Design and Analysis of An Active Twist Rotor Blades With D-Spar Model Using CFD Simulations

International Journal of Innovative Research in Advanced Engineering (IJIRAE) ISSN: 2349-2163
Issue 12, Volume 5 (December 2018) www.ijirae.com
DESIGN AND ANALYSIS OF AN ACTIVE TWIST ROTOR

BLADES WITH D-SPAR MODEL USING CFD
SIMULATIONS
R Sasidhar Reddy
Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, MTIET, Palamaner, India
sasidhar.mtiet@gmail.com
G Narendra Babu
g.nare.babu@gmail.com
K Bavaji
bavaji303@gmail.com
Manuscript History
Number: IJIRAE/RS/Vol.05/Issue12/DCAE10080
Received: 20, November 2018
Final Correction: 04, December 2018
Final Accepted: 14, December 2018
Published: December 2018
Citation: Sasidhar, Narendra & Bavaji (2018). DESIGN AND ANALYSIS OF AN ACTIVE TWIST ROTOR BLADES
WITH D-SPAR MODEL USING CFD SIMULATIONS. IJIRAE::International Journal of Innovative Research in
Advanced Engineering, Volume V, 400-405. doi://10.26562/IJIRAE.2018.DCAE10080
Editor: Dr.A.Arul L.S, Chief Editor, IJIRAE, AM Publications, India
Copyright: ©2018 This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution
License, Which Permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author
and source are credited
Abstract — Today’s helicopters are the result of collaborative work in mechanical engineering and aeronautics. A
helicopter main rotor or rotor system is the combination of a rotary wing and a control system that generates the
aerodynamic lift force that supports the weight of the helicopter, and the thrust that counteracts aerodynamic
drag in forward flight. In the field of rotorcraft, the research in this project is currently focusing on active blade
systems to adapt the aerodynamic properties of the blade to the local aerodynamic conditions. Fuel-efficiency,
reduction of vibration and noise and increase of the helicopter maximum speed are the benefits expected from
these new technologies. A helicopter's rotor is generally made of two or more rotor blades. Rotor blades are made
out of various materials, including aluminum, composite structure, and steel or titanium, with abrasion shields
along the leading edge. The blade pitch is typically controlled by a swash plate connected to the helicopter flight
controls. An Active Twist Rotor (ATR) is developed for future implementation of the individual blade control for
vibration and noise reduction in helicopters. The rotor blade is integrally twisted by direct strain actuation using
active fiber composites (AFC). In this thesis, the model of rotor blade is designed and analyzed. 3D models are
done in CATIA. Analysis is done in Ansys. The materials used for original model are steel and Aluminum alloy, The
modified model is analyzed by specifying aluminum alloy using solid element and also the shell element. The
optimization results have been obtained for design solutions, connected with the application of active materials.
I. INTRODUCTION
A helicopter main rotor or rotor system is the combination of a rotary wing and a control system that generates
the aerodynamic lift force that supports the weight of the helicopter, and the thrust that counteracts aerodynamic
drag in forward flight. Each main rotor is mounted on a vertical mast over the top of the helicopter, as opposed to
a helicopter tail rotor, which connects through a combination of drive shafts and gearboxes along the tail boom. A
helicopter's rotor is generally made of two or more rotor blades.
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The blade pitch is typically controlled by a swash plate connected to the helicopter flight controls. The use of a
rotor for vertical flight has existed since 400 BC in the form of the bamboo-copter, an ancient Chinese toy. The
bamboo-copter is spun by rolling a stick attached to a rotor. Alphonse Pénaud would later develop coaxial rotor
model helicopter toys in 1870, powered by rubber bands. One of these toys, given as a gift by their father, would
inspire the Wright brothers to pursue the dream of flight. Before development of powered helicopters in the mid-
20th century, autogyro pioneer Juan de la Cierva researched and developed many of the fundamentals of the rotor.
De la Cierva is credited with successful development of multi-bladed, fully articulated rotor systems. This system,
in its various modified forms, is the basis of most multi-bladed helicopter rotor systems. In the 1930s, Arthur
Young improved the stability of two-bladed rotor systems with the introduction of a stabilizer bar. This system
was used in several Bell and Hiller helicopter models. It is also used in many remote control model helicopters.
II. OBJECTIVES
OBJECTIVES OF THE WORK
1. Helicopters are the objective of collaborative work in mechanical engineering and aeronautics. The first
successes came from inventors who could understand the complexity of a rotating lifting surface while designing
advanced mechanical mechanisms. To further improve today’s helicopters, research is focusing on active blade
systems to adapt the aerodynamic properties of the blade to the local aerodynamic conditions
2. Two aspects are especially studied: enhancing the lift on the retreating side and alleviating the large vibrations
in the rotor. Both these aspects will provide improvements on helicopter performance. Besides the efficiency of
the rotor system, the objective is to push the flight envelope of these aircraft and to make them faster, smoother
and quieter. Many active concepts are being studied, but they all face a large number of challenges to be
successfully integrated within a helicopter blade.
3. The rotation speed generates critical loads on the blade and any system within it. Because helicopter blades are
the components which provide both lift and control in a helicopter, any mechanism influencing their behaviour
must be durable, reliable and safe. Actuation of the active system is the most critical component of a smart
adaptive blade. Among actuation technologies, piezoelectric actuators have the potential to provide compelling
actuation for these systems. They are actively tested for many of these concepts. Their toughness, size and
reliability make them suitable candidates for delivering the required mechanical power.
III. METHODOLOGY
The geometrical module of the air foil is created using CATIA V5 software, CATIA is a pre-processor were the
solid geometry is created using 2-D drawings, module created in CATIA is exported as IGES file for the next pre-
processor for meshing. Meshing can be defined as the process of breaking up a physical domain into smaller sub-
domains (elements) in order to facilitate the numerical solution of a partial differential equation.
ANALYSIS OF ROTOR BLADE
The structural analysis of the rotor blade can applied for materials is aluminium alloy 7475 can be done through
ansys software.
Fig: Structural analysis of Airfoil Rotor blade
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
ALUMININUM-7475
Youngs Modulus (EX) : 70000-80000N/mm2
Poissons Ratio (PRXY) : 0.33
Density : 0.00000275 kg/mm3
The modes of wing is analyzes through ansys is shown below.
Fig. First mode of wing Fig. Second mode of wing
Fig. Third mode of wing Fig. Fourth mode of wing

