Aerodynamics and Fluid Mechanics Commons^™

Vortex Generated Rotor Wake Model For Real-Time Simulation, Kenneth S. Graham

Link Foundation Modeling, Simulation and Training Fellowship Reports

The University of Alabama Flight Dynamics Laboratory (UA FDL) has been simulating helicopters since 1981. The real-time, man-in-the-loop, simulator was developed locally and is continuously being upgraded. The hardware, software, architecture and math models are all developed in-house by a team of faculty and graduate students. Since 1994, the UA rotor model has been Bladehelo [2] - a true blade model that numerically integrates the flapping motion of individual blades and the shaft rotation. The approach is physically based. Discrepancies are studied until they are understood. Bladehelo played a key role in the discovery of residual bending [3], [4]. Bladehe!o …