Published online by Cambridge University Press: 04 July 2016
Presented in this paper are the preliminary results from a blade-vortex interaction (BVI) test series conducted in the University of Glasgow's 1·61m x 2·13m closed-return, low-speed windtunnel, in which a single vortex interaction with a rigid, loaded rotor blade was studied. This work is an extension of that by Horner and Galbraith, which describes the flow phenomena present during single vortex interaction with an unloaded blade. The paper presents blade surface pressure data recorded by 72 pressure transducers located in the outer regions of the blade during these interactions. Integrated Cn and Cm1/4 data are also presented to provide a detailed history of a BVI event. In addition, a method of isolating the bound circulation and vortex induced effects is presented, from which it is concluded that for a BVI event the vortex-induced effects are (to a first approximation) independent of rotor pitch setting.