Rotor-Airwake Aerodynamic Coupling in Real-Time Simulation

This SBIR Phase I project addresses the problem of accurately predicting interactions between helicopter rotor downwash and environmental turbulence encountered during shipboard landing and/or hovering in confined spaces. Anticipating the effect of ship wake on rotor aerodynamics is critical for accurate real time dynamic simulation of helicopter hovering and landing on ships at sea. Such complex flows are poorly served by traditional grid-based methodologies that tend to be overly diffusive and require elaborate means for accommodating high Reynolds number effects. In contrast, the hybrid VorCat scheme is non-diffusive and by its minimal, localized need for a mesh, better situated for such complex flow applications. The proposed study aims to exploit the opportunities presented by VorCat to construct accurate and reliable means for correcting current CFD solutions incorporated in dynamics simulators so as to encompass coupling between rotor downwash and shipboard turbulence. Achieving the capabilities proposed here can be expected to significantly raise interest in VorCat among companies and DOD agencies faced with complex applications including those with rotor flows and wakes thereby improving the overall marketability of the VorCat approach. With the expertise acquired in this project, even more ambitious applications of VorCat code can be anticipated in the future.