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DESIGN AND OPTIMIZATION OF HELICOPTER ROTOR FOR MINIMUM POWER

REQUIRED

Conference Paper · September 2011

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6. ANKARA INTERNATIONAL AEROSPACE CONFERENCE AIAC-2011-088
14-16 September 2011 - METU, Ankara TURKEY

DESIGN AND OPTIMIZATION OF HELICOPTER ROTOR FOR

MINIMUM POWER REQUIRED

Aykut TAMER 1 , Arda YÜCEKAYALI 2 Yüksel ORTAKAYA 3

Turkish Aerospace Industries Turkish Aerospace Industries
Integrated Helicopter Group Integrated Helicopter Group

ABSTRACT
The aim of this study is to design and optimize a helicopter rotor for minimum power required. First
step of the design procedure is to initialize the rotor configuration by using design trends and in-house
developed blade element tool combined with vortex wake methods. Configuration includes main rotor
diameter, number of blades, initial chord length, tip speed, main rotor rotational speed and blade airfoil
profile. Second step is the optimization analysis by coupling a rotorcraft comprehensive analysis tool
with a gradient based optimization algorithm. Blade chord, twist, tip taper ratio and tip sweep is
optimized for minimum power required. Power required at hover, typical best endurance speed and
high cruise speed are included in the power formulation so that an optimum design can be achieved
which has low power consumption over the whole flight regime. Finally, aerodynamic analysis of the
optimized helicopter rotor and the initial design is performed and the results are compared.

INTRODUCTION
The main rotor provides the essential functions for the helicopter flight. It generates lift to overcome
gravity, propulsion to sustain forward flight and control forces to adjust helicopter attitude in level flight
and maneuvers. Because of this reason the main rotor is the principal factor in defining helicopter
flight performance and consumes most of the power generated by the engine [4]. Therefore the design
of the main rotor is critical in order to manufacture competitive helicopters.

Since helicopter is a highly coupled and complex system, design, analysis and optimization requires a
comprehensive approach. Comprehensive analysis is an essential tool for rotorcraft design and it has
been coupled with optimization algorithms in order to reach effective designs. Adelman and Mantay
performed an extensive work on plan for integrated multi-disciplinary optimization of rotor from
aerodynamics to blade structures [7]. Peters and Cheng performed optimization of rotor blades for
combined structural, performance and aeroelastic characteristics [6]. Friedmann and Celi investigated
the optimization of rotor blades with straight and swept tips which are subject to aeroelastic constraints
[5]. And similar procedure was applied to rotor blades for minimum weight by Chattopadhyay and
Walsh [8].

1
Design Engineer, Email: [email protected]
2
Design Engineer, Email: [email protected]
3
Chief Engineer, Email: [email protected]
AIAC-2011-088 Tamer, Yücekayalı, Ortakaya

The aim of this study was to define a procedure that can be used in rotor design for improved main
rotor performance. For this purpose, blade element momentum analysis tool, design trends,
optimization algorithm and comprehensive rotorcraft analysis tool was coordinated.

SIZING and OPTIMIZATION

Design Procedure

Design procedure is composed of initial design determination and optimization steps. Main rotor
diameter, number of blades, rotor solidity and airfoil are decided by design trends and xBEM, an in-
house developed aerodynamic analysis tool, which combines blade element theory with vortex wake
methods [2]. This configuration is then optimized for minimum power required by using twist and chord
distributions of blade; blade tip sweep angle and blade tip taper ratio.

Initial Design Determination

For initial main rotor configuration, blade number, rotor diameter and solidity are decided by design
trend study which is performed by reviewing the literature of helicopters having similar maximum
takeoff weight (MTOW). An airfoil for the rotor blade is selected for its high lift to drag ratio and low
moment coefficient. Tip speed of the blades at hover is determined 0.6 Ma so that maximum air
velocity at blade tips would not exceed transonic region in forward flight. Rotor RPM values were
determined by considering this 0.6 Ma limit at hover and blade radius so that each rotor design rotates
at the same tip speed at hover. Then the thrust and power required values of these initial designs
were calculated by using xBEM such that the initial designs can produce enough thrust and consume
reasonable initial power.

Optimization Procedure

After number of blades, blade radius, airfoil profile and rotor solidity are defined, a CAMRAD
comprehensive analysis model of the rotor is built [9]-[10]. The model consists of main rotor
parameters such as blade aerodynamic parameters, rotor configuration, and inflow and wake models.
Rotor is expected to operate in trimmed condition which is achieved by CAMRAD JA wind tunnel trim
option for isolated rotor analysis.

The rotor model is coupled with CONMIN optimization code in order to achieve minimum power
required. CONMIN is a FORTRAN program which is applicable to the solution of linear and non-linear
constrained optimization problems by using method of feasible directions [12]. CONMIN can either
evaluate gradients by finite differencing or user may supply them. In this study finite difference
calculations of CONMIN are used. Figure 1 summarizes the design procedure.

