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NATIONAL ADVISORY. /COMMITTEE
FOR AERONAUTICS

TECHNICAL NOTE 2318

FULL-SCALE -TUNNEL INVESTIGATION O F THE STATIC -TKRUST

A;

k
/ PERFORMANCE OF A COAXIAL HELICOPTER'ROMR
By Robert D. Harrington
Langley Aeronautical Laboratory
Langley Fieid, Va.

TJzG&7
Washington
March 1951

Reproducd by
N A T I O N TECHNICAL
~~
l N F o R M ~ T l oSERVICE
~
SPr'ngfield, Va. 22151
 NATIONAL ADVISORY COMMIT'TEE FOR AERONAUTICS

TECHNICAL NOTE 2318

-- --

FUL.L-SCALE-TUNNEL INVESTIGATION OF THE STATIC-THRUST

PERFORMANCE OF A COAXIAL ELICOPTER ROTOR

By Robert D. Harrington

SUMMARY

An i n v e s t i g a t i o n t o determine the s t a t i c - t h r u s t performance of a

c o a x i a l h e l i c o p t e r r o t o r having blades tapered both i n p l a n form and
t h i c k n e s s r a t i o has been conducted i n t h e Langley f u l l - s c a l e t u n n e l .
T e s t s of both t h e c o a x i a l - r o t o r and s i n g l e - r o t o r c o n f i g u r a t i o n s were
made f o r a range of blade-pitch s e t t i n g and f o r a range of t i p speed
up t o 500 f e e t per second. Several t e s t s were a l s o conducted t o
determine t h e e f f e c t of v a r i a t i o n i n d i r e c t i o n a l c o n t r o l on t h e hovering
performance of t h e c o a x i a l r o t o r .

A comparison of t h e measured s t a t i c - t h r u s t performance of t h e r o t o r

w i t h t h a t predicted by hovering-performance theory i s a l s o presented.
Included t o s u b s t a n t i a t e t h e comparison with hovering t h e o r y a r e some
previously obtained s t a t i c - t h r u s t r e s u l t s of another c o a x i a l , r o t o r of
- higher s o l i d i t y and d i f f e r e n t blade geometry. The t h e o r e t i c a l calcula-
t i o n s f o r t h e c o a x i a l configurations are based on t h e assumption of a
s i n g l e r o t o r with a s o l i d i t y equal t o t h a t of t h e c o a x i a l r o t o r and a r e
i n good agreement with t h e measured r e s u l t s .

INTRODUCTION

A g e n e r a l r e s e a r c h program t o i n v e s t i g a t e t h e aerodynamic character-

i s t i c s of s e v e r a l d i f f e r e n t h e l i c o p t e r - r o t o r configurations i s i n progress
a t t h e Langley f u l l - s c a l e tunnel. An i n v e s t i g a t i o n of a c o a x i a l h e l i c o p t e r
r o t o r , w i t h b l a d e s tapered b o t h i n plan form and thickness r a t i o and
r e p r e s e n t i n g t h e case of 100-percent r o t o r overlap, has r e c e n t l y been
conducted a s p a r t of t h i s program. Included i n t h e i n v e s t i g a t i o n were
t e s t s t o determine t h e performance and blade-motion c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of
t h e r o t o r over a range of airspeed. Tests were a l s o made w i t h one r o t o r
removed i n order t o determine t h e r e l a t i v e m e r i t s of t h e coaxial- and
s i n g l e - r o t o r configurations.

This paper p r e s e n t s t h e r e s u l t s of s t a t i c - t h r u s t measurements f o r

b o t h t h e coaxial- and s i n g l e - r o t o r configurations along with a comparison
2 NACA TN 2318

of these r e s u l t s with hovering-performance theory. Included t o substan-

t i a t e the comparison with theory a r e some previously obtained f u l l - s c a l e -
tunnel s t a t i c - t h r u s t d a t a f o r a c o a x i a l r o t o r of higher s o l i d i t y and w i t h
b l a d e s tapered i n thickness r a t i o only.

