some model helicopters, the flybar is still used
(because of the high dynamics)

E.g. The Bell bar system

On some coaxial helicopters, the flybar act on the

upper rotor
Unmanned Aircraft Design, Modeling and Control - Rotorcraft

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Stability augmentation: the flybar

Bell system

Hiller system

Unmanned Aircraft Design, Modeling and Control - Rotorcraft

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The tail rotor

Fail Tail

The tail rotor provides a torque to balance the

main rotor counter-torque

Variable blade pitch enables yaw control

Tip Jet Helicopters

(Blade pitch variation by Swashplate mechanism)

(collective pitch only)
Is there a possibility to get rid of the tail rotor?
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Unmanned Aircraft Design, Modeling and Control - Rotorcraft

Tail rotor alternative concepts

Fenestron

Works like a ducted fan

(tips enclosed, large # of blades)

More quiet and safer

NOTAR (NO TAil Rotor)

Tail boom behaves like a wing in the main

rotor downwash
(effected by airstream from Coanda* slots)

Higher ground clearance

More quiet and safer

Unmanned Aircraft Design, Modeling and Control - Rotorcraft

(*See Coanda effect)

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NOTAR

Unmanned Aircraft Design, Modeling and Control - Rotorcraft

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Ground effect
It is due to:

The interference of the ground with the airflow pattern of the rotor system
... Which causes reduction of the velocity of the induced airflow
... Which causes less induced drag and a more vertical lift

Flying in GE tends to reduce the rotor tip vortex

... Which causes higher rotor blade efficiency
up to ~one rotor diameter.

Unmanned Aircraft Design, Modeling and Control - Rotorcraft

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Part 2

ROTOR PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS

Unmanned Aircraft Design, Modeling and Control - Rotorcraft

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Blade momentum theory

Ideal propeller
Infinitely thin disc area A, no resistance to air
1-D analysis
Thrust and induced velocity distribution is uniform over disc
Far upstream/downstream the pressure is static pressure
No viscous effects
Incompressible

Unmanned Aircraft Design, Modeling and Control - Rotorcraft

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Blade momentum theory

Consider streamline going from 0 through
1, 2 to 3
atmospheric pressure on far field at 0
and 3

Conservation of mass
v2 = v1=v ind

(1)

Bernoullis equation
From 0-1
P0+1/2V2 = P1+1/2 (V+v1)2

(2)

From 2-3
P0+1/2 (V+v3)2 = P2+1/2 (V+v2)2 (3)

Unmanned Aircraft Design, Modeling and Control - Rotorcraft

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Blade momentum theory

Thrust force
T = A(P2 P1)

From eq.1-3
T = 1/2 A ((V+v3)2 V2)

(4)

Change in momentum
T= A(V+v1)((V+v3)-V)

(5)

From (4) and (5)

V+v1=1/2(2V+v3)
v1 = v3/2
T= 2A(V+v1)v1

(6)

If V=0
T = 2Av2ind

(7)

Unmanned Aircraft Design, Modeling and Control - Rotorcraft

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Blade momentum theory

Ideal power to produce rotor thrust
P=T(V+vind)

(8)

In hover
P= T3 / 2 / 2A

(9)

Increasing disc area reduces power

Mechanical constraint: Tip mach
number
More profile/structural drag
Longer tail

Unmanned Aircraft Design, Modeling and Control - Rotorcraft

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Ideal propeller efficiency

Propeller efficiency

= TV/P
= 0 in hover

Efficiency with respect to velocity

V = (P/2A(1- ))1/3

Real propeller are approximately

10-15 % less efficient

Unmanned Aircraft Design, Modeling and Control - Rotorcraft

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BEMT
Combined blade elemental and momentum theory
Include blade profile
Divide rotor into different blade elements
Calculate forces for each element and sum them up

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Unmanned Aircraft Design, Modeling and Control - Rotorcraft

BEMT
dT

Force at a blade element

dL

Ve

VR

q i

With the relative air flow Ve can

determine angle of attack and
reynolds number

dQ / r

dD

Corresponding lift and drag

coefficient are found on polar
curves for blade shape
Problem: What is the induced
velocity w?
Use momentum theory at the
blade annulus

Unmanned Aircraft Design, Modeling and Control - Rotorcraft

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BEMT
Momentum theory at blade annulus dTmt 2 2rdr(V VR i cos f )VR i cos f

w VR i

Induced velocity

Lift at blade annulus

dL B

Propeller with B blades

Approximation:

Cl cdrVe2

dTbe dL cos f
Ve VR

Cl Cl

Lift:

Thin airfoil theory: Cl 2

Empirical value:

Cl 5.7

Or deduce from polars directly

Angle of attack:

q f i
dTbe B

Cl (q f i )cdrVR2 cos f
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Unmanned Aircraft Design, Modeling and Control - Rotorcraft

BEMT
Equate momentum theory with lift
equation

dTmt dTbe

C V
C V
i2 i ( l2 R ) l2 R (q f ) 0
x

8 x VT

8 x VT

r
V
Bc

,
, VT R, VR 2 x 2VT ,
, f tan 1
R
R
R
x

Calculate lift with the estimated

angle of attack

q f i

2
dL Cl c dr Ve
2

2
dD Cd c dr Ve
2

Unmanned Aircraft Design, Modeling and Control - Rotorcraft

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References
BOOKS
J. Watkinson: The Art of the Helicopter
Bramwells Helicopter Dynamics
R.W. Prouty: Helicopter Performance, Stability, and Control

WEBSITES
http://www.cybercom.net/~copters/helo_aero.html

(helicopter)

http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/K-12/airplane/short.html

(general)

http://www.helis.com/pioneers/

(History)

Unmanned Aircraft Design, Modeling and Control - Rotorcraft

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