Hostname: page-component-77c89778f8-9q27g Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-21T11:11:47.290Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Improving the aerodynamic performance of a cycloidal rotor through active compliant morphing

Part of: Smart Aircraft

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 May 2017

L. Ferrier ,
M. Vezza  and
H. Zare-Behtash
L. Ferrier*
Affiliation:
University of Glasgow, Aerospace Division, Glasgow, United Kingdom
M. Vezza
Affiliation:
University of Glasgow, Aerospace Division, Glasgow, United Kingdom
H. Zare-Behtash
Affiliation:
University of Glasgow, Aerospace Division, Glasgow, United Kingdom
*
l.ferrier.1@research.gla.ac.uk
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Cycloidal rotors are a novel form of propulsion system that can be adapted to various forms of transport such as air and marine vehicles, with a geometrical design differing significantly from the conventional screw propeller. Research on cycloidal rotor design began in the early 1930s and has developed throughout the years to the point where such devices now operate as propulsion systems for various aerospace applications such as micro air vehicles, unmanned air vehicles and compound helicopters. The majority of research conducted on the cycloidal rotor’s aerodynamic performance have not assessed mitigating the dynamic stall effect, which can have a negative impact on the rotor performance when the blades operate in the rotor retreating side. A solution has been proposed to mitigate the dynamic stall effect through employment of active, compliant leading-edge morphing. A review of the current state of the art in this area is presented. A two-dimensional, implicit unsteady numerical analysis was conducted using the commercial computational fluid dynamics software package STAR CCM+, on a two-bladed cycloidal rotor. An overset mesh technique, otherwise known as a chimera mesh, was used to apply complex transient motions to the simulations. Active, compliant leading-edge morphing is applied to an oscillating NACA 0015 aerofoil to attempt to mitigate the dynamic stall whilst maintaining the positive dynamic lift coefficient (Cl) contributions. It was verified that by applying a pulsed input leading-edge rotational morphing schedule, the leading-edge vortex does not fully form and the large flow separation is prevented. Further work in this investigation will focus on coupling the active, leading-edge motion to the cycloidal rotor model with the aim to maximise aerodynamic performance.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Aeronautical Journal , Volume 121 , Issue 1241 , July 2017 , pp. 901 - 915
Copyright
Copyright © Royal Aeronautical Society 2017 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

