Improved Neural Network Adaptive Control for Compound Helicopter with Uncertain Cross-Coupling in Multimodal Maneuver

The main goal of this study was to create a robust control system that could guide or replace the pilots in tracking of commanded velocity and attitude in multimodal maneuver, while complex dynamics and uncertain aerodynamic cross-coupling among control surfaces of compound helicopter are considered. To this end, a Pi-Sigma neural network (PSNN) adaptive controller is proposed based upon the certainty-equivalence (CE) principle, where a novel Lyapunov-based weight self-tuning algorithm augmented with e-modification is designed to realize efficient uncertainty approximation and guarantee robustness of convergence process. Compared with traditional neural networks in control field, stronger generalization ability of PSNN must be balanced against weaker stability, which leads to inevitable parameters perturbation. Therefore, an incremental nonlinear dynamic inversion (INDI) framework is established to decouple original overactuated system and reject parameters perturbation in PSNN. Meanwhile, by incorporating Lagrang- multiplier method into allocation, an original incremental allocation method is designed to get globally ideal control input according to time-varying working capability of each surface. In terms of Lyapunov theorem, it is demonstrated that the closed-loop augmented system driven by the proposed control scheme is semi-global uniformly ultimately bounded (SGUUB). Finally, the simulation result validates the effectiveness of proposed control scheme.

Numerical Investigation of an Optimized Rotor Head Fairing for the RACER Compound Helicopter in Cruise Flight

The present work is part of the Clean Sky 2 project Full-Fairing Rotor Head Aerodynamic Design Optimization (FURADO), which deals with the aerodynamic design optimization of a full-fairing rotor head for the Rapid And Cost-Effective Rotorcraft (RACER) compound helicopter. The rotor head is a major drag source and previous investigations have revealed that the application of rotor head fairings can be an effective drag reduction measure. As part of the full-fairing concept, a new blade-sleeve fairing was aerodynamically optimized for cruise flight. Within this publication, the newly developed blade-sleeve fairing is put to test on an isolated, five-bladed rotor head and compared to an already existing reference blade-sleeve fairing, which was developed at Airbus Helicopters. Numerical flow simulations are performed with ANSYS Fluent 2019 R2 considering a rotating rotor head with cyclic pitch movement. The aerodynamic forces of the isolated rotor head are analyzed to determine the performance benefit of the newly developed blade-sleeve fairing. A drag reduction of 4.7% and a lift increase of 20% are obtained in comparison to the Airbus Helicopters reference configuration. Furthermore, selected surface and flow field quantities are presented to give an overview on the occurring flow phenomena.

Configuration Study of Electric Helicopters for Urban Air Mobility

There is currently interest in the design of small electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft to alleviate ground traffic and congestion in major urban areas. To support progress in this area, a conceptual design method for single-main-rotor and lift-augmented compound electric helicopters has been developed. The design method was used to investigate the feasible design space for electric helicopters based on varying mission profiles and technology assumptions. Within the feasible design space, it was found that a crossover boundary exists as a function of cruise distance and hover time where the most efficient configuration changes from a single-main-rotor helicopter to a lift-augmented compound helicopter. In general, for longer cruise distances and shorter hover times, the lift-augmented compound helicopter is the more efficient configuration. An additional study was conducted to investigate the potential benefits of decoupling the main rotor from the tail rotor. This study showed that decoupling the main rotor and tail rotor has the potential to reduce the total mission energy required in all cases, allowing for increases in mission distances and hover times on the order of 5% for a given battery size.

Compound Helicopter X3 in High-Speed Flight: Correlation of Simulation and Flight Test

This work presents the correlation of simulation results and flight-test data for a high-speed (V = 220 kt), high advance ratio (μ > 0.5) flight of the compound helicopter X3. The simulation tool chain consists of state-of-the-art coupling between the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code FLOWer and the comprehensive analysis tool HOST. By applying a freeflight trim procedure, the experimental flight state is accurately represented in the simulation. The deviations of most trim controls is below 1°, and the maximum deviation is less than 1.4°. The analysis of the high-fidelity CFD results illustrates key features of the flow physics at this high advance ratio, such as wake interactions, reverse flow, and advancing side loading. The correlation of rotor dynamics data between simulation and flight test is favorable. Good accordance is demonstrated for flap bending moments, torsion moments, and pitch link loads. In contrast, the correlation is weaker for the chord bending moments for which it is shown that the interblade damper and drive train model mostly determine the structural loads.

Interactional Aerodynamic Analysis of an Asymmetric Lift-Offset Compound Helicopter in Forward Flight

Recently, an asymmetric lift-offset compound helicopter has been conceptualized at the University of Maryland with the objective of improving the overall performance of a medium-lift utility helicopter. The investigated form of lift-compounding incorporates an additional stubbed wing attached to the fuselage on the retreating side. This design alleviates rotor lift requirements and generates a roll moment that enables increased thrust potential on the advancing side in high-speed forward flight. In this study, a numerical model was developed based on the corresponding experimental test case. Three-dimensional unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes equations were solved on overset grids with computational fluid dynamics–computational structural dynamics (CFD–CSD) coupling using the in-house CPU–GPU heterogeneous Mercury CFD framework. Simulations were performed at high-speed, high-thrust operating conditions and showed satisfactory agreement with the experimental measurements in terms of the cyclic control angles, rotor thrust, and torque values. CFD results indicated that for an advance ratio of 0.5 with a collective pitch of 10.6°, a vehicle lift-to-equivalent-drag ratio improvement of 47% was attainable using 11% wing-lift offset. The CFD-computed flow fields provide insights into the origin of a reverse flow entry vortex that was observed in particle image velocimetry data, and they characterize the wing–rotor interactional aerodynamics.