LOAD ESTIMATION ON HELICOPTER BLADE

USING CFD

A MINI PROJECT REPORT

Submitted by
B. BALAKUMARAN (1801008)
A. PRASANNA KUMAR (1801028)
K. RAGUNATH (1801031)

in partial fulfillment for the award of the degree

of
BACHELOR OF ENGINEERING
IN
AERONAUTICAL ENGINEERING

PSN COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING & TECHNOLOGY

Melathediyoor, Tirunelveli-627157
(An Autonomous Institution affiliated to Anna University, Chennai)
Approved by AICTE, Recognized by UGC under section 2(f), 12(b)
An ISO 9001:2015 certified Institution

JANUARY-2022
LOAD ESTIMATION ON HELICOPTER BLADE
USING CFD

A MINI PROJECT REPORT

Submitted by
B. BALAKUMARAN (1801008)
A. PRASANNA KUMAR (1801028)
K. RAGUNATH (1801031)

in partial fulfillment for the award of the degree

of
BACHELOR OF ENGINEERING
IN
AERONAUTICAL ENGINEERING

PSN COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING & TECHNOLOGY

Melathediyoor, Tirunelveli-627157
(An Autonomous Institution affiliated to Anna University, Chennai)
Approved by AICTE, Recognized by UGC under section 2(f), 12(b)
An ISO 9001:2015 certified Institution

JANUARY-2022

i
 BONAFIDE CERTIFICATE

Certified that this project of “LOAD ESTIMATION ON HELICOPTER

BLADE USING CFD” is the bonafide work of B. BALA KUMARAN

(1801008), A. PRASANNA KUMAR (1801028), K. RAGUNATH (1801031)

who carried out the project work under my supervision.

SIGNATURE SIGNATURE

Dr. K. CHANDRASEKAR, Ph.D Mr. VINOTH, M.E

Head of Department, Assistant Professor,

Dept. of Aeronautical Engg, Dept. Of Aeronautical Engg,

PSNCET PSNCET

Tirunelveli-627152 Tirunelveli-627152

Submitted for the B.E Mini Project (501301) work viva -voice at The PSN college
of Engineering and Technology, Tirunelveli- 627152, on..............................

External Examiner Internal Examiner

ii
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
We wish to express our deep sense of gratitude to our honourable

Chairman, Dr.P. SUYAMBU, M.Sc., ML., Ph.D. providing necessary wisdom

and race for accomplishing this project.

We whole-heartedly extend our warm gratitude to our respected Vice

Chairman, Er.P.S. JAYARAM for this kind encouragement and providing

opportunity to uplift our world class education.

We would like to express indebtedness to beloved Executive Director

Dr.P. SELVAKUMAR, M.E., Ph.D., and principal Dr.V. MANIKANDAN,

M.E., Ph.D., and Academic Director Dr.X. SAHAYA SHAJAN, M.E., Ph.D.,

for this unflinching devotion and continuous encouragement motivated us to

complete this project work.

We express our thanks to our Head of the Department

Dr.K. CHANDRASEKAR, Ph.D., for giving us valuable suggestions and

giving permission to undertake this mini project report.

We are very thankful to our Project Coordinator Mr. VINOTH, M.E,

who helped as in the completion of the project with his valuable guidance.

We express our sincere gratitude to our department faculty and non-

teaching staff for their continuous support and guide lines. We express our

gratitude and thanks to our parent for giving health as well as a sound mind for

completing this project.

iii
 TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER NO. TITLE PAGE NO.

