Rotary-wing aeroservoelastic problems

Abstract

The state-of-the-art in the field of alleviating rotary-wing aeroservoelastic problems (by using active controls that modify the pitch of a helicopter rotor blade so as to alleviate dynamic effects) is assessed, and the more promising developments are identified. Special attention is given to the active control of aeromechanical and aeroelastic problems, such as the active control of ground resonance, active control of air resonance, and active control of blade aeroelastic instabilities; individual blade control; active control of vibration reduction using a conventional swashplate; and coupled rotor/fuselage vibration reduction using open-loop active control. Some results are presented for each of these topics, illustrating the efficiency of the techniques which have been developed.