MAE 466/566 Rotary-Wing Aerodynamics & Performance Spring 2014 Course Information

MAE 466/566 is a senior/graduate level elective course covering the basics of helicopter aerodynamics and performance. It is an applications course very few new fundamental concepts will be presented, but you will learn to apply the basics of aerodynamics and dynamics, as well as concepts in aircraft performance, to rotary-wing vehicles. The course will also touch on aspects of other rotating wings, such as propellers, fans and wind turbines. Instructor contact information and office hours are posted on the course blackboard. Textbook: J. Gordon Leishman, Principles of Helicopter Aerodynamics, 2nd Edition, Cambridge
University Press, 2006. This book is not required, but is highly recommended as a reference for the topics covered in the class. The first edition of this book, which is much shorter and in paperback, is quite sufficient for this class.

Course Prerequisites: MAE 360 Aerodynamics or equivalent Evaluation: The final grade will be based on student performance on homework assignments and three inclass exams. Graduate students will also prepare a short research paper and presentation, which will be considered in the final grade. MAE 466: Tentative weighting factors for each assignment and exam are as follows: Midterm Exams 315% Homework Assignments 55% MAE 566: Tentative weighting factors for each assignment and exam are as follows: Midterm Exams 315% Homework Assignments 45% Research Paper and Presentation 10% Grading Policy: The score required to achieve a specific letter grade will be based on the compilation of scores from all graded work on a sliding scale that will depend on the overall difficulty of the exams. As a guide, it is anticipated that a score of 85% will be required for a grade of A-, 73% for a Band 60% for a grade of C. There will be no makeup exams with an exception for students that are out of town on university business. Please request a makeup exam at least one week in advance of the scheduled exam date. In cases of documented extenuating circumstances (illness, family

emergency, etc.), arrangements will be made in the case of a missed exam. If you have a circumstance beyond your control that requires you to miss an exam, you must contact me as soon as possible, preferably before the exam date, but in any case within 48 hours of the beginning of the test period. Homework Assignments: Notice that there is a strong emphasis on the homework in this class. There are five homework assignments, each of which will consist of real-life engineering problems. Regardless of the type of assignment, the submitted material must be organized, legible, neat and professional. Material that does not meet these standards will be considered not turned in and will not be graded. Several of the assignments in this class will require you to write code, preferably in MATLAB. It is NOT sufficient to simply turn in the MATLAB code and any results it produces. The MATLAB (or other) code should be included as an Appendix to your professionally documented homework solution. Homework write-ups should include: Brief statement of the problem. Any equations or derivations required to solve the problem Overview of the solution procedure for problems requiring the writing of a computer code, this could be a flow chart. Results, including charts, tables, graphs if applicable. Discussion. Note that it is not required that you use MATLAB. However, if you wish to get help from me if you are having difficulty with getting code to work, you should use MATLAB. Academic Integrity Cheating will not be tolerated, and suspected cheating will immediately be reported to the Student Academic Services Office of the Ira A. Fulton School of Engineering. For this class, you ARE allowed and encouraged to work together on the homework assignments, however the write-up and any computer code must be your own work. Please always acknowledge those with whom you worked on the assignments.