GROUP TWO PRESENTATION

MATERIALS AND THEIR APPLICATIONS IN ENGINEERING: HELICOPTER

BRIEF HISTORY OF HELICOPTERS

The idea of a helicopter is bionic in origin, i.e. it was derived from an attempt to adapt a natural phenomena-in this case, the whirling, bifurcated fruit of the maple tree-to a mechanical design. Leonardo Da Vinci sketched a flying machine that may have been based on the whirlgig during the 15th century. In the early 19th century, Sir George Cayley drew a twin-rotor aircraft. In the early 20th century, Paul Cornu managed to lift himself off the ground for a

For a long time no one could devise an engine that could generate enough vertical thrust to lift both the helicopter and any significant load off the ground. The first helicopter was built by Igor Sikorsky in 1909 but neither the prototype not its successor in 1910 succeeded. During World War I, Theodore von Karman constructed a helicopter that was able hover for extended periods. Years later, Juan de la Cierva developed a machine called an autogiro which became popular in the 1920s and 30s. The helicopter was eventually perfected by Igor Sikorsky with advances in aerodynamic theory and building materials. It was used extensively during World War II.

A TYPICAL HELICOPTER
A typical helicopter has four(4) compartments; The rotor blades The fuselage The tail plane The landing gear A helicopters power comes from either a piston engine or a gas turbine (recently, the latter has predominated), which moves the rotor shaft causing the rotor to turn. The rotor achieves lift by pushing the

MATERIALS USED IN THE PRODUCTION OF A HELICOPTER

In general, the airframe i.e. fundamental structure of a helicopter can be made of either metal or organic composite materials or a combination of the two. Higher performance requirements will require higher strength-to-weight ratio often epoxy reinforced with glass, aramid (a strong flexible nylon fiber) or carbon fibre. Tubular and sheet metal substructures are usually made of aluminum, though stainless steel or titanium is sometimes

HELICOPTER ROTOR BLADES

They are usually made of fibre-reinforced plastics (FRPs) which may be adhesively bonded with an external sheet metal layer to protect the edges. The composite can be glass or carbon FRPs The matrix has the following characteristics; They allow external stresses to be conveyed and distributed to them. They are ductile and relatively soft. With high plasticity, they prevent crack propagation between fibres. They are light and readily available at low cost.

THE FUSELAGE
Canopies, windscreens and passenger compartment windows are generally made of polycarbonate sheet. They are made by laying the sheet over a mould, heating it and forming it with air pressure in a process called free-blowing in which no tool ever touches the part. Other materials used are polystyrene, fibreglass and carbon fibre. These materials have the following characteristics; Polystyrene is very inexpensive and serve as very good protective shells for little helicopters. Polycarbonate is light and inexpensive but cold weather makes them very brittle. Fibreglass is heavier and more expensive but stronger.

THE TAIL PLANE

This carries the anti-torque rotor or tail rotor; which is a smaller rotor mounted so that it rotates vertical or near-vertically in order to counter the torque effect created by the main rotor. They are majorly made from carbon fibre and glass fibre but for smaller helicopters, aluminium and plastics are used. The characteristics of the materials are; They are strong and light. They handle heat and cold properly. They absorb vibration. Carbon fibre can be moulded to be super stiff in one direction and flexible in another direction.

THE LANDING GEAR

This is an area of helicopter design that continues to elude the composites community. This is due to the fact that structural elements with concentrated loads and conservative design practice has traditionally dictated metals for its use. But this may change if the on-going research to design and fabricate lightweight and durable composite landing gears is successful.

THE LANDING GEAR

A TYPICAL HELICOPTER

THE FUTURE: HOTELICOPTERS

The hotelicopter is modelled on an old soviet Mil V-12 helicopter and features 18 luxuriouslyappointed soundproof rooms complete with queen sized beds, wireless internet and room service as expected from a 5-star hotel.