LISTOF FIGURES vi
LIST OF TABLES vii
ABSTRACT viii
1 CHAPTER - 1 1
INTRODUCTION 1
2 CHAPTER – 2 6
2.1 AIRFOIL SELECTION 6
3 CHAPTER – 3 10
3.1 INTRODUCTION 10
3.2 HISTORY OF CFD 10
3.3 GOVERNING EQUATION OF CFD 11
3.4 STEPS FOLLOWED IN CFD 11
3.4.1 BUILDING A MESH 11
3.4.2 SURFACE MESHING 12
3.4.3 VOLUMETRIC MESHES 13
3.5 SOLVING THE CFD PROBLEM 13
3.6 POST PROCESSING 15
3.7 REPORT GENERATING 15
4 CHAPTER – 4 16
AIRFOIL ANALYSIS-FLUENT 16
4.1 BOUNDARY CONDITION 16
4.2 COUNTOUR CONDITION 17
4.3 CONTOUR PRESSURE 18
4.4 AERODYNAMIC LOAD 19

iv
5 CHAPTER – 5 20
DESIGN OF A VR-7 WING 20
6 CHAPTER – 6 22
STATIC STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS 22
6.1 BOUNDARY CONDITION 22
6.2 STEEL BLADE 23
6.3 ALUMINUM BLADE 27
7 CHAPTER – 7 31
MAIN ROTOR CONFIGURATION 31
7.1 DESIGN 31
7.2 FLOW SIMULATION 33
7.3 COUNTOUR VELOCITY 34
7.4 CONTOUR PRESSURE 35
8 CONCLUSION 36
9 REFERENCE 37

v
 LIST OF FIGURES

FIGURE TITLE PAGE

NO.
1.1 Boeing CH-46E Sea knight 2
2.1 Air foil geometry 6
2.2 Angle of attack 6
2.3 VR-7 Air foil 8
4.1 Velocity 17
4.2 Pressure 18
5.1 3D Blade model 20
5.2 Dimension of wing 21
6.1 Ansys imported 22
6.2 Total deformation 23
6.2.1 Equivalent Strain 24
6.2.2 Equivalent Stress 25
6.3 Total deformation 27
6.3.1 Equivalent Stress 28
6.3.2 Equivalent Strain 29
7.1 SOLIDWORDS assembly 31
7.2 Flow around main rotor 33
7.3 Velocity Contour 34
7.4 Pressure Contour 35

vi
 LIST OF TABLES

TABLE TITLE PAGE

NO.
2.1 Specification 9
4.1 Boundary Conditions 16
4.2 Aerodynamic Loads 19
5.1 Blade Specification 21
6.1 Material data 22
6.2 Model 26
6.3 Material data 26
6.4 Modal 30
6.5 Comparison of data 30
7.1 Specification 32

vii
 ABSTRACT

Helicopter must be light enough to fly but also strong enough to endure the

loads they experience during flight. In order to design such a structure, accurate

evaluation of loads is important. Once the loads applied to the structure are

calculated precisely, then the deflections and stresses can be calculated and sizing

of the structures can be performed accordingly. To determine the load distribution

in main helicopter rotor blade in Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). The aim

of the present investigation is the understanding the aerodynamic loads and

structural loads using ANSYS computation procedure and accurately simulating

the flow around an isolated helicopter blade. For this purpose, the complete of

main rotor blade is designed in SOLIDWORKS using SOLIDWORKS 2021 and

load estimation is analysed in ANSYS.

Keywords: SOLIDWORKS, ANSYS, CFD, rotor blade

viii
 CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
Nowadays, aerodynamic interaction between the main rotors of helicopter
still remains a challenging task. The flow around a helicopter is dominated by
complex aerodynamics and flow interaction phenomena. Today, powerful
computational fluid dynamics (CFD) methods are progressively more used in the
analysis of the whole helicopter avoiding experiential corrections. The problem
of main rotor analysed in relatively ANSYS Fluent and Static Structural
Commercial software is applied in obtaining influence of the fuselage on the main
rotor blade sectional loads for the BOEING CH-46E SEA KNIGHT helicopter

BOEING CH-46E SEA KNIGHT

The Boeing Vertol CH-46 Sea Knight is a medium-lift tandem-rotor

transport helicopter powered by twin turboshaft engines. It was designed by
Vertol and manufactured by Boeing Vertol following Vertol's acquisition by
Boeing.

