"Pusher Propeller Non-Harmonic Actuation For Active Vibration Control" and "Extracting Rotor Induced And Profile Power From CFD - A Proof-Of-Concept Study"

Henry Malarkey: “Pusher Propeller Non-Harmonic Actuation For Active Vibration Control”

Speaker Bio: Henry Malarkey is completing his M.S. in Aerospace Engineering and plans to pursue a Ph.D. He received his B.S. in Engineering Physics from Cornell University in 2022. His current interests span aeroelasticity, vibration control, performance optimization, and computational methods, all with an emphasis on applications to rotorcraft design.

Abstract: Modern missions necessitating high speed could be accomplished by stiff, hingeless, lift-offset coaxial rotorcraft, but they are hindered by intense vibratory hub loads. For such aircraft, an active vibration control (AVC) system is no longer optional: it is a necessity — unlike traditional helicopters, where passive vibration control is sufficient. The vibration control authority for coaxial rotor higher harmonic control (HHC) and a new pusher propeller active vibration control (AVC) system were each evaluated with the Rotorcraft Comprehensive Analysis System (RCAS) coupled with the Viscous Vortex Particle Method (VVPM). The theoretical basis for the pusher propeller AVC system was established by modulating steady pusher propeller hub loads at harmonics of the main coaxial rotor, even though the propeller rotates at a non-harmonic speed.

Albert Abraham: "Extracting Rotor Induced And Profile Power From CFD - A Proof-Of-Concept Study”

Speaker Bio: Albert Abraham is pursuing his M.S. in Aerospace Engineering at Penn State University, where he works with Dr. Schmitz on rotorcraft computational fluid dynamics (CFD). He received his B.S. in Aerospace Engineering from Penn State University. His research focuses on rotorcraft aerodynamics and CFD applications.

Abstract: The present paper introduces a novel methodology to extract rotor induced and profile power from high-fidelity computational aerodynamics simulations. The methodology is based on partial pressure fields which split the static pressure of a numerical Navier-Stokes solution into equivalent Euler and dissipative partial pressure fields. Here the original formulation is extended and applied to rotating reference frames. Test cases include the two-bladed Knight & Hefner rotor in slow axial climb at variable blade collective as well as the ONERA HAD-1 propeller in axial flight. Quantitative comparisons of rotor power breakdown are conducted against results obtained from blade-element momentum theory. It is found that the novel methodology based on partial pressure fields gives promising results towards a complete near-field power breakdown of high-fidelity computational aerodynamics simulations of rotating systems.