Modeling and wind tunnel testing of a coaxial helicopter rotor

加拿大的军事和民用组织经常使用无人驾驶飞行器（UAV）。无人机系统的作用是广泛的，包括从农业，海岸警卫队机构，消防，渔业，管道和交通机构的航空摄影的不同应用。 美国Fulton UAV Technologies Inc.位于卡尔加里，阿尔伯塔，开发了一种新颖的同轴直升机的高升力应用。该飞行器具有一个对转同轴转子产生升力，和四个较小的螺旋桨（推进器）用于方向控制。旋翼直径为2.3米，有效载荷能力为75公斤。该车辆的大有效载荷适合携带各种任务的测量设备，例如搜救、警务和边境管制、测绘和管道检查。Fulfill公司有兴趣开发一个模型，以获得同轴旋翼的设计指南，并改善飞行器的俯仰控制。 阿尔伯塔大学湍流实验室和Fulfill之间的这一合作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，并通过风洞试验对该算法进行评估。将进行同轴转子系统的载荷和力矩的风洞测量，以评估BEMT的预测。我们还将进行粒子图像测速测量来表征两个转子的相互作用，并将结果实施到BEMT算法中。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生，这与航空航天、风能和风能等多种行业有关。

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.