Developments on the Hybrid Stiffness - Flow Control Active System for Rotor Vibration Attenuation Project - SHARCS

摘要

At Carleton University's rotorcraft research group, we are working since 2003 in the development of an active rotor control system that incorporates a mechanism for blade pitch compliance adaptation at the root, the active pitch link and an on-blade flow-control actuation mechanism, the actively controlled flap. The objective is to employ a hybrid rotor control concept (SHARCS, acronym for "Smart Hybrid Active Rotor Control System") comprised by these two subsystems to attenuate the aeroelastic response of the blade at the frequencies of interest. We believe that the cooperation between these two subsystems will vastly expand the capability of smart material systems to overcome their intrinsic stroke limitations and to attain superior performance in performing individual blade control for rotor vibration alleviation. The two subsystems are being presently developed at the whirl tower built by Carleton University on the grounds of the National Research Council Canada (NRC). This paper will report the most recent achievements in producing both the hardware and software of the SHARCS system tailored to a dynamically similar 1-meter span hinged rotor blade model.