SYMBOLS

number of blades

blade r a d i u s , f e e t

r a d i a l d i s t a n c e t o blade element, f e e t

r a t i o of blade-element r a d i u s t o rotor-blade r a d i u s (r/R)

blade s e c t i o n thickness, f e e t

blade s e c t i o n chord, f e e t

equivalent blade chord, f e e t f 1) C;

rotor solidity (bce/rrR)

mass d e n s i t y of a i r , s l u g s per cubic f o o t

r o t o r angular v e l o c i t y , r a d i a n s per second

r o t o r t h r u s t , pounds

r o t o r torque, pound-feet

rotor thrust coefficient

(p , RT2-2)

r o t o r torque c o e f f i c i e n t
( p (Q:2 rrR3)
NACA TN 2318

r o t o r f i g u r e of m e r i t (0.'j'07 $)
c p r o f i l e drag c o e f f i c i e n t of rotor-blade s e c t i o n
do

z s e c t i o n l i f t c o e f f i c i e n t of rotor-blade s e c t i o n

slope of s e c t i o n l i f t curve a g a i n s t angle of a t t a c k i n

radians

CLI. blade-element angle of a t t a c k measured from l i n e of zero

l i f t , radians (8 - 9 )

8 blade-section p i t c h angle, r a d i a n s

cP inflow angle a t blad'e element, r a d i a n s

v induced inflow v e l o c i t y a t r o t o r , f e e t per second

'07 &1,62 c o e f f i c i e n t s i n power s e r i e s expressing as f u n c t i o n

Cdo
of o, (cdo = 60 + 61ar +

Subscripts:

r root

tip
profile

APPARATUS AND TESTS

The h e l i c o p t e r - r o t o r configuration t e s t e d i n t h i s i n v e s t i g a t i o n
( r o t o r 1 ) consisted of two, 25-foot-diamet+er, two-blade r o t o r s . The
r o t o r d r i v e mechanism c o n s i s t s of a pair of hubs mounted 2.33 f e e t
(9.5 percent of t h e r o t o r diameter) apart on coaxial, d u a l - r o t a t i n g d r i v e
s h a f t s . The hubs were attached t o t h e i r r e s p e c t i v e d r i v e s h a f t s by a
s i n g l e h o r i z o n t a l p i n which allowed the b l a d e s t o f l a p see-saw fashion;
they were, however, r i g i d l y r e s t r a i n e d i n t h e plane of r o t a t i o n . The
r o t o r c o n f i g u r a t i o n was designed t o operate a t a d i s k loading of 2.5 pounds
p e r square f o o t and a t i p speed of 540 f e e t per second. The values of
t h e r o t o r s o l i d i t y were 0.054 and 0.027 f o r t h e coaxial- and s i n g l e - r o t o r
c o n f i g u r a t i o n s , r e s p e c t i v e l y . The r o t o r b l a d e s had NACA f o u r - d i g i t
 NACA TN 2318

symmetrical a i r f o i l s e c t i o n s and were of all-wood c o n s t r u c t i o n . The

b l a d e s had a laminated b i r c h spar and mahogany r i b s and were covered
w i t h spruce plywood s k i n . a f t of t h e 22.6 percent chord. They were
t a p e r e d b o t h i n p l a n form and thickness r a t i o b u t were untwisted.
D e t a i l s of t h e plan form and t h i c k n e s s r a t i o of t h e b l a d e s a r e presented
i n figure l ( a ) .

Another r o t o r ( r o t o r 2 ) had been previously t e s t e d i n t h e Langley

f u l l - s c a l e tunnel. I t was s i m i l a r i n design t o r o t o r 1 except t h a t it
w a s r i g i d l y r e s t r a i n e d i n f l a p p i n g motion a s w e l l a s i n t h e plane of
r o t a t i o n . The blades were of a l l - m e t a l c o n s t r u c t i o n , untapered i n p l a n
form, but t a p e r e d i n thickness r a t i o . The v a l u e s of t h e r o t o r s o l i d i t y
were 0.152 and 0.076 f o r t h e coaxial- and s i n g l e - r o t o r configurations,
r e s p e c t i v e l y , and t h e r o t o r spacing was 2.0 f e e t (8 percent of t h e r o t o r
diameter). D e t a i l s of t h e plan form and t h i c k n e s s r a t i o of t h e b l a d e s
of r o t o r 2 a r e given i n f i g u r e l ( b ) .

A photograph of t h e general arrangement of t h e r o t o r hubs and

d r i v e mechanism of r o t o r 1 i s shown as f i g u r e 2. The r o t o r d r i v e was
through a c o a x i a l 7.411 reduction-gear box which turned t h e upper hub
clockwise and t h e lower hub counterclockwise a s viewed from above.

