• Journal of the Korean Society for Aeronautical & Space Sciences
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.275-283
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• 2013

In this paper, the structural optimum design method of composite rotor blade cross-section was investigated with the genetic algorithm. An auto-mesh generation program was developed for iterative calculations of optimum design, and stresses in the blade cross-section were analyzed by VABS (variational asymptotic beam sectional analysis) program. Minimum mass of rotor blade was defined as an object function, and stress failure index, center mass and blade minimum mass per unit length were chosen as constraints. Finally, design parameters such as the thickness and layup angles of a skin, and the thickness, position and width of a torsion box were determined through the structural optimum design method of composite rotor blade cross-section presented in this paper.

• Journal of Aerospace System Engineering
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• v.14 no.spc
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• pp.22-30
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• 2020

Composite rotor blades for rotorcraft have an intrinsic vulnerability to foreign object impact from its inherent structural characteristics of insufficient strength in the thickness direction, which may easily lead to internal structure damage. Therefore, defects and strength reducing effects caused by foreign object impact should be considered in fatigue evaluation of composite blades. For this purpose, the flaw tolerant safe-life and fail-safe concepts were adopted in fatigue evaluation since 1980s, and recently those concepts have been replaced by the damage tolerance concept. In this paper, the relevant standards for fatigue evaluation are analyzed focusing on fiber reinforced composite rotor blades used in rotorcraft. In addition, fatigue evaluation procedure of composite blades considering impact damages is proposed by reviewing the practices implemented through domestic development projects.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Aeronautical & Space Sciences
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• v.49 no.7
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• pp.539-547
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• 2021

Helicopter rotor blade is required to be designed by considering the interacting effects among aerodynamics, flexibility, and controllability. The reverse design allows the structural components to have common characteristics by using the configuration numerics and experimental results. This paper aims to design the composite rotor blade which will feature common characteristics with that of BO-105. The present engineering design procedure is done by dividing the rotor blade into a few sections and composite laminates across the cross section. For each section, variational asymptotic beam sectional analysis (VABS) program is used to evaluate its flapwise, lagwise, and torsion stiffnesses to have discrepancy smaller than certain tolerance. Finally, CAMRAD II is used to predict the stress acting on the rotor blade during the specific flight condition and to check whether the present deign is structurally valid.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Aeronautical & Space Sciences
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• v.43 no.10
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• pp.920-927
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• 2015

In this paper, numerical results of sectional analysis and stress recovery were compared with the results of VABS through the blade analysis library. The results of recovery analysis for one-dimensional model including the stiffness matrix is compared with the calculated three-dimensional stress results of three-dimensionial FEM based on the principle of virtual work. We discuss the configuration of the blade analysis library and compare verifications of numerical analysis results of VABS. Blade analysis library through dimensional reduction and stress recovery is intended to be utilized in conjunction with pre- and post-processing of the analysis program of the composite blade, high-altitude uav's wing, wind blades and tilt rotor blade.

• Composites Research
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.191-198
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• 2019

The basic mechanical properties of helicopter rotor blade are important parameters for the analysis of helicopter performance. However, it is difficult to estimate these properties because the most of rotor blades consist of various materials such as composite materials and metals, etc. In this paper, the bending/torsional stiffness for composite rotor blade of unmanned helicopter were evaluated through experimental and analytical studies. In finite element analysis, the bending/torsional stiffness were evaluated through the relationship of load-displacement and element stiffness matrix. The evaluated stiffness from the measured strains and displacements in bending and torsional test agreed well with the derived results of FEA.

• Aerospace Engineering and Technology
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.217-228
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• 2004

This paper presents the rotating test techniques and the results of the roating test of the small-scaled hingeless rotor system with composite paddle blades in hover and forward flight conditions. The small-scaled rotor system was designed using froude-scaled properties of full scale rotor system. Metal flexures and composite flexures were made as hub flexures by the same dynamic properties of rotor system. The rotating tests of hingeless rotor system installed in GSRTS at KARI were carried out to get lead-lag damping ratios and aerodynamic loads of the hingeless rotor system. MBA(Moving Block Analysis) technique was used for the estimation of lead-lag damping ratio. 6-components balance was installed between hub and main shaft and straingauges on blades were instrumented for the measurements of aerodynamic loads of rotor system. Tests were performed on the ground and in the wind tunnel according to the test conditions of hover and forward flight, respectively.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Aeronautical & Space Sciences
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• v.39 no.3
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• pp.261-268
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• 2011

Generally, modeling procedure of cross section of composite rotor blade is complicated and time-consuming, because it is made up of various stiffeners and multiple layers of composite materials. For efficient modeling of cross section of composite rotor blade, a modeling program so called KSec2D, which provides a user friendly GUI, is developed by using a 2D modeling algorithm based on set operation. By the developed program KSec2D, a modeling of complicated cross section of rotor blade is carried out. Through the demonstration, the usefulness of developed program in modeling procedure of cross section of composite rotor blade is verified.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Aeronautical & Space Sciences
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• v.50 no.5
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• pp.317-323
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• 2022

In this paper, a deep neural network(DNN) model for predicting the vibration characteristics of the composite rotor blade with c-spar cross section was developed. Herein, the present DNN model is defined by using the natural frequencies obtained through the in-house code based on the nonlinear co-rotational(CR) shell element. For the present DNN model, the accuracy of the model was evaluated via the data with a random distribution of thickness and a tendency to decrease in thickness along the blade span.

• Journal of Aerospace System Engineering
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• v.13 no.6
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• pp.52-59
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• 2019

The rotor blade is a key component that generates the lift, thrust, and control forces required for helicopter flight by the torque transmitted through the hub and the blade pitch angle control, and should be designed to factor vibration characteristics so that there is no risk of resonance with structural safety. In this study, the structural design of the main rotor blade for MPUH(Multi-Purpose Unmanned Helicopter) was conducted and the sectional stiffness measurement of the fabricated blade was performed. The evaluation of the vibration characteristics of the main rotor system was then conducted factoring the measured stiffness distribution. The interior of the rotor blade comprised of the skin, spar, and torsion box, and carbon and glass fiber composites were applied. The Ksec2D program was applied to predict the stiffness of blade, and the results were compared to the measured data. CAMRADII, a comprehensive rotorcraft analysis program, was applied to investigate the natural frequency trends and resonance risks due to the rotor rotation.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.35 no.12
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• pp.1599-1606
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• 2011

It is possible to study the load characteristics of full-scale hingeless rotor with the changing of physical smallscaled configurations such as rectangular and paddle blades, and metal and composite hubs. In this study, a static test, and a ground and wind-tunnel test were carried out using small-scale rotor models. The static test was carried out to confirm structural stiffness, characteristics of inertia, natural frequency, and damping ratio of rotors, and the ground and wind-tunnel test was carried out to confirm the stability and aerodynamic characteristics under hovering and forward flight conditions. According to the test results, the vertical load in the case of a combination of a small composite hub with paddle blades was higher than that in the case of a metal hub with paddle blades at same condition. Further, it was confirmed that the restraint of the combination of composite hub can be more flexible than the metal hub for the motion of paddle blades.