Development of the Sea Knight, which was originally designated by the firm as
the Vertol Model 107, commenced during 1956. It was envisioned as a successor
to the first generation of rotorcraft, such as the H-21 "Flying Banana", that had
been powered by piston engines; in its place, the V-107 made use of the emergent
turboshaft engine. On 22 April 1958, the V-107 prototype performed its maiden
flight. During June 1958, the US Army awarded a contract for the construction
of ten production-standard aircraft, designated as the YHC-1A, based on the V-
107; this initial order was later cut down to three YHC-1As though. During 1961,
the US Marine Corps (USMC), which had been studying its requirements for a
medium-lift, twin-turbine cargo/troop assault helicopter, selected Boeing Vertol's
Model 107M as the basis from which to manufacture a suitable rotorcraft to meet
their needs. Known colloquially as the "Phrog" and formally as the "Sea Knight",

1
it was operated across all US Marine Corps' operational environments between
its introduction during the Vietnam War and its frontline retirement during 2014.

The Sea Knight was operated by the USMC to provide all-weather, day-or-night
assault transport of combat troops, supplies and equipment until it was replaced
by the MV-22 Osprey during the 2010s. The USMC also used the helicopter for
combat support, search and rescue (SAR), casualty evacuation and Tactical
Recovery of Aircraft and Personnel (TRAP). The Sea Knight also functioned as
the US Navy's standard medium-lift utility helicopter prior to the type being
phased out of service in favour of the MH-60S Knight hawk during the early
2000s. Several overseas operators acquired the rotorcraft as well. Canada
operated the Sea Knight, designated as CH-113; the type was used predominantly
in the SAR role until 2004. Other export customers for the type included Japan,
Sweden, and Saudi Arabia. The commercial version of the rotorcraft is the BV
107-II, commonly referred to simply as the "Vertol".

Fig: 1.1 Boeing CH-46E sea knight

2
PROBLEMS:
CH-46 operations were plagued by major technical problems; the engines,
being prone to foreign object damage (FOD) from debris being ingested when
hovering close to the ground and subsequently suffering a compressor stall.
According to authors Williamson Murray and Robert H Scales, the Sea Knight
displayed serious reliability and maintenance problems, as well as "limited lift
capabilities”. So the helicopter retired in 2015

SPECIFICATION OF BOEING CH-46E SEA KNIGHT

Crew:
5: Two pilots, One crew chief, One aerial gunner/observer, One tail gunner
Capacity:
24 troops or 15 stretchers and two attendants
7,000 lb (3,200 kg)
Length:
44 ft 10 in (13.67 m) (fuselage)
83 ft 4 in (25.40 m) (rotors turning)
Height:
16 ft 9 in (5.11 m) to top of rear rotor head
Empty weight:
15,537 lb (7,047 kg) [122]
Gross weight:
24,300 lb (11,022 kg)
Max take-off weight:
24,300 lb (11,022 kg) [122]
Fuel capacity:
350 US gal (290 imp gal; 1,300 l) internal
Powerplant:

3
 2 × General Electric T58-GE-16 turboshaft engines, 1,870 shp (1,390 kW)
each
Main rotor diameter:
2 × 50 ft (15 m)
Main rotor area:
3,926.99 sq ft (364.829 m2)
Rotor blade section: root:
Boeing VR-7; tip:
Boeing VR-8[123]

PERFORMANCE:

Maximum speed:
144 kn (166 mph, 267 km/h) at sea level
Cruise speed:
143 kn (165 mph, 265 km/h) maximum at sea level
Range:
550 nmi (630 mi, 1,020 km) with 2,400 lb (1,100 kg) payload
Ferry range:
600 nmi (690 mi, 1,100 km)
Service ceiling:
17,000 ft (5,200 m)
Hover ceiling IGE:
9,500 ft (2,900 m)
Hover ceiling OGE:
5,750 ft (1,750 m)
Rate of climb:
1,715 ft/min (8.71 m/s)
Disk loading:

4
 4.43 lb/sq ft (21.6 kg/m2)
Power/mass:
0.215 hp/lb (0.353 kW/kg)

5
 CHAPTER 2
AIRFOIL SELECTION
2.1 AIR FOIL GEOMETRY

An Air foil is a surface designed to obtain a desirable reaction from the

air through which it moves.