Rotor-blade p i t c h could be v a r i e d e i t h e r c o l l e c t i v e l y , d i f f e r e n -
t i a l l y c o l l e c t i v e l y , o r c y c l i c a l l y . C o l l e c t i v e p i t c h was obtained by
changing t h e p i t c h of a l l t h e b l a d e s e q u a l l y and i n t h e same d i r e c t i o n .
D i f f e r e n t i a l c o l l e c t i v e p i t c h c o n t r o l t o provide d i r e c t i o n a l c o n t r o l
was applied by changing t h e p i t c h of t h e blades of t h e upper and lower
r o t o r s i n opposite d i r e c t i o n s . Cyclic p i t c h c o n t r o l t o provide r o t o r
p i t c h i n g and r o l l i n g c o n t r o l was a p p l i e d by means of two f e a t h e r i n g
bearings mounted perpendicular t o t h e d r i v e s h a f t s , one below each r o t o r ,
and connected by push-pull rods. A l l t h e c o n t r o l s were operated remotely
by e l e c t r i c a c t u a t o r s and t h e c o n t r o l p o s i t i o n s were measured by means
of e l e c t r i c a l bridge-type c o n t r o l p o s i t i o n i n d i c a t o r s .

A 266-horsepower motor mounted i n a r e a c t i c n - t y p e dynamometer

supplied t h e power t o d r i v e t h e r o t o r . Power i n p u t t o t h e r o t o r w a s
measured by a strain-gage beam so mounted a s t o r e s i s t t h e t u r n i n g
r e a c t i o n of t h e motor casing. Rotor speed w a s measured by a standard
a i r c r a f t tachometer.

The r o t o r and drive-motor combination was supported i n a s t r a i n -

gage balance which provided a d i r e c t measurement of t h e r o t o r t h r u s t ,
p i t c h i n g moment, r o l l i n g moment, and yawing moment. This balance was
i n turnmounted i n trunnions which allowed t h e r o t o r t o p i v o t about
t h e center of t h e gear box s o t h a t t h e s h a f t angle of a t t a c k could be
changed. The complete setup was mounted on t h e wind-tunnel balance by
means of a diagonally braced 12-inch tube. I n order t o e l i m i n a t e
extraneous f o r c e s from t h e d a t a , a f r e e - f l o a t i n g sheet-metal f a i r i n g was
NACA TN 2318 5

provided over the supporting members. Figure 3 i s a photograph of the

r o t o r a s t e s t e d i n the Langley f u l l - s c a l e tunnel.

The s t a t i c - t h r u s t investigation f o r both r o t o r s was conducted f o r

a range of r o t o r t i p speed and blade p i t c h angle a t zero s h a f t angle.
Tests were made f o r both the coaxial- and single-rotor configurations
i n order t o determine the r e l a t i v e merits of each. The s t a t i c - t h r u s t
d a t a were obtained with the longitudinal and l a t e r a l feathering controls
neutral. For most of the coaxial t e s t s the yawing moments were trimmed;
however, some data were obtained with various amounts of p r e s e t direc-
t i o n a l control t o determine the e f f e c t on r o t o r performance of unequal
power input t o the upper and lower r o t o r s . A l l t h r u s t data presented
i n t h i s paper have been computed from the wind-tunnel-balance d a t a .

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The r e s u l t s of full-scale-tunnel t e s t a t o determine the s t a t i c -

t h r u s t performance of a coaxial rotor with blades tapered both i n plan
form arid thickness r a t i o ( r o t o r 1) a r e presented i n f i g u r e s 4 and 5.
The v a r i a t i o n of r o t o r t h r u s t coefficient CT with torque coeffi-
c i e n t CQ f o r both the coaxial-rotor (u = 0.054) and single-rotor
( a = 0.027) configurations i s presented i n figure 4. Because of vibra-
t i o n the maximum t i p speed of rotor 1 had t o be limited t o 500 f e e t
per second. Data were therefore obtained f o r the coaxial configuration
a t several t i p speeds t o determine the s c a l e e f f e c t on r o t o r performance.
An appreciable difference i n performance believed t o be due t o s c a l e
e f f e c t was noted f o r values of t i p speed between 327 f e e t per second
and 450 feet per eecond (fig. 4) ; the difference, however, became
r e l a t i v e i y s m a l l between 450 f e e t per second and 500 f e e t per second.

The hovering performance of rotor 1 was determined over a range of

t h r u s t c o e f f i c i e n t from CT = 0 t o CT = 0.00557 f o r the coaxial r o t o r
and t o CT = 0.00346 f o r t h e single r o t o r a t a t i p speed of 500 f e e t
per second. It appears t h a t , within the experimental accuracy, the
p r o f i l e torque c o e f f i c i e n t CQ, a t CT = 0 of the coaxial arrangement
(0.0000777) was twice t h a t measured separately f o r e i t h e r of the single
rotors.

