Project
GOAHEAD - Generation of Advanced Helicopter Experimental Aerodynamic Database for CFD Code Validation
Funding origin:
European
STRIA Roadmaps:
Vehicle design and manufacturing (VDM)
Transport mode:
Airborne
Transport sectors:
Passenger transport
Freight transport
CORDIS link:
https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/516074
Duration:
Start date: 01/07/2005,
End date: 31/12/2009
Status: Finished
Funding details:
Total cost:
€4 975 307
EU Contribution:
€2 999 152
Overview
Background & policy context:
During the last ten years, considerable progress has been made in developing aerodynamic prediction capabilities for isolated helicopter components. This progress has been made possible due to co-operations that were partly funded by European research projects. Today, cutting-edge CFD codes are available that are capable of predicting the viscous flow around main rotor-fuselage configurations. The greatest shortcoming for qualifying these methods as design tools in the industrial design process is the lack of detailed experimental validation data for complete helicopters.
Objectives:
The main objectives of GOAHEAD are:
- To enhance the aerodynamic prediction capabilities of Europe's helicopter industry with regard to complete helicopter configurations.
- To create an experimental database for validation of 3D unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (URANS) CFD methods for unsteady viscous flows, including rotor dynamics for complete helicopter configurations (main rotor-fuselage-tail rotor), with emphasis on viscous phenomena like flow separation and transition from laminar to turbulent flow.
- To evaluate and validate Europe's most elaborate URANS solvers for the prediction of viscous flow around a complete helicopter, including fluid-structure coupling.
- To establish best practice guidelines for the numerical simulation of the viscous flow around helicopter configurations.
Methodology:
The project had a four-year duration and consisted of five Work Packages:
- In Work Package 1 the detailed specifications of the test matrix for the wind tunnel experiment and the CFD evaluation and validation task were elaborated.
- Work Package 2 is the CFD Work Package in which existing CFD codes were applied to complete helicopter configurations in a blind-test and a post-test exercise.
- The wind tunnel experiments was carried out in Work Package 3. The configuration investigated in the DNW LLF was a Mach-scaled model of a modern transport helicopter consisting of the main rotor (R=2.1m), the fuselage (including all control surfaces) and the tail rotor. In order to keep the costs of the experimental campaign as low as possible, existing components were reused. This means that the test configuration is not a scaled model for an existing helicopter, but this is not important because the aim of the project was to produce data for CFD validation for any realistic configuration. The experimental set-up was tailored to serve the needs of the aerodynamic validation for methods based on the unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations. The 6m x 8m closed test section was used. Velocity profiles and the turbulent kinetic energy were measured at the inflow plane in order to define accurate boundary conditions in the CFD simulations. The measurement comprised global forces of the main rotor and the fuselage, steady and unsteady pressures, transition positions, stream lines, position of flow separation, velocity fields in the wake, vortex trajectories and elastic deformations of the main and tail rotor blades. The data was used in Work Package 4 for the validation of the CFD methods.
- Work Package 4 established best practice guidelines for the URANS simulation of complete helicopter configurations.
- Work Package 5 concerned itself with project management and will be responsible for the project exploitation.
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