1. Boirum, C. and Post, S. Review of historic and modern cyclogyro design, 45th AIAA/ASME/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference & Exhibit, August 2009, Denver, Colorado, pp 1–11.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
2. Hwang, S., Lee, C.H., Kim, S.J. and Min, S.Y. Development of a four-rotor cyclocopter, J Aircr, November 2008, 45, 6, pp 2151–2157.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
3. Xisto, C.M., Pascoa, J.C., Abdollahzadeh, M. and Leger, J.A. PECyT - plasma enhanced cycloidal thruster, Propulsion and Energy Forum, July 2014, Cleveland, Ohio, pp 1–13.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
4. Gagnon, L., Morandini, M., Quaranta, G., Muscarello, V. and Masarati, P. Aerodynamic models for cycloidal rotor analysis, Aircr Engineering Aerospace Technology: An Int J, 2016, 88, 2, pp 215–231.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
5. Sachse, H. Kirsten-boeing propeller, TM National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, No 351, 1926.Google Scholar
6. Strandgren, C.B. The theory of the strandgren cyclogiro, TM National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, No 727, 1933.Google Scholar
7. Wheatley, J.B. Simplified aerodynamic analysis of the cyclogiro rotating-wing system, TN National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, No 467, 1933.Google Scholar
8. Wheatley, J.B. and Windler, R. Wind-tunnel tests of a cyclogiro rotor, TN National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, No 528, 1935.Google Scholar
9. Boschma, J. Cycloidal propulsion for UAV VTOL applications, Tech Rep, Bosch Aerospace, Inc. Huntsville, Alabama, 1998.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
10. Kim, S.J., Yun, C.Y., Kim, D., Yoon, Y. and Park, I. Design and performance tests of cycloidal propulsion systems, AIAA J, 2003.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
11. Hwang, I.S., Kang, W. and Kim, S.J. High altitude cycloidal wind turbine system design, Procedia Engineering, 2013, 67, pp 78–84.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
12. McNabb, M.L. Development of a cycloidal propulsion computer model and comparison with experiment, 2001, Master’s thesis, Mississippi State University, Starkvill, Mississippi, US.Google Scholar
13. Benedict, M., Ramasamy, M. and Chopra, I. Improving the aerodynamic performance of micro-air-vehicle scale cycloidal rotor: An experimental approach, J Aircr, 2010, 47, 4, pp 1117–1125.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
14. Benedict, M., Mattaboni, M., Chopra, I. and Masarati, P. Aeroelastic analysis of a micro-air-vehicle-scale cycloidal rotor in hover, AIAA J, 2011, 49, 11, pp 2430–2443.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
15. Benedict, M., Jarugumilli, T. and Chopra, I. Effect of rotor geometry and blade kinematics on cycloidal rotor hover performance, J Aircr, 2013, 50, 5, pp 1340–1352.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
16. Benedict, M., Jarugumilli, T., Lakshminarayan, V. and Chopra, I. Effect of flow curvature on forward flight performance of a micro-air-vehicle-scale cycloidal rotor, AIAA J, 2014, 52, 6, pp 1159–1169.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
17. Benedict, M., Mullins, J., Hrishikeshavan, V. and Chopra, I. Development of a quad cycloidal-rotor unmanned aerial vehicle, J American Helicopter Soc, 2016, pp 1–12.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
18. Xisto, C.M., Pascoa, J.C., Leger, J.A., Masarati, P., Quaranta, G., Morandini, M., Gagnon, L., Wills, D. and Schwaiger, M. Numerical modelling of geometric effects in the performance of a cycloidal rotor, 11th World Congress on Computational Mechanics, 2014.Google Scholar
19. Pascoa, J. Cycloidal rotor optimised for propulsion, Tech Rep, European Union Seventh Framework Programme, Universidade da Beira Interior, Portugal, 2015.Google Scholar
20. Geissler, W., Sobieczky, H. and Trenker, M. New rotor airfoil design procedure for unsteady flow control, 26th European Rotorcraft Forum, 26–29 September, 2000, The Hague, The Netherlands.Google Scholar
21. Kerho, M. Adaptive airfoil dynamic stall control, 43rd AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting, 2005, Reno, Nevada.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
22. Baker, D. and Friswell, M.I. The design of morphing aerofoils using compliant mechanisms, 19th International Conference on Adaptive Structures and Technologies, 2008, Ascona, Switzerland.Google Scholar
23. Kota, S., Osborn, R., Ervin, G. and Maric, D. Mission adaptive compliant wing - design, fabrication and flight test, NATO, 2014, pp 1–19.Google Scholar
24. Kota, S., Hetrick, J., Li, Z. and Saggere, L. Tailoring unconventional actuators using compliant transmissions: Design methods and applications, IEEE/ASME Transactions on Mechantronics, 1999, 4, 4, pp 396–408.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
25. Barbarino, S., Bilgen, O., Ajaj, R.M., Friswell, M.I. and Inman, D.J. A review of morphing aircraft, J Intelligent Material Systems and Structures, 2011, 22, 9, pp 823–877.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
26. Barbarino, S., Ameduri, S. and Pecora, R. Wing chamber control architectures based on SMA: numerical investigations, Int Conference on Smart Materials and Nano Technology in Engineering, 2007, 6423, Harbin, China, pp 1–8.Google Scholar
27. Seow, A.K. and Liu, Y. Shape memory alloy as actuator to deflect a wing flap, 49th AIAA/ASME/ASCE/AHS/ASC Structures, Structural Dynamics, and Materials Conference, 2008, Schaumburg, Illinois.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
28. Manzo, J., Garcia, E., Wickenheiser, A. and Horner, G.C. Adaptive structural systems and compliant skin technology of morphing aircraft structures, Smart Structures and Materials 2004: Smart Structures and Integrated Systems, 2004, 5390, Bellingham, Washington, pp 225–234.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
29. Hagood, N., Kindel, R., Ghandi, K. and Gaudenzi, P. Improving transverse actuation of piezoceramics using interdigitated surface electrodes, Smart Structures and Intelligent Systems, 1993, 1917, pp 341–352.Google Scholar
30. Moses, R.W., Wieseman, C.D., Bent, A.A. and Pizzochero, A.E. Evaluation of new actuators in a buffet loads environment, Smart Structures and Materials 2001: Industrial and Commercial Applications of Smart Structures, 2001, 4332, Newport Beach, California, pp 10–21.Google Scholar
31. Bilgen, O., Kochersberger, K.B. and Inman, D.J. Novel, bi-directional, variable camber airfoil via macro-fiber composite actuators, Journal of Aircraft, 2010, 47, (1), pp 303-314.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
32. High, J.W. and Wilkie, W.K. Method of fabricating NASA-standard macro fiber composite piezoelectric actuators, NASA TM, 2003, TM-212427, pp 1–30.Google Scholar
33. Vos, R., Barrett, R., de Breuker, R. and Tiso, P. Post-buckled precompressed elements: a new class of control actuators for morphing wing UAVs, Smart Materials and Structures, 2007, 16, 3, pp 919–926.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
34. Jarugumilli, T., Lind, A., Benedict, M., Lakshminarayan, V.K., Jones, A.R. and Chopra, I. Experimental and computational flow field studies of a MAV-scale cycloidal rotor in forward flight, 69th American Helicopter Society International Forum, 2013, Phoenix, Arizona.Google Scholar
35. Green, R.B Galbraith, R.A.McD. and Niven, A.J. The convection speed of the dynamic stall vortex, Tech Rep, 1992, University of Glasgow, Department of Aerospace Engineering.Google Scholar
36. Kota, S., et al. Design and application of compliant mechanisms for morphing aircraft structures, Smart Structures and Materials: Industrial and Commercial Applications, 2003, 4054, San Diego, California, pp 24–33.Google Scholar
37. Xinxing, T., Wenjie, G., Chao, S. and Xiaoyong, L. Topology optimisation of compliant adaptive wing leading edge with composite materials, Chinese J Aeronautics, 2014, 27, 6, pp 1488–1494.Google Scholar
38. Sun, R., Chen, G., Zhou, C., Zhou, L. and Jinhui, J. Multidisciplinary design optimisation of adaptive wing leading edge, Science China Technological Sciences, 2013, 56, 7, pp 1790–1797.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
39. Latalski, J. Modelling of macro fiber composite piezoelectric active elements in abaqus system, Maintenance and Reliability, 2011, 4, 4, pp 72–78.Google Scholar
40. Bowen, C.R., Giddings, P., Salo, A. and Kim, H.A. Modeling and characterization of piezoelectrically actuated bistable composites, IEEE Transactions on Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics and Frequency Control, 2011, 58, 9, pp 1737–1750.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
41. Latalski, J., Georgiades, F. and Warminski, J. Rational placement of a macro fibre composite actuator in composite rotating beams, J Physics: Conference Series, 2012, 382, pp 1–6.Google Scholar