Numerical investigation of the aerodynamic interaction between a tiltrotor and a tandem rotor during shipboard operations

Tan, J. F., Zhou, T. Y., Sun, Y. M. and Barakos, G. N. (2019) Numerical investigation of the aerodynamic interaction between a tiltrotor and a tandem rotor during shipboard operations. Aerospace Science and Technology, 87, pp. 62-72. (doi: 10.1016/j.ast.2019.02.005)

Abstract

Complex rotorcraft-to-rotorcraft interference problems occur during shipboard operations, and have a negative impact on safety. A vortex-based approach is used here to investigate the flow field and unsteady airloads of a tiltrotor affected by the wake of an upwind tandem rotor. In this work, the blade aerodynamics is modelled using a panel method, and the unsteady behaviour of rotor wakes is modelled using a vortex particle method. The effects of the ship and sea-surfaces are accounted for via a viscous boundary model. The method is applied to a 1/48th scaled model of a CH-46 operating on a model-scale Landing Helicopter Assault ship. The predicted vertical velocities at the location of the downstream V-22 are compared with Computational Fluid Dynamics and experiments carried out at NASA Ames Research Center. The results show that the predicted vertical velocities compare reasonably well with experiments and Computational Fluid Dynamics. A V-22 tilt-rotor placed in the wake of the CH-46 is also simulated, and rolling moments of the V-22 are calculated to show the effect of the upstream CH-46 wake.

• Item Type: Articles
• Additional Information: This work was supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province (Grant No. BK20161537) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 11502105). Also, the support of Rotor Aerodynamics Key Laboratory Foundation (Grant No. RAL20180303-1) was gratefully acknowledged.
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Tan, Mr Jianfeng and Barakos, Professor George
• Authors: Tan, J. F., Zhou, T. Y., Sun, Y. M., and Barakos, G. N.
• College/School: College of Science and Engineering > School of Engineering > Autonomous Systems and Connectivity
• Journal Name: Aerospace Science and Technology
• Publisher: Elsevier
• ISSN: 1270-9638
• ISSN (Online): 1626-3219
• Published Online: 12 February 2019
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2019 Elsevier
• First Published: First published in Aerospace Science and Technology 87:62-72
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher