Modeling and wind tunnel testing of a coaxial helicopter rotor

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Military and civilian organizations frequency operate unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in Canada. The role of UAV systems is widespread and includes different applications from aerial photography for agriculture, coastguard institutions, fire services, fisheries, pipelines, and traffic agencies.Engineers at Fulcrum UAV Technologies Inc. located in Calgary, Alberta, have developed a novel coaxial helicopter for high-lift applications. The vehicle features a contra-rotating coaxial rotor to generate lift, and four smaller propellers (thrusters) for directional control. The rotor diameter is 2.3 meters with payload capability of 75 kg. The large payload of this vehicle is suitable for carrying survey equipment for variety of missions such as search and rescue, police and border control, mapping and pipeline inspection. Fulcrum is interested in developing a model to obtain design guidelines for coaxial rotors, and improve vehicle pitch control.This collaborative project between the Laboratory of Turbulent Flows at the University of Alberta and Fulcrum will develop a numerical algorithm based on blade element momentum theory (BEMT) for analysis of a coaxial contra-rotating rotor system and evaluate the algorithm through wind tunnel testing. Wind tunnel measurements of loads and moments of a coaxial rotor system will be carried out to evaluate the predictions of BEMT. We will also carry out particle image velocimetry measurements to characterize the interaction of the two rotors, and implement the results into the BEMT algorithm. The proposed research project will also train a MSc student in rotor aerodynamics and wind tunnel testing, which is relevant to a variety of industries including aerospace, wind energy, and turbomachinery.