Full-Field Displacement Measurements of Helicopter Rotor Blades Using Stereophotogrammetry

This study presents a stereophotogrammetry approach to achieve full-field displacement measurements of helicopter rotor blades. The method is demonstrated in the wind tunnel test of a 2 m diameter rotor, conducted at the 5.5 m×4 m Aeroacoustic Wind Tunnel of China Aerodynamics Research and Developme...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Chenglin Zuo, Chunhua Wei, Jun Ma, Tingrui Yue, Lei Liu, Zheyu Shi
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Hindawi Limited 2021-01-01
Series:International Journal of Aerospace Engineering
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2021/8811601
Description
Summary:This study presents a stereophotogrammetry approach to achieve full-field displacement measurements of helicopter rotor blades. The method is demonstrated in the wind tunnel test of a 2 m diameter rotor, conducted at the 5.5 m×4 m Aeroacoustic Wind Tunnel of China Aerodynamics Research and Development Center (CARDC). By arranging the retroreflective targets on the special hat installed directly above the rotor hub, the dynamic motion of the rotor shaft was tracked accurately, and a unified coordinate system was established on the rotor. Therefore, three-dimensional coordinates of instantaneously measured targets attached on the blade could be transformed to the unified rotor coordinate system, thereby providing a basis for consistently calculating the blade displacements at different test conditions. Moreover, location deviations of the blade caused by the vibration of the measuring system or the rotor due to freestream and rotor rotation were also effectively corrected through coordinate transformation. Comparisons of experimental and simulation results for a range of hover and forward flight conditions show good magnitude and trend agreements.
ISSN:1687-5966
1687-5974