Design and analysis of helicopter rotor blades

Kolli Ramesh *, Macha Srikanth and Palanati Swetha

Vignan institute of technology and science, deshmuki (V), pochampally (M), Yadadri bhuvanagiri Dist, Telangana-508204,
India.

International Journal of Science and Research Archive, 2023, 09(01), 696–703

Publication history: Received on 18 May 2023; revised on 25 June 2023; accepted on 28 June 2023

Article DOI: https://doi.org/10.30574/ijsra.2023.9.1.0508

Abstract
Rotor blades of helicopters must be stiff and strong enough to maintain structural loads within working limits. The
rotating cycles change the aerodynamic and structural stresses created by the blade revolution. In this project, you will
discover the structural stresses of the blades as well as the vibration frequencies studied using the Ansys programme,
taking into consideration environmental consequences. This material was tested utilising Kevlar 49, carbon-epoxy, and
advanced carbon fibre composite materials and found to be a lightweight, high-strength, and long-lasting material.
Solidworks software was used to create the design.

Keywords: Aerodynamics forces; Helicopter blades; Solidworks simulation; Structural analysis; Vibration analysis

1 Introduction
Helicopters are available in a range of sizes and shapes, based on their intended use and payload requirements.
However, the majority of them have similar portions and sections. The helicopter rotor or rotor frame is one of the
most significant components (Fig. 1). Its goal is to build lifting helicopters and payloads, as well as to reduce the drag
generated during forwards flight. The rotor frame's primary sections are the pole, centre, and sharp edge. The rod is
linked to the gearbox via a hollow in the metal shaft of the tube. The connecting rotor edges are focused on the top pole.
Sharp rotor edges are critical components of the rotor structure and are attached to the centre at various angles. There
are three types of rotor framework: stiff, semi-rigid, and completely voiced. This sequence is determined by the rotor
edges' connection to the centre and their speed in relation to the pole. These blades spin at high speeds to create a force
called lift that allows the helicopter to rise in the air. The lift generated from the blades supports the vehicle's weight
and provide forward velocity to move through the sky.

1.1 Blade Design Characteristics

 Using as few parts as possible
 Keeping the weight of the rotor system down
 Ensuring drag created by the blades is minimal
 Keep noise to a minimum
 Keep vibration to a minimum
 As you can see there are a lot of things the designers have to think about when they design the helicopters rotor
system, let alone the insane amount of aerodynamic factors that also come into play!
 The bigger the rotor blade, the more lift it produces, but it also weighs more, requires more materials, costs
more, creates more drag as it moves through the air, and requires more power to overcome that drag.
 Keeping cost low.

* Corresponding author: Kolli Ramesh

Copyright © 2023 Author(s) retain the copyright of this article. This article is published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Liscense 4.0.
 International Journal of Science and Research Archive, 2023, 09(01), 696–703

1.2 Force acting on helicopter

Once a helicopter leaves the ground, it is acted upon by four aerodynamic forces; thrust, drag, lift, and weight.
Understanding how these forces work and knowing how to control them with the use of power and flight controls are
essential to flight.

They are defined as follows:

 Lift—opposes the downward force of weight, is produced by the dynamic effect of the air acting on the airfoil
and acts perpendicular to the flightpath through the center of lift.
 Weight—the combined load of the aircraft itself, the crew, the fuel, and the cargo or baggage. Weight pulls the
aircraft downward because of the force of gravity. It opposes lift and acts vertically downward through the
aircraft’s center of gravity (CG).
 Thrust—the force produced by the power plant/ propeller or rotor. It opposes or overcomes the force of drag.
As a general rule, it acts parallel to

Figure 1 Forces acting on rotor blade

 The longitudinal axis. However, this is not always the case, as explained later.
 Drag—a rearward, retarding force caused by disruption of airflow by the wing, rotor, fuselage, and other
protruding objects. Drag opposes thrust and acts rearward parallel to the relative wind.ss

1.3 Airfoil
An airfoil or aerofoil is a streamlined body that is capable of generating significantly more lift than drag.

