Experimental study of main rotor tip geometry and tail rotor interactions in hover. Volume 1. Text and figures

Abstract

A model scale hover test was conducted in the Sikorsky Aircraft Model rotor hover Facility to identify and quantify the impact of the tail rotor on the demonstrated advantages of advanced geometry tip configurations. The test was conducted using the Basic Model Test Rig and two scaled main rotor systems, one representing a 1/5.727 scale UH-60A BLACK HAWK and the others a 1/4.71 scale S-76. Eight alternate rotor tip configurations were tested, 3 on the BLACK HAWK rotor and 6 on the S-76 rotor. Four of these tips were then selected for testing in close proximity to an operating tail rotor (operating in both tractor and pusher modes) to determine if the performance advantages that could be obtained from the use of advanced geometry tips in a main rotor only environment would still exist in the more complex flow field involving a tail rotor. The test showed that overall the tail rotor effects on the advanced tip configurations tested are not substantially different from the effects on conventional tips.