Figure 2.1 Air foil geometry

Chord line: Straight line connecting leading edge and trailing edge.
Thickness: Measured perpendicular to chord line as a % of it.
Camber: Curvature of section – perpendicular distance of section mid-points from
chord line as a % of it.

ANGLE OF ATTACK (α)

Figure 2.2 Angle of attack

6
 Angle of attack (α) is the angle between the free stream and the chord line.
Aerofoil Selection is based on the factors of Geometry & definitions,
design/selection, families/types, design lift coefficient, thickness/chord ratio, lift
curve slope, characteristic curves.

The following are air foil categories:

Early on, air foil selection was based on trial & error.
NACA 4 digit was introduced during the 1930’s.
NACA 5-digit is aimed at pushing position of max camber forwards for increased
CLmax.
NACA 6-digit is designed for lower drag by increasing region of laminar flow.

The modern air foil is mainly based upon need for improved aerodynamic
characteristics at speeds just below speed of sound.

NACA 4 Digit:
• 1st digit: maximum camber (as % of chord).
• 2nd digit (x10): location of maximum camber (as % of chord from leading
edge (LE)).
• 3rd & 4th digits: maximum section thickness (as % of chord).

NACA 5 Digit:
• 1st digit (x0.15): design lift coefficient.
• 2nd & 3rd digits (x0.5): location of maximum camber (as % of chord from
LE).
• 4th & 5th digits: maximum section thickness (as % of chord).

7
NACA 6 Digit:
• 1st digit: identifies series type.
• 2nd digit (x10): location of minimum pressure (as % of chord from leading
edge (LE)).
• 3rd digit: indicates acceptable range of CL above/below design value for
satisfactory low drag performance (as tenths of CL).
• 4th digit (x0.1): design CL.
• 5th & 6th digits: maximum section thickness (%c)

Figure 2.3 VR-7 Air foil

Figure 2.3 Shows that the Boeing CH-46E sea knight helicopter Air foil.

8
 Table 2.1 Specification

S.NO. PARAMETERS VALUES

1 Thickness: 12.0%
2 Camber: 3.1%
3 Trailing edge angle: 12.3o
4 Lower flatness: 12.7%
5 Leading edge radius: 2.5%
6 Efficiency: 33.8
7 Max CL: 1.237
8 Max CL angle: 15.0
9 Max L/D: 49.648
10 Max L/D angle: 5.5
11 Max L/D CL: 0.871
12 Stall angle: 8.5
13 Zero-lift angle: -2.5

9
 CHAPTER 3

THEORY OF CFD

3.1 INTRODUCTION

Fluid dynamics is a field of science which studies the physical laws

governing the flow of fluids under various conditions. Great effort has gone into
understanding the governing loss and the nature of fluids themselves, resulting in
a complex yet theoretically strong field of research. Computational Fluid
Dynamics or CFD as it is popularly known is used to generate flow simulations
with the help of computer. CFD involves the solution of the governing loss of
fluid dynamics numerically. The complex sets of partial differential equation of
solved on in geometrical domain divided into small volumes, commonly known
as a mesh (or grid).

Computational fluid dynamics

Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is the science of predicting fluid

flow, heat transfer, mass transfer, chemical reactions, and related phenomena by
solving the mathematical equations which govern these processes using a
numerical process

3.2 HISTORY OF CFD

Computers have been used to solve fluid flow problems for many years.
Numerous programs have been written to solve either specific problems, or
specific classes of problems. From the mid-1970's, the complex mathematics
required to generalize the algorithms began to be understood, and general purpose
CFD solvers were developed. These began to appear in the early 1980's and
required what were then very powerful computers, as well as an in-depth
knowledge of fluid dynamics, and large amounts of time to set up simulations.
Consequently, CFD was a tool used almost exclusively in research.

10
3.3 GOVERNING EQATION OF CFD

Applying the fundamental laws of mechanics to a fluid gives the governing

equations for a fluid.

