Advanced Aerodynamic Modules for Comprehensive Rotorcraft Analyses

Fast, accurate computational models of rotorcraft aerodynamics and dynamics are critical for analysis and design. The strong coupling between aerodynamics and dynamics characteristic of rotary-wing aircraft greatly complicates the task of comprehensive rotorcraft analyses aspiring to this goal. Over the past twenty-five years, the core focus of Continuum Dynamics, Inc., (CDI), has been to develop fast, accurate, robust aerodynamic models of rotorcraft for analysis and design. These models are currently in use by all major U.S. rotorcraft manufacturers as well as NASA and the DoD. In this SBIR effort, CDI will team with the Georgia Institute of Technology, (GIT), to integrate these sophisticated rotorcraft aerodynamic models into the U.S. Army’s Rotorcraft Comprehensive Analysis System, RCAS. An extensive series of calculations will be performed to demonstrate significant improvements of the new RCAS analysis, elevating RCAS to the state-of-the-art in both rotary-wing aerodynamics and dynamics modeling. In so doing, CDI and GIT will coordinate with industry and government researchers to develop an industry-standard format for coupling aerodynamic and dynamic modeling components applicable for both comprehensive rotorcraft analyses and coupled Computational Fluid Dynamics/Computational Structural Dynamics solutions.