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UH-60A helicopter rotor airloads measured in flight

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 July 2016

R. M. Kufeld  and
W. G. Bousman
R. M. Kufeld
Affiliation:
Aerospace Engineer Nasa Ames Research Center Moffett Field, California, USA
W. G. Bousman
Affiliation:
Research Scientist US Army Aeroflightdynamics Directorate (Atcom) Moffett Field, California, USA
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Abstract

The flight test phase of the Nasa-Army UH-60A Airloads Program was completed in February 1994. The objective of the project was to measure the airloads in flight on an UH-60A Black Hawk using 221 blade pressure transducers installed in nine radial arrays. In addition, 21 transducers were installed along the blade leading edge to better identify blade-vortex interaction phenomena. This paper briefly describes the program's background and history, instrumentation, and data acquisition. Airloads data are presented for two test conditions with different levels of complexity: steady, level flight and a diving turn. These flight data provide useful information of relatively simple and complex nonlinear flow for the validation of theoretical analyses. Evidence of shock waves, reverse flow, dynamic stall and blade vortex interactions are presented.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Aeronautical Journal , Volume 101 , Issue 1005 , May 1997 , pp. 217 - 227
Copyright
Copyright © Royal Aeronautical Society 1997 

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