The conservation of mass equation is

And the conservation of momentum equation is

These equations along with the conservation of energy equation form a set
of coupled, nonlinear partial differential equations. It is not possible to solve these
equations analytically for most engineering problems. However, it is possible to
obtain approximate computer-based solutions to the governing equations for a
variety of engineering problems. This is the subject matter of Computational
Fluid Dynamics (CFD).

3.4 STEPS FOLLOWED IN CFD

• Fluid domain extraction

• Surface meshing
• Volume mesh
• solving the CFD problem
• Post processing
• Report generating

11
3.4.1 BUILDING A MESH

One of the most cumbersome and time-consuming part of the CFD is the
mesh generation. Although for very simple flows, mesh generation is easy, it
becomes very complex when the problem has many cavities and passages, Mesh
generation is basically the discretization of the computational domain. The mesh
in finite difference methods consists of a set of points, which are called nodes
Values of the dependent variables, such as velocity, pressure, temperature, etc.
will be described for each element. Various forms of elements can be used.
However, the most common type in CFD programs is a hexahedron with eight
nodes, one at each corner, and this is known as a brick element or volume. Some
finite volume programs have now been released which have the ability to use
tetrahedral in three dimensions or triangles in two dimensions. Most finite
element CFD codes will allow these elements to use together with a small range
of other element types.

3.4.2 SURFACE MESHING

This package provides a function template to compute a triangular mesh

approximating a surface. This feature makes the package generic enough to be
applied in a wide variety of situations. For instance, it can be used to mesh
implicit surfaces described as the zero-level set of some function. It may also be
used in the field of medical imaging to mesh surfaces described as a grey level
set in a three-dimensional image. Basically the algorithm computes a set of
sample points on the surface, and extract an interpolating surface mesh from the
three dimensional triangulation of these sample points.

12
3.4.3 VOLUMETRIC MESHES

Volumetric meshes are a polygonal representation of the interior volume

of an object. Unlike polygon meshes, which represent only the surface as
polygons, volumetric meshes also discretize the interior structure of the object.
One application of volumetric meshes is in finite element analysis, which may
use regular or irregular volumetric meshes to compute internal stresses and forces
in an object throughout the entire volume of the object.

The procedure also includes a method for improving the quality of mesh faces on
internal and external boundaries while preserving surface characteristics as
described in the articles on polygon surface mesh quality improvement. The
procedure has proved to be very effective in improving mesh quality of multi-
material tetrahedral and hexahedral meshes while minimizing changes to the
mesh characteristics and to the discrete boundary surfaces.

3.5 SOLVING THE CFD PROBLEM

1. Reading the file.

The reading the file should clear as case file or data file or case and data file. In
this we have to read case and data file.

2. Scaling the grid.

3. Checking the grid.

4. Defining the models.

Model should define whether it is steady or unsteady and whether it is viscous.

The model is defined here is steady and viscous.

5. Defining the materials.

6. Defining the boundary condition

7. Controls

13
8. Initialize

9. Monitor

10. Iterate

The component that solves the CFD problem is called the Solver. It
produces the required results in a non-interactive/batch process. A CFD problem
is solved as follows:

The partial differential equations are integrated over all the control
volumes in the region of interest. This is equivalent to applying a basic
conservation law (for example, for mass or momentum) to each control volume.
These integral equations are converted to a system of algebraic equations by
generating a set of approximations for the terms in the integral equations.

The algebraic equations are solved iteratively. An iterative approach is

required because of the non-linear nature of the equations, and as the solution
approaches the exact solution, it is said to converge. For each iteration an error,
or residual, is reported as a measure of the overall conservation of the flow
properties.

The solution process requires no user interaction and is, therefore, usually
carried out as a batch process. The solver produces a results file which is then
passed to the post-processor.

14
3.6 POST PROCESSING

The post-processor is the component used to analyse, visualize and present

the results interactively. Post-processing includes anything from obtaining point
values to complex animated sequences.