1.3.1 Aerofoil Terminology

Figure 2 Terminology of aerofoil structure

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 Chord: Chord can be defined as the distance between the leading edge, at the front of the aerofoil that is the
point, and has maximum curvature and the trailing edge, at the rear of the aerofoil, that is the point with a
maximum curvature along the chord line. It is a distance between the leading and trailing edges measured along
the chord line.
 Chord Line: Chord line is the straight line connecting the leading and trailing edges.
 Leading-Edge: It is an edged part of an aerofoil that hits the air particles first.
 Lower Surface: The lower surface is a higher static pressure surface which is also known as a pressure surface.
It is the surface of an aerofoil between the leading and trailing edges, on the lower side.
 Mean Camber Line: It is a line joining the leading and trailing edges of an aerofoil, at an equal distance from
the upper and lower surfaces.
 Maximum Camber: It is the maximum distance of the mean camber line from the chord line.
 Maximum Thickness: It is the maximum distance of the lower surface from the upper surface.
 Trailing Edge: It is an edged part from an aerofoil that hits the air particles last.

1.4 Four-digit series

The NACA four-digit wing sections define the profile by

 First digit describing maximum camber as percentage of the chord.

 Second digit describing the distance of maximum camber from the airfoil leading edge in tenths of the
chord.
 Last two digits describing maximum thickness of the airfoil as percent of the chord.[3]
For example, the NACA 2412 airfoil has a maximum camber of 2% located 40% (0.4 chords) from the leading edge with
a maximum thickness of 12% of the chord.

The NACA 0015 airfoil is symmetrical, the 00 indicating that it has no camber. The 15 indicates that the airfoil has a 15%
thickness to chord length ratio: it is 15% as thick as it is long.

2 Mechanical Design software

The 3D modelling software tools are used for a number of projects, from simulation to manufacturing. A 3D modelling
software with great visualisation options can help you get a better overview of your project. A precise overview allows
you to adjust and improve your parts efficiently. It is also a good method to correct the last errors.

SolidWorks (stylized as SOLIDWORKS) is a solid modeling computer-aided design (CAD) and computer-aided
engineering (CAE) application published by Dassault Systèmes.

3 Present existing material

The material used for making helicopter blades is typically either composite materials or metal alloys. Composite
materials, such as carbon fiber reinforced plastic, are often used for helicopter blades due to their high strength-to-
weight ratio and ability to withstand the high stresses and strains of helicopter flight. Metal alloys, such as aluminum
and titanium, are also commonly used for helicopter blades due to their high strength and durability.

The helicopter blades was constructed from

 Aluminum alloy (Al7075-T6)

 Magnesium alloy (Mg-Li9-A3-Zn3,)

Table 1 Mechanical Properties of Aluminium

Property Value
Mean Specific Heat (0-100°C) (cal/g.°C) 0.219
Thermal Conductivity (0-100°C) (cal/cms. °C) 0.57
Co-Efficient of Linear Expansion (0-100°C) (x10-6/°C) 23.5

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Density (g/cm3) 2.6898

Modulus of Elasticity (GPa) 68.3
Modulus of Elasticity (GPa) 68.3
Poissons Ratio 0.34

4 Analytical design of helicoptermain rotor head

4.1 Design Specifications conditions

Analyzing the benefits and drawbacks of various rotor head designs was the first step in the rotor head selection
process. The following criteria for a design were decided upon:

 Diameter of a rotor would be approximately one meter

 Rotor head should be fully articulated and coaxial
 Blades must be easily interchangeable to test different designs
 Number of blades should be variable

4.2 Specification of Coaxial helicopters

 Length: 16 m (52 ft 6 in)
 Height: 2.4 m (7 ft 10.78 in)
 Empty weight: 7,700 kg (16,976 lb)
 Gross weight: 9,800 kg (21,605 lb)
 Max takeoff weight: 10,800 kg (23,810 lb)
 Powerplant: 2 × Klimov VK-2500 turboshaft engines, 1,800 kW (2,400 shp) each
 Main rotor diameter: 2 × 14.5 m (47 ft 7 in)
 Main rotor area: 330.3 m2 (3,555 sq ft) contra-rotating 3-bladed main rotors

4.2.1 Kind of load

 Value Unit Aerodynamic lift force = 1500 N
 Centrifugal force of a blade =6156 N
 Aerodynamic drag force of a blade = 40 N
 Torque = 160 Nm
 Rotational speed = 180 rad/s

4.3 Design Calculations

4.3.1 Blade sizing

A very first step of our design is to determine a dimension of a rotor blade of a rotor mechanism. This part is done by
following various design approach of RC helicopter blades.

