VORTEX DYNAMICS FOR ROTORCRAFT INTERACTIONAL AERODYNAMICS

OVER THE PAST SEVERAL YEARS, UNDER GOVERNMENT AND COMMERCIAL SUPPORT, CONTINUUM DYNAMICS, INC. HAS MADE CONSIDERABLE PROGRESS IN COMPUTING THE UNSTEADY WAKES OF ROTARY WING AIRCRAFT. THIS PROGRESS HAS RESULTED LARGELY FROM THE SUCCESSFUL DEVELOPMENT OF THE BASIC CURVED VORTEX ELEMENT (BCVE), AS A FUNDAMENTAL WAKE ELEMENT BUILDING BLOCK, AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF A NOVEL METHOD TO REPRESENT THE FULL-SPAN VORTEX WAKE SHED FROM EACH ROTOR BLADE. THESE NEW METHODS TO COMPUTE THE CONVECTIVE EVOLUTION OF THE ROTOR WAKE IN FORWARD FLIGHT AFFORD A UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY TO CALCULATE COMPLEX FREE-WAKE FLOWS TO ANALYZE ROTORCRAFT INTERACTIONAL AERODYNAMICS. THE PHASE I RESEARCH EFFORT WOULD ASSESS THE PROMISE OF USING THESE NEW METHODS IN VORTEX DYNAMICSTO PREDICT AERODYNAMIC INTERACTIONS OF THE ROTOR WAKE WITH THE TAIL ROTOR AND VEHICLE LIFTING SURFACES. NEW WAYS TO TREAT VORTEX FILAMENTS IN CLOSED PROXIMITY TO BOUNDARIES, AND FILAMENTS BEING CUT BY SURFACES WILL BE DEVELOPED AS PART OF THIS EFFORT. THIS WORK IS INTENDED TO DEMONSTRATE THE FEASIBILITY OF DEVELOPING A GENERAL, STATE-OF-THE-ART INTERACTIONAL AERODYNAMICS ANALYSIS CODE.