Examples of some important features of post-processors are:

1. Visualization of the geometry and control volumes.

2. Vector plots showing the direction and magnitude of the flow.
3. Visualization of the variation of scalar variables (variables which
have only magnitude, not direction, such as temperature, pressure
and speed) through the domain.
4. Quantitative numerical calculations.
5. Animation.
6. Charts showing graphical plots of variables.
7. Hardcopy and online output

3.7 REPORT GENERATING

All charts, tables, figures, and comments automatically become report

content. The report component order can be adjusted and figures can be 3D
Viewer files or bitmaps. Different output formats are available, including HTML.

15
 CHAPTER 4

AIRFOIL ANALYSIS-FLUENT

4.1 BOUNDARY CONDITION

Boundary conditions represent locations in the model where water flows

into or out of the model region due to external factors. Lakes, streams,
recharge, evapotranspiration and wells are all examples of boundary
conditions.

Table 4.1 Boundary Condition

S.NO. PARAMETERS VALUES

1 Inlet velocity 75 m/s
2 Outlet pressure 10pa
3 Fluid air
4 Temperature 300 k
5 Density 1.225 kg/m3
6 Area 1 m2

16
4.2 CONTOURS VELOCITY

Figure 4.1 Contour Velocity

Figure 4.1 show that the velocity contour shows that the velocity is
maximum in the upper surface of the air foil and minimum at the lower surface
of the air foil. The velocity is at a medium range at the leading edge and trailing
edge of the air foil.

17
 4.3 CONTOUR PRESSURE

Figure 4.2 Contour Pressure

Figure 4.2 show that the pressure contour shows that the pressure is maximum
in the leading edge and trailing edge of the air foil. The pressure is at a medium
range at the lower surface of the air foil which produces lift.

18
 4.4 AERODYNAMIC LOAD
Table 4.2 Aerodynamics Load

LIFT 68.08N
DRAG 14.01N

Table 4.2 shows that the aerodynamic loads such as lift and drag act along the x
direction and y direction.

19
 CHAPTER 5

DESIGN OF A VR-7 WING

Figure 5.1 3D Modal Blade

Figure 5.1 show that the blade wing is designed from the vr-7 airfoil by inserting
the coordinates into the SOLIDWORKS. By using specifications, the blade wing
is designed and the model is imported into the ANSYS design modeler for
analysis.

20
 Figure 5.2 Dimension of Blade

Table 5.1 Blade Specifications

Total blade length 305.90 in

Wing length 229.425 in
Support Link 50.984 in
Bar 25.49 in

Table 5.1 show that the blade Specification of the total blade length of the Vr-7
Helicopter Blade

21
 CHAPTER 6

STATIC STRUCTUREAL ANALYSIS

The boundary conditions are applied according to the hover case only. The
materials considered for analysis are structural steel and aluminum.

6.1 BOUNDARY CONDITION

Figure 6.1 Ansys Imported

Table 6.1 Material Data

Young’s Poisson’s Bulk Modulus Shear Modulus
modulus Psi Ratio Psi Psi
2.9008e+007 0.3 2.4173e+007 11157e+007

The bar of the blade wing is fixed and the gravitational loads are applied
because only hover case is taken into consideration.

22
 6.2 STEEL BLADE

TOTAL DEFORMATION OF STEEL BLADE

Figure 6.2 Total deformation of Steel Blade

Figure 6.2 shows the total deformation of the steel blade in 14.83 inches and
the maximum region is in the tip of the blade.

23
 EQUIVALENT STRAIN OF STEEL

Figure 6.2.1 Equivalent strain

From figure 6.2.1 the equivalent strain of the steel blade are 2.0147 e-6
Maximum

24
 EQUIVALENT STRESS OF STEEL

Figure 6.2.2 Equivalent stress

From figure 6.2.2 the equivalent stress of the steel blade are 3.9294 e5
maximum

25
 Table 6.2 Model

MODE FREQUENCY (HZ)

1 1.0221
2 3.9626
3 6.8875
4 18.357
5 23.144
6 34.012

Table 6.2 shows the frequencies at which the steel blade is vibrating at
different modal deformations.

