Aerodynamic Performance of Morphed Camber Rotor Airfoils
Document type:
Konferenzbeitrag
Author(s):
Amine Abdelmoula, Juergen Rauleder
Abstract:
In this paper, a numerical investigation of the 2D aerodynamic characteristics of morphed camber airfoils is presented. Different degrees of camber change were applied smoothly to the trailing-edge section of the NACA23012 airfoil and the resulting change in static lift,
drag and pitching moment as calculated. RANS CFD simulations were conducted over a range of Mach number of M = [0.2, 0.7] and an angle of attack range of α = [−10 ◦ , 18 ◦ ] which covers the operational regime on the main rotor blade of the Bo105 helicopter. The 2D aerodynamic characteristics of the morphed camber airfoils were compared to those of
the baseline airfoil and to other more modern airfoils commonly used on rotor blades. This investigation shows how increasing the camber near to the trailing-edge yields an augmentation of the lift capability. At M =0.6, the moderately morphed airfoils showed an increase in maximum lift coefficient of up to 34%. The morphed camber airfoil with the greatest deflection exhibited an increase in maximum lift coefficient of 63% at M =0.6. However, this was accompanied by an unacceptably high drag penalty. The moderately cambered airfoils showed the greatest improvement in aerodynamic efficiency of up to 120% compared to the baseline airfoil at Cl = 0.85 and M =0.6. The computed 2D airfoil characteristics will be used for 3D rotor comprehensive analysis to calculate the aerodynamic performance of complete rotor systems with dynamically actuated morphing rotor blades.