Frequency and Amplitude Dependent Dynamic Model of Rotor Elastomeric Damper with Refined Nonlinear Stiffness

Abstract

Elastomeric damper is a very important component for helicopter rotor system; its dynamic property has strong nonlinear behavior characterized by complex hysteresis loops, and dependence on excitation frequency, amplitude and temperature. Based on internal variables theory, combined with the nonlinear spring model, a time domain nonlinear dynamic model of elastomeric damper used for helicopter rotor load prediction is presented. The model was characterized by using the genetic algorithm, the hysteresis loop of elastomeric dampers made of different elastomeric materials under several excitation frequencies and strain amplitudes was calculated with this model and compared with experimental data. It is shown that the presented model can predict the hysteresis loop of the elastomeric dampers with little relative errors, and the model is able to catch the variation of dynamic stiffness. Therefore, the presented method can be used for helicopter rotor load prediction and aeroelastic analysis.