Helicopter airfoil aerodynamic characteristics and rotor trim in sandy environments

Abstract

Purpose

The sandy environment is one of the typical environments in which helicopters operate. Air-sand two-phase flow in sandy environments may be an important factor affecting flight safety. Taking a typical example, this paper aims to investigate the aerodynamic and rotor trim characteristics of the UH-60 helicopter in sandy environments.

Design/methodology/approach

A computational study is conducted to simulate the air-sand flow over airfoils based on the Euler–Lagrange framework. The simulation uses the S-A turbulence model and the two-way momentum coupling methodology. Additionally, the trim characteristics of the UH-60 rotor are calculated based on the isolated rotor trim algorithm.

Findings

The simulation results show that air-sand flow significantly affects the aerodynamic characteristics of the SC1095 airfoil and the SC1094R8 airfoil. The presence of sand particles leads to a decrease in lift and an increase in drag. The calculation results of the UH-60 helicopter rotor indicate that the thrust decreases and the torque increases in the sandy environment. To maintain a steady forward flight in sandy environments, it is necessary to increase the collective pitch and the longitudinal cyclic pitch.

Originality/value

In this paper, the aerodynamic characteristics of airfoils and the trim characteristics in the air-sand flow of the UH-60 helicopter are discussed, which might be a new view to analyse the impact of sandy environments on helicopter safety and manoeuvring.

Citation

Huang, Z., Cao, Y. and Wang, Y. (2024), "Helicopter airfoil aerodynamic characteristics and rotor trim in sandy environments", Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, Vol. 96 No. 2, pp. 348-355. https://doi.org/10.1108/AEAT-11-2023-0308