Modeling and wind tunnel testing of a coaxial helicopter rotor

在加拿大，军事和民用组织经常使用无人驾驶飞行器（uav）。UAV系统的作用是广泛的，并且包括从农业、海岸警卫队机构、消防服务、渔业、管道和交通机构的航空摄影的不同应用。位于阿尔伯塔省卡尔加里的Fulcrum无人机技术公司的工程师们已经开发出一种用于高升力应用的新型同轴直升机。车辆的特点是一个反向旋转的同轴转子产生升力，和四个较小的螺旋桨（推进器）用于方向控制。转子直径为2.3米，有效载荷能力为75公斤。该车辆的大载荷适用于携带各种任务的测量设备，如搜索和救援，警察和边境管制，测绘和管道检查。Fulcrum有兴趣开发一个模型，以获得同轴转子的设计准则，并改善车辆的俯仰控制。这个由阿尔伯塔大学湍流实验室和Fulcrum合作的项目将开发一种基于叶片单元动量理论（BEMT）的数值算法，用于分析同轴对转转子系统，并通过风洞测试评估该算法。将对同轴转子系统的载荷和力矩进行风洞测量，以评估BEMT的预测。我们还将进行粒子图像测速测量，以表征两个转子的相互作用，并将结果应用于BEMT算法。拟议的研究项目还将培养一名转子空气动力学和风洞测试的硕士研究生，这与包括航空航天、风能和涡轮机械在内的各种行业有关。

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.