Aeromechanics Investigation of a Full-Wing Lift-Compounded Slowed Rotor

An aeromechanical analysis of a scaled rotor with lift compounding is conducted to understand the impact of various wing configurations on performance and loads. An assessment of the half-retreating side wing and full-wing configurations is conducted for advance ratios up to 0.7, for two wing incidence angles (4° and 8°), and three rotor shaft angles (−4°, 0°, and 4°). Aircraft performance, blade pitch control angles, blade structural loads, hub vibratory loads, and aerodynamic interactions between the rotor and wing are evaluated using the University of Maryland Advanced Rotorcraft Code (UMARC). Additionally, UMARC coupled rotor-wing analysis is validated with the wind tunnel data of lift and thrust-compounded rotor configurations. The study shows that the half, asymmetric, wing configuration is beneficial for peak vehicle performance (lift-to-drag ratio) due to rotor lift offset, though the full-wing configuration minimizes blade structural loads. Maximizing wing lift sharing minimizes hub vibratory loads.