The e f f e c t of v a r i a t i o n i n directional control ( d i f f e r e n t i a l

c o l l e c t i v e pitch, positive when added t o the lower r o t o r and subtracted
from the upper r o t o r ) on the s t a t i c - t h r u s t performance of the r o t o r
operating a t a t i p speed of 500 feet per second,is shown i n figure 5 .
The maximum available positive d i f f e r e n t i a l control s e t t i n g of 30 30'
(upper -lo45', lower lo 45' ) and maximum negative s e t t i n g of lo 40'
6 NACA TN 2318

(upper o0 501, lower -00 5 0 ' ) had only s l i g h t e f f e c t on t h e r o t o r

performance; t h e average was about a 2-percent i n c r e a s e i n CQ f o r a
given value of CT, over t h e range t e s t e d .

The v a r i a t i o n of r o t o r f i g u r e of m e r i t M with t h e r a t i o of t h r u s t
c o e f f i c i e n t t o s o l i d i t y cT/a f o r both t h e coaxial- and s i n g l e - r o t o r
configurations ( r o t o r 1) i s shown i n f i g u r e 6. The maximum f i g u r e s of
m e r i t were about 0.635 and 0.615 f o r t h e c o a x i a l and s i n g l e r o t o r s ,
r e s p e c t i v e l y . A comparison of these values with those p r e d i c t e d by
rotor-hovering theory i n d i c a t e s tht, w i t h i n experimental accuracy, t h e
d i f f e r e n c e i n t h e f i g u r e s of m e r i t could be a t t r i b u t e d t o t h e d i f f e r e n c e
i n s o l i d i t y of the coaxial- and s i n g l e - r o t o r configurations.

I n order t o determine whether e x i s t i n g rotor-hovering theory was

adequate t o p r e d i c t the hovering performance of a c o a x i a l r o t o r based
on a s i n g l e - r o t o r a n a l y s i s , a t h e o r e t i c a l a n a l y s i s of t h e hovering
performance of both t h e coaxial- and s i n g l e - r o t o r configurations was
made by using t h e method described i n r e f e r e n c e 1. I n t h i s a n a l y s i s
t h e c o a x i a l r o t o r was t r e a t e d a s a s i n g l e four-blade r o t o r having t h e
same s o l i d i t y . The blade s e c t i o n c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s were represented by
t h e following formulas:

where 60 i s equal t o cdo at CT = 0 and €il and 62 a r e determined

from f i g u r e s 2 ( b ) and 2 ( c ) of reference 2. Two-dimensional semismooth
a i r f o i l data, r e p r e s e n t a t i v e of t h e blade thickness r a t i o and Reynolds
number a t the 0.75 r a d i u s ( x = 0.75) and a l i f t - c u r v e slope a = 5.73,
were used i n t h e determination of and 62. The c a l c u l a t e d value of
CT was corrected f o r t i p l o s s by assuming t h a t t h e o u t e r 3 percent of
t h e blade span had no t h r u s t b u t had p r o f i l e drag. his t i p - l o s s f a c t o r
i s commonly used i n r o t o r a n a l y s i s ( r e f e r e n c e 2 ) . ) The r e s u l t s of t h e
hovering a n a l y s i s f o r both t h e coaxial- and s i n g l e - r o t o r c o n f i g u r a t i o n s
a r e presented i n f i g u r e 7. A comparison of t h e s e r e s u l t s with t h e
measured t e s t p o i n t s i n d i c a t e s t h a t , by assuming a s i n g l e r o t o r of
equal s o l i d i t y , t h e hovering performance of a c o a x i a l r o t o r , s i m i l a r i n
blade geometry and r o t o r spacing t o t h e r o t o r t e s t e d , can be p r e d i c t e d
with t h e same degree of accuracy a s t h a t of a s i n g l e - r o t o r configuration.

Some previously obtained f u l l - s c a l e - t u n n e l hovering-performance

data f o r another coaxial r o t o r of s i m i l a r spacing b u t e n t i r e l y d i f f e r e n t
blade geometry ( r o t o r 2 ) were a l s o a v a i l a b l e . Curves of t h e v a r i a t i o n
NACA TN 2318 7

of CT with CQ f o r both the coaxial- and single-rotor configurations

and a p l o t showing the e f f e c t of vaziation i n d i r e c t i o n a l control on
t h i s coaxial r o t o r a r e presented i n f i g u r e s 8 and 9, respectively. These
data indicate the same general trends as those f o r r o t o r 1.

The hovering performance of rotor 2, calculated i n the same manner

a s was previously done f o r r o t o r 1, i s shown i n f i g u r e 10, and the same
general agreement between experiment and theory a s obtained f o r r o t o r 1
i s shown.