Verification of the Optimization Procedure

CONMIN optimization algorithm has been proven against many problems ranging from simple
algebraic equations to complicated multi-disciplinary analysis [11]-[12]. The final design in this study is
achieved by coupling CAMRAD JA comprehensive analysis tool with CONMIN therefore it is desirable
to check the total procedure against a real performance problem before going into detailed
optimization analysis.

The sample problem was decided as aerodynamic twist optimization of SA 349/2 blade for minimum
power required. First, the CAMRAD JA full helicopter model was built for the problem. The model
result was then compared with flight test data of the same helicopter at 155 knots. Power requirement
of main rotor in flight test was found as 697 Hp [1]. That value was evaluated as 686 Hp by CAMRAD
JA model. The results showed a good correlation (1.6 % with respect to flight test data) and validated
the analysis model.

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Figure 1: Design Procedure for Minimum Power Required

Verification of the optimization procedure was performed by setting an initial twist distribution which is
far from original. The objective function was to minimize the difference between the power required of
the analysis model and the power required of the original design. The twist distributions at the
minimum difference were compared for the verification.

As stated the objective function for the analysis was the main rotor power required at 155 knots and
design variable was the main rotor blade twist distribution. The original blade was linearly twisted up to
r/R=0.90 and then current twist angle was kept constant. The analysis model was a full configuration
free-flight helicopter with main rotor, tail rotor and fuselage and the helicopter operates at six degrees
of freedom trimmed flight. Figure 2 shows the initial, optimized and original twist distributions with the
relevant required values.

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SA349/2 Blade Twist Distribution
20
SA349/2 Design (686 HP)
15 Starting Design(839 HP)
Twist Angle (deg)

10 Optimized Design (683 hp)
5
0
‐5
‐10
0,1 0,2 0,3 0,4 0,5 0,6 0,7 0,8 0,9 1
r/R
Figure 2: Twist Optimization of SA349/2 Rotor Blade

According to the Figure 2, the power required for the initial twist distribution was calculated as 839 HP
which was reduced to 683 HP after optimized twist distribution. The difference between required
power values of the SA349/2 design and optimized design was found about 3HP with very close twist
distributions. The results verified the reliability of comprehensive optimization procedure on a power
requirement problem.

MAIN ROTOR DESIGN OF a 1000 kg LIGHT HELICOPTER for MINIMUM POWER REQUIRED

Initial Design

For a helicopter having a maximum takeoff weight of 1000 kg, initial main rotor design was performed.
Initial design comprised initial sizing of the main rotor, airfoil selection, initial power required
calculations and initial aerodynamic analysis of the main rotor with empirical and analytical methods.

Initial Sizing
For initial sizing of the main rotor, a literature survey was conducted. Specifications of the helicopter
with similar maximum takeoff weight were investigated and basic main rotor parameters were
compared. Main rotor diameter, chord length and blade number were derived from the trend lines of
the specifications of the light helicopters. Literature study on the similar MTOW helicopters are
outlined in Table 1 and trend-lines are presented in Figure 3.

Table 1: Basic Rotor Parameters of Light Helicopters [3]

Rotor  Empty  MTOW  Power  Blade  Chord 

   diameter (m)  Weight (kg)  (kg)  Source (Hp)  Number  Length (m) 
Mosquito XE   5.94 135 290 60 2  NA 
R‐22   7.7 389 635 124 2  0.18 
Safari Helicopters   7.9 454 680 180 0.203 
Hughes 269   7.6 406 703 180 2  NA 
Brantly B‐2   7.24 463 757 180 2  NA 
Schweizer 300CB   8.2 499 930 190 2  0.17 
R ‐44   10.06 683 1134 245 2  NA 
MD 500E   8.05 672 1361 420 4  0.171 
EC‐120   10 960 1715 504 3  0.26 
EC‐130B   10.69 1360 2400 728 3  NA 
EC‐135   10.2 1490 2835 1200 4  NA 

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12 5

9 4

Number of Blades
Diameter (m)

3
6
2
3
1
0
0
0 1000 2000 3000
0 1000 2000 3000
MTOW (kg)
MTOW (kg)

0,3 1500

Helicopter Power (hp)
Chord Length (m)

0,2 1000

0,1 500

0 0
0 1000 2000 3000 0 1000 2000 3000

MTOW (kg) MTOW (kg)

Figure 3: Main Rotor trend-lines with respect to maximum take-off weight (MTOW)

According to the specifications of the similar helicopters and the trend lines given in Figure 3, three
initial designs were determined for 1000 kg maximum take-off weight. The rotor diameters of the
similar helicopters were around 10 m and the initial designs were decided to vary between 10.5 m and
9.0 m. Due to the low weight of the design, blade number for each configuration was selected as 2.
Chord lengths of each design were determined in order to keep total thrust of the blades same at
hover flight condition. The initial three configurations are given in Table 2.

