Abstract

The rotor and the airframe of a rotorcraft can have severe effects on each other because of flowfield interactions. Data on flowfield characteristics have been obtained using laser velocimetry in an attempt to identify and interpret the features of such interactions. This paper summarizes previous results on the flowfield of the rotor and then describes the effects of the rotor wake on the flowfield around an airframe model. A circular cylinder with a hemispherical nose is used as the airframe model and is instrumented with static pressure taps and flush-mounted microphones. A two-bladed teetering rotor is suspended above it in a wind tunnel. The periodic and time-averaged velocity fields are measured along lines parallel to the airframe axis at a rotor advance ratio of 0.1 and a rotor tip Mach number of 0.29. The dominant features in the velocity distribution over the airframe are seen to be linked to vortex interactions with the airframe surface. The tip vortex and the trailing vortex sheet are seen to be displaced in opposite directions by the airframe. Secondary vortex generation phenomena are observed near the airframe surface during vortex interaction.

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