The fifth mode of wing is analyzes through ansys is shown below.
Fig. Fifth mode of wing Fig. Sixth mode of wing
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Fig : Deflection in Airfoil

For other composite materials like glass fibre and carbon fibre the properties are shown below
STEEL Youngs Modulus (EX) : 190000-210000N/mm2

Poissons Ratio (PRXY) : 0.27-0.3
GLASS FIBER Youngs Modulus (EX) : 86900 N/mm2

CARBON FIBER
Youngs Modulus (EX) : 86900 N/mm2
After analysis the stresses and strains are compared below
Table: Comparison of stress and strain with different materials
S.No Material Strain Stress (N/mm2 )
1 Steel 1.19134 215.741
2 Aluminium 7475 0.382212 73.0242
3 Glass Fiber 0.0020 20.383
4 Carbon Fiber 0.001686 20.1589
RESULTS
The computational fluid flow analysis of an airfoil under static pressure is shown below
RESULT-GRAPH- LIFT RESULT-GRAPH- DRAG
Fig Static pressure flow in CFD Fig Static pressure flow in CFD
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The geometric analysis flow of CFD in air foil is shown below
Fig: Geometric flow of CFD in air foils wings

The meshing analysis of CFD flow in air foil wings is shown below.
Fig: Meshing analysis of CFD flow in air foil

The result of CFD flow analysis of air foil wings is listed below:
INPUT
VELOCITY-100 m/s
PRESSURE-101.3625 kpa
OUTPUT
LIFT- Forces (n) Coefficients
Zone Pressure Viscous Total
wall-solid 23.56722 4.364428 27.93165
DRAG -Forces (n) Coefficients

Zone Pressure Viscous Total
wall-solid 0.3115719 0.0003132 0.311885
IV. CONCLUSION
In this project we can conclude that blade design is modified such that the composite materials can be used for the
blade and analyzed using solid element and shell element, layer stacking method. The optimization problem for
the optimum placement of actuators in the helicopter rotor blade has been formulated on the results of
parametric study using the finite element method. The methodology based on the planning of experiments and
response surface technique has been developed for the optimum placement of actuators in helicopter rotor blades
after parametric study. To describe the behavior of twisted rotor blade, the finite element method has been
applied in the sample points of experimental design. For this purpose the structural static analysis with thermal
load using 3D finite element model has been developed by ANSYS. In ansys software the air foil wings can be
applied through CFD flow analysis for lift, drag and viscous flow of airflow wings.
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REFERENCES
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Science and Technology, vol.52, pp.18-28(2016).
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23. Structural Design of Composite Rotor blades with consideration of Manufacturability, Durability and
manufacturing uncertainties by Leihong Li
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Design and Analysis of An Active Twist Rotor Blades With D-Spar Model Using CFD Simulations

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International Journal of Innovative Research in Advanced Engineering (IJIRAE) ISSN: 2349-2163

Issue 12, Volume 5 (December 2018) www.ijirae.com

DESIGN AND ANALYSIS OF AN ACTIVE TWIST ROTOR

Fig: Structural analysis of Airfoil Rotor blade

Fig. First mode of wing Fig. Second mode of wing

Fig. Third mode of wing Fig. Fourth mode of wing

Fig. Fifth mode of wing Fig. Sixth mode of wing

Fig : Deflection in Airfoil

STEEL Youngs Modulus (EX) : 190000-210000N/mm2

GLASS FIBER Youngs Modulus (EX) : 86900 N/mm2

The geometric analysis flow of CFD in air foil is shown below

Fig: Geometric flow of CFD in air foils wings

Fig: Meshing analysis of CFD flow in air foil

DRAG -Forces (n) Coefficients

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