Quicker chopper design
The design of helicopter rotors is extremely difficult and complex, making the process expensive as well. By development of an innovative tool box, the EU-funded MORALI (Multi-objective robust assessment of helicopter improvements) project has improved Europe's capacity for helicopter rotor design. Initial goals included developing new methods, including those improving design speed, fidelity, and automation. The methods were applied to a relevant real case, and finally implemented industrially. The two-partner undertaking ran from early 2011 to the end of 2014. Work involved aerodynamic simulation, leading to refined methods and improved tools for physical modelling. In order to accomplish the stage, the team defined appropriate performance, especially regarding power input. The development yielded definition of a new optimisation goal. A subsequent stage involved adaptation of an existing optimisation procedure to the project's specific needs. The tool generated a new parameter set, to be evaluated aerodynamically, and enabled further revision of the optimisation procedure. The result was a blending of different reliability and cost levels to achieve the best design with least computation. The group's complete tool set was successfully applied to an industrial rotor optimisation problem. Airbus Helicopters has begun using the set for design of upcoming products. Not only has the MORALI project achieved improved design tools for helicopter rotor blades but the research has contributed to a significant increase in applicability of simulation technology for rotorcraft. Research deliverables have been widely disseminated at conferences and through peer-review journals.
Keywords
Design, helicopter, rotors, tools, improvement