Table 6.3 Material Data

Young’s Poisson’s Bulk Modulus Shear Modulus
modulus Psi Ratio Psi Psi
1.0298e+007 0.33 1.0096e+007 3.8713e+006

Table 6.3 shows that the Material data of the wing

26
 6.3 ALUMINUM BLADE

TOTAL DEFORMATION OFALUMINUM BLADE

Figure 6.3 Total deformation of Aluminum blade

Figure 6.3 shows the total deformation of the aluminum blade in 14.69 inches
and the maximum region is in the tip of the blade.

27
 EQUIVALENT STRESS OF ALUMINUM

Figure 6.3.1 Equivalent stress

From figure 6.3.1 the equivalent stress of the aluminum blade is 7.9811e5 max
psi

28
 EQUIVALENT SRAIN OF ALUMINIUM BLADE

Figure 6.3.2 Equivalent stain

From figure 6.3.2 the equivalent strain of the aluminum blade is 7.1656e-6
max psi

29
 Table 6.4 Modal

Model Frequency [Hz]

1 1.0271

2 3.9766

3 6.931

4 18.263

5 23.57

6 34.127

Table 6.4 shows the frequencies at which the aluminum blade is vibrating at
different modal deformations.

Table 6.5 Comparison of Data

Data/Material Steel Aluminum
Total deformation 14.83 in 14.69 in
Equivalent Stress 66804 psi 22972 psi
Equivalent strain 0.00261 in 0.00253 in
Modal Frequency 34.012 Hz 34.127 Hz

Table 6.5 shows the maximum values of the calculated data of the materials
steel and aluminum by using static structural analysis.

30
 CHAPTER 7
MAIN ROTOR CONFIGURATION
7.1 DESIGN

The design of the main rotor is done using SOLIDWORKS and the assembly
consists of a rotor hub and three blade wings. The configuration is finished by
connecting all the blade wings and the rotor hub using contact constraints and
fixed together.

Figure 7.1 SOLIDWORKS Assembly

31
 Table 7.1 Specification
Area 34.138 m2
Mass 341.377 kg
Center of gravity (Gx) 0.349 in
Moment of Inertia(Mx) 4442.39 kgm2
Area density 10kgm-2

32
 7.2 FLOW SIMULATION

Figure 7.2 Flow around main rotor

Figure 7.2 Shows that the flow simulation of the blade rotor of the
Helicopter wing

33
 7.3 CONTOURS VELOCITY

Figure 7.3 Contours Velocity

Figure 7.3 shows the velocity contours of the main rotor configuration with
air velocity (75m/s) as the boundary conditions

34
7.4 CONTOUR PRESSURE

Figure 7.4 Contour Pressure

Figure 7.4 shows that the pressure contours of the main rotor configuration
with air velocity (75m/s) as the boundary conditions

35
 CONCLUSION
In this thesis study, the Helicopter load analysis procedure is detailed, the

methods for simplification of loads input are discussed. Specifically, In the load

analysis procedure, the use of simplified aerodynamic and structural models is

emphasized. The aerodynamic and structural loads of an isolated helicopter

blade wing are calculated and the flow simulations around the main rotor

configuration are discussed. The reason behind the retirement of CH-46 Sea

Knight helicopter is lifting capabilities of the VR-7 airfoil. The characteristics

of the airfoil are also discussed and the aerodynamic loads are calculated.

36
REFERENCES

[1] K. Balaji, P. Gracekumar, K. Mahimai Prabhu, M. Manikandan, R.

Raghul, “Design and Development of Main Helicopter Rotor Blade,” in
International Journal for Research in Applied Science & Engineering
[2] Technology, vol. 5, no. 4, pp. 74-77, April 2017.
[3] K. M. Pandey, G. Kumar, D. Das, D. Deka, A. Surana and H. J. Das “CFD
analysis of an isolated main helicopter rotor for a hovering flight,” 2015.
[4] K. Pravallika Reddy, “Static Structural Analysis of a Helicopter Rotor
Blade,” in International Journal of Novel Research in Electrical and
Mechanical Engineering, vol. 2, no. 3, pp. 83-88, September/December
2015.
[5] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_Vertol_CH-46_Sea_Knight.
[6] http://www.airfoildb.com/airfoils/12.

37