A primary assumption of a dimension for a blade is, Disc radius = Blade span = R = 0.5m , Blade Chord = C = 0.1m , N =
Number of blades

From Blade elementary aory,

Solidity Factor, Solidity Factor,

𝜎 = (Blade Area)/(Disc Area )= ((N×C) )/(π×R )

Now, For 3 Blade, N = 3, Solidity Factor,

𝜎 = ((3×0.1))/((π×0.5) )= 0.191

Again, For 2 Blade, N = 2, Solidity Factor,

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𝜎 = ((2×0.1))/((π×0.5) )= 0.127

4.4 Rotor blade design in solidworks

Figure 3 Aerofoil structure Figure 4 Rotor blade hub

Figure 5 Rotor blade Figure 6 Rotor blade swash plate

Figure 7 Rotor blade assembly

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5 Simulation study

Figure 8 Meshing

5.1 Material: Aluminium

Figure 9 Static stress structural Figure 10 Static strain structural

Figure 11 Static displacement Figure 12 Factor of safety

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5.2 Material: - KEVLAR 49

Figure 13 Static stress structural Figure 14 Static strain structural

Figure 15 Static displacement Figure 16 Factor of safety

6 Results
Table 2 Comparison of physical properties between aluminum and Kevlar 49

Materials
Results ALUMINUM KEVLAR 49
min max min max
stress 204415520.00 ∞ 1222880.50 1537211538752929792.00
strain 0.049912 2378616320.00 0.023761 40197376.00
Displacement 0 5540903636025999360.00 0 1372412887691165696.00
Factor of safety 0 0.134893 0 1014.00

7 Conclusion
Extensive historical research makes it evident that the issue has not yet been fully resolved, and designers are still
having many difficulties, particularly with stress concentration and the impact of loading other oar variables. The most
well-liked strategy for analysing fracture mechanics issues is the finite element approach. Some helicopter main rotor
heads made of aluminium are almost as light as those made of Kevlar 49. However, steel's key benefit is that it is more
rigid and has higher fatigue strength than Kevlar 49. We can therefore conclude that Kevlar 49 is good for producing
inexpensive helicopter main rotor heads whereas steel is a better material in terms of strength. SOLIDWORKS was used
to successfully complete a project's design. Using SOLIDWORKS, issues that arose during the design of a machine were
successfully resolved. The majority of the key components of SOLIDWORKS, a flexible and all-inclusive programme for
threedimensional solid modelling, were used in the project design.

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As we can conclude that by taking the considerations of the blade characteristics and aerofoil structure we completed
the design procedure. the motion of the rotor blade is determined by using solidworks software As we are utilize the
Kevlar 49, carbon-epoxy, and advanced carbon fibre composite materials and found to be a lightweight, high-strength,
and long-lasting material.And we used composite material (Kevlar 49) to improve the durability and stiffness of the
blades. As the increasing of the durability of the component the cost of the development of new component will be
reduce.

Compliance with ethical standards

Acknowledgments
This research was partially supported by Macha Srikanth, Palanati Swetha . We are thankful to our collage Vignan
institute of technology and science who provided expertise that greatly assisted the research.

We are also grateful to Mrs. Ch. Saikrupa for assistance and in that line improved the manuscript significantly.

Disclosure of conflict of interest

No conflict of interest.

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[2] Hardeep Singh and Jag sahil saini ,Gurukul vidyapeeth institute of engineering and technology, September 2014,
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[3] Jag sahil saini, Gurukul vidyapeeth institute of engineering and technology. June 2015 Analysis of rotor blade of
helicopter Michael Roemer, Matthew Montana, Scott Novak, and Mitchell brush, spring 2016.
[4] Michael Roemer, Matthew Montana, Scott Novak, and Mitchell brush, spring 2016 The development and analysis
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[5] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helicopter_rotor
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