Table 2: Initial Main Rotor Designs

   Rotor 1 Rotor 2 Rotor 3

Rotor diameter (m)  10.5  10.0  9.0 
MTOW (kg)  1000  1000  1000 
Blade Number  2  2  2 
Chord Length (m)  17  18  20 

NACA 23012 which has high lift to drag ratio and low moment coefficient was selected as the airfoil.
Twist distributions, tip taper ratios and tip sweep angles were all initially set to zero. Blade tip speed at
hover was selected as 0.6 Ma which is same for all three designs. Main rotor RPM values were
calculated according to that 0.6 Ma tip speed and rotor diameter. Table 3 presents the design
parameters of initial configurations.

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Table 3: Main Rotor Initial Design Parameters

Rotor 1  Rotor 2  Rotor 3 

Airfoil Profile  Naca23012 Naca23012 Naca23012 
Blade Twist (deg.)  0.0  0.0  0.0 
Blade Tip Taper Ratio  0.0  0.0  0.0 
Blade Tip Sweep Angle (deg)  0.0  0.0  0.0 
Tip Speed (Ma)  0.6  0.6  0.6 
RPM  370  390  435 

By using xBEM analysis tool, these three initial designs were controlled for their thrust and power
levels. The thrust values were enough for 1000 kg maximum takeoff weight and the power required
values were reasonable. These configurations were used in optimization activities as initial designs in
order to minimize the power required for hover and forward flight cases.

Optimization Analysis

After three initial configurations were determined, optimization analyses were conducted for these
initial designs. The optimization formulation included rotor power required at hover, 50 knots and 110
knots. The function is the sum of power required values at these flight conditions with weight constants
of 0.5, 0.1 and 0.4 respectively. That weighing function was used in order to include three flight
conditions which were hover, typical best range speed and maximum cruise speed. Furthermore, 180
Hp was set as the constraint which should not be exceeded at any of three flight conditions. The thrust
levels were also limited in order to prevent performance degradation while minimizing power
consumption.

Table 4 presents initial and optimized power required of 1st, 2nd and 3rd configurations respectively.
Lowest power required could be achieved with first configuration with the smallest objective function.
Both 1st and 2nd designs satisfied the 180 HP limit at any flight condition however, the 3rd design
violated 180 HP limit at 110 knots flight. Therefore, in terms of the value of objective function, first
design is the best rotor configuration. Second design is also acceptable which reached 6 HP higher
power consumption than that of first one. Since the 3rd design violated the constraint of 180 HP
available power it cannot be considered as an acceptable design.

Table 4: Initial and Optimum Blade Parameters for Design 1

   Configuration 1  Configuration 2  Configuration 3 

Flight Condition  Initial  Optimum Initial  Optimum Initial  Optimum
Hover (hp)  214  160  234  157  270  167 
50 knots (hp)  107  82  110  101  130  112 
110 knots (hp)  192  164  197  178  217  184 
Objective Function (hp)  196  154  207  160  235  168 
Reduction in Objective (%)  21  23  28 

Table 5 shows the initial and optimum blade parameters of 1st, 2nd and 3rd configurations respectively.
All three designs show similar trends of reduction in blade twist. 1st design also improved with chord
length reduction. Since the radius of the first configuration was higher than those of the 2nd and 3rd, the
chord could be reduced. A possible reduction in 2nd and 3rd configurations would lead to decrease in
thrust. Tip taper ratio only changed significantly in third design. Objective function is not sensitive to
the blade tip sweep for the considered flight regime which remains constant in all three analyses. That
ineffectiveness of sweep angle is mostly due to the low maximum flight speed of the proposed
helicopter. For higher forward speed tip sweep angle is expected to be effective.

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Table 5: Initial and Optimum Power Required for Design 1

   Configuration 1  Configuration 2  Configuration 3 

 Variable  Initial  Optimum Initial  Optimum Initial  Optimum 
Twist (deg)  0  ‐10,15  0  ‐12,8  0  ‐14,29 
Chord (cm)  17  15,57  18  18  20  20 
Taper  1  1  1  1  1  0,63 
Sweep (deg) 0  0  0  0  0  0 

Aerodynamic Analysis of Selected Design

After optimizations were performed on three main rotor configurations, the 1st configuration was
selected as the best design having the least power consumption. The aerodynamic analyses of this
design were conducted by using xBEM tool. The flight conditions which were hover and 50 knots and
110 knots forward flight cases were analyzed for thrust, angle of attack and drag coefficient
distributions over the rotor disc. Results are presented is Figure 4 - Figure 12. At forward flight cases,
the disc is oriented according to the convention such that rotor faces airflow from 180 degrees
azimuth.

