Resource for wind tunnel tests of smart helicopter rotorblade system

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Helicopters cannot be used more extensively due to the high levels of exterior noise and vibration generated by rotorcraft. The most important components of noise and vibration produced in helicopters are originated in the main rotor from the unsteady aerodynamics. Low-frequency vibration is mostly generated by dynamic stall in the retreating blades, whereas high-frequency acoustic noise is produced mainly in manoeuvring and descent flight regimes when the rotor blades interact with the vortices shed by the tips of the preceding blades. The state-of-the-art research in the area of rotorcraft is focused in developing integrated active control systems to perform more efficient control of noise and vibration produced by rotorblades. In the past, these systems could not be developed due to the lack of actuators able to withstand the loads that characterize the helicopter rotor environment. Among the new solutions to achieve efficient control, those that involve solid-state actuators - the "smart" - or adaptive structures are the most promising. Recent experiments performed in Europe and the United States indicated that both noise and vibration could only be reduced marginally at the same time, although significant reductions of each individually were reported. One of the major manufacturers has successfully flown for the first time a rotor with an active rotorblade system in June 2005. Carleton University funded by NSERC and MMO managed to attract the attention of another major European manufacturer and will have the opportunity in 2007 to demonstrate in wind tunnel tests in Italy a unique concept developed in-house for a "smart" helicopter blade system with the objective of attenuating noise and vibration simultaneously for the first time. The requested equipment (a set of six special high-current amplifiers) will allow the full validation of this novel and totally Canadian concept in the planned wind tunnel tests and keep the support of the industrial partner, aiming at full-scale flight tests within the next few years.