Semi-Empirical Modeling of Fuselage-Rotor Interference for Comprehensive Codes: Influence of Angle of Attack

Abstract

The flow field around the isolated Bo105 fuselage including the tail boom and empennage is computed by an unsteady panel code. Velocities normal to the rotor rotational plane are extracted in a volume around the rotor as a data base. A simple semi-empirical analytical formulation of the fuselage-induced velocities, based on parameter estimation from the panel code data, is extended to include rotor shaft angles of attack from alpha=-90° (hover, vertical climb) to +90° (vertical descent) for use in comprehensive rotor codes. This model allows the computation of fuselage-rotor interferences on the rotor blade element level in a simplified form, thus eliminating the need for costly CFD computation (of this effect). It also allows the prediction of the rotor wake geometry deformation due to the presence of the fuselage in both prescribed wake and free-wake codes. Its impact on rotor thrust, power and trim is estimated analytically using blade element momentum theory.