Figure 4: Thrust distribution on rotor disc at Hover Flight (left: initial, right: final)

Figure 5: Angle of Attack distribution on rotor disc at Hover Flight (left: initial, right: final)

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Figure 6: Drag coefficient distribution on rotor disc at Hover Flight (left: initial, right: final)

Figure 7: Load (Thrust) distribution on rotor disc at 50 Knots Forward Flight (left: initial, right: final)

Figure 8: Angle of Attack distribution on rotor disc at 50 Knots Forward Flight (left: initial, right: final)

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Figure 9: Drag coefficient distribution on rotor disc at 50 Knots Forward Flight (left: initial, right: final)

Figure 10: Load (Thrust) distribution on rotor disc at 110 Knots Forward Flight (left: initial, right: final)

Figure 11: Angle of attack distribution on rotor disc at 110 Knots Forward Flight (left: initial, right: final)

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Figure 12: Drag coefficient distribution on rotor disc at 110 Knots Forward Flight (left: initial, right: final)

Figure 4, Figure 5 and Figure 6 investigates the effect of optimization on hover flight. It can be
observed that, with the optimization of the rotor, effective angle of attack near blade tips decreased
reasonably. The most dominant part of the total rotor torque comes from drag of the blade elements
near tip. Therefore, the reduction in the effective angle of attack at tip decreased the total torque of the
rotor which was achieved by negative aerodynamic twist. Furthermore, mean chord length of the
blades also decreased with optimization of the rotor which in turn decreased total area of the blades
while keeping thrust at the same level.

Figure 7 - Figure 12 represents the effect of optimization on forward flight aerodynamic characters.
Similar to hover flight, effective angle of attack encountered at blade tips decreased with optimization
of the rotor. The addition of the twist to the blades caused increase in effective angle of attack
encountered at retreating side of the rotor disk and reduction in the effective angle of attack at
advancing side. Since advancing side local dynamic pressure is quite bigger than that of the retreating
side of the rotor disk, the reduction in the effective angle of attack and blade chord length would play
the dominant role in decreasing total torque of the rotor.

Considering the whole optimization problem, the optimized blade twist helped distributing the blade
angle of attack favorably over the rotor disc so that the blade tips operates in lower angle of attack.
Reduction in chord distribution relieves unnecessary aerodynamic surface length for the same level of
thrust. Taper ratio and blade sweep angle at the tip has no effect on power required for the proposed
configuration.

In conclusion, comprehensive blade optimization provides a fast and effective tool for rotorcraft design
that can be applicable for wide range of problems including maximizing performance, stability and
handling qualities or minimizing vibration, noise and cost. Multiple design variables can be taken into
account simultaneously and the design space can be limited by constraints so that unrealistic results
can be eliminated.

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References

[1] Öztürk C., Şen S., Ortakaya Y., CAMRAD/JA & FLIGHTLAB ile Helicopter Ana Rotoru
Aerodinamik ve Performans Analizi, 3. Ulusal Havacılık ve Uzay Konferansı Eskişehir, p:10, 2010
[2] Yücekayalı A., Ortakaya Y., GİRDAP TEORİSİ VE PAL ELEMANLARI METODU İLE
HELİKOPTER ROTORUNUN AERODİNAMİK MODELLENMESİ, 3. Ulusal Havacılık ve Uzay
Konferansı Eskişehir, 2010
[3] Jane's all the world’s aircraft 2004-2005
[4] Johnson, W., Helicopter Theory Dover Publications Inc New York, p:278-310, 1994
[5] Friedmann, P.P and Celi R. Structural Optimization of Rotor Blades with Straight and Swept Tips
Subject to Aeroelastic Constraints, NASA Technical Report N89-25152,1989
[6] Peters, D.A., Cheng Y.P., Optimization of Rotor Blades for Combined Structural Performance, and
Aeroelastic Characteristics, NASA Technical Report N89-25153, 1989
[7] Adelman, H.M. , Mantay, W. R., Integrated Multidisciplinary Optimization of Rotorcraft: A Plan for
Development, NASA Technical Memorandum, 1989
[8] Chattopadhyay, A., and Walsh, J.L., Minimum Weight Design of Rotorcraft Blades with Multiple
Frequency and Stress Constraints, NASA Technical Memorandum, March 1988.
[9] Johnson W., CAMRAD JA Theory Manual, Johnson Aeronautics, 1988
[10] Johnson W., CAMRAD JA User Manual, Johnson Aeronautics, 1988
[11] Lan, C. E., Applications of CONMIN to Wing Design Optimization with Vortex Flow Effect, 1984
[12] Vanderplaats, G.N. , CONMIN – A Fortran Program for Constrained Function Minimization User’s
Manual, NASA Technical Memorandum, 1973

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