A computational study was conducted to investigate the aerodynamic interactions between various components of a compound coaxial helicopter, using a full vehicle CFD/CSD coupling methodology. A notional X2TD helicopter consisting of a coaxial rotor, airframe and an aft-mounted propeller, was modeled in this study. A high-fidelity computational fluid dynamics framework, HPCMP CREATE~(TW)-AV Helios, was used in conjunction with an in-house computational structural dynamics solver, to simulate the helicopter in steady forward flight. A full vehicle coupling methodology was implemented to correct the low fidelity aerodynamic model of main rotor blades and airframe, within the structural solver. Rotor blade sectional airloads, mean propulsor power and time-averaged fuselage airloads were transferred to the structural solver during each coupling iteration. Efforts were made to identify and analyze effects of full vehicle CFD/CSD coupling methodology on rotor trim variables. The aerodynamic interactions between various components of the vehicle were also investigated.
展开▼