The analyses made f o r r o t o r s 1 and 2 indicate t h a t t h e hovering

performance of coaxial r o t o r s having r o t o r spacings similar t o those
t e s t e d (8 percent t o 9.5 percent of the r o t o r diameter) can be calculated
with the same d e g e e of accuracy as t h a t of a single-rotor configuration
by assuming a single r o t o r of equal s o l i d i t y . However, it should be
noted t h a t an accurate knowledge of the z e r o - l i f t drag of the r o t o r
i s required f o r a r e l i a b l e prediction of hovering performance.

CONCLUDING REMARKS

The following remarks a r e [Link] the r e s u l t s of Langley full-scale-

tunnel s t a t i c - t h r u a t t e s t s of a conzisl- and s s i r i i l e - r o t e r helicepter
configuration having blades tapered both i n plan form and thickness
ratio.

1. The p r o f i l e torque c o e f f i c i e n t of the coaxial r o t o r operating

a t a t i p speed of 500 f e e t per second was 0.0000777. Within the limits
of experimental accuracy the p r o f i l e torque c o e f f i c i e n t of t h e s i n g l e
r o t o r was about one-half that of the coaxial r o t o r .

2. Variation i n the d i r e c t i o n a l control t o t h e maximum a v a i l a b l e

l i m i t s of 30 30' and -lo40' resulted i n about a 2-percent increase i n
torque c o e f f i c i e n t over t h a t of the trimmed r o t o r .

3. The maximum f i g u r e of merit measured f o r the coaxial r o t o r was

0.635 while t h a t f o r the single rotor was 0.615. Calculations indicate
that t h i s difference i s probably due t o the difference i n s o l i d i t y of
the two configurations,
 NACA TN 2318

4. The hovering performance of coaxial r o t o r s having r o t o r spacings

of t h e order of 8 percent t o 9.5 percent of t h e r o t o r diameter can be
predicted with t h e same degree of accuracy a s t h a t of a s i n g l e r o t o r
by assuming a s i n g l e r o t o r of equal s o l i d i t y f o r purpose of c a l c u l a t i o n .

Langley Aeronautical Laboratory

National Advisory Committee f o r Aeronautics
Langley F i e l d , Va., December 28, 1950

REFERENCES

1. Gessow, Alfred: E f f e c t of Rotor-Blade Twist and Plan-Form Taper on

Helicopter Hovering Performance. NACA TN 1542, 1948.

2. Bailey, F. J . , Jr.: A Simplified T h e o r e t i c a l Method of Determining

t h e C h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of a L i f t i n g Rotor i n Forward F l i g h t .
NACA Rep. 716, 1941.
NACA TN 2318

Rotor blade radius, in.

L-68422
(a) Rotor I.
Figure I.- Variation of rotor blade chord c and thickness
ratio t / c with blade radius r.
Page intentionally left blank
NACA TN 2318
11

Rotor blade radius, in.

(b) Rotor 2. L-68423
Figure I.- Concluded.
Page intentionally left blank
NACA TN 2318

A Upper r o t o r hub F Longitudinal feathering a c t u a t o r

B Upper feathering bearing G Lower r o t o r collective-pitch
C Lower r o t o r hub control rod
D Lower feathering bearing H Lower r o t o r s l i p rings
E Lateral feathering a c t u a t o r I Drive motor
J Angle-of-attack arm

Figure 2.- General arrangement of the coaxial helicopter r o t o r ( r o t o r 1 )

with the r o t o r blades removed.
T
L-65743 1
Page intentionally left blank
Figure 3, - General arrangement of t h e c o a x i a l h e l i c o p t e r r o t o r ( r o t o r 1)
as mounted i n t h e Langley f u l l - s c a l e t u n n e l ,
Page intentionally left blank
NACA TN 2318

CQ
Figure 4.-Variation o f thrust coefficient CT and- torque
coefficient CQ for a coaxial helicopter rotor ( r o t o r I)
in static thrust; yawing moments trimmed. cr/ct=2.92.

Preceding page blank

 NACA TN 2318

CQ
Figure 5.-Effect of variation in directional control on the
static - thrust performance of a coaxial helicopter rotor
( rotor I); yawing moments untrimmed. cr/c+ = 2.92.
i2R = 500 f t/sec.
 C
Figure 6. -[Link] of rotor figure of merit M and thrust
coefficient-solidity ratio CT/C for a coaxial and single
rotor helicopter ( rotor I) in static thrust. cr/ct = 2.92.
NACA TN 2318
NACA TN 2318

CQ
Figure 8.- Variation of thrust coefficient CT and torque coefficient CQ for a
coaxial helicopter rotor ( rotor 2) in static thrust; yawing moments trimmed.
cr/ct = I.
 NACA TN 2318

cQ
Figure 9.- Effect of variation in directional control on the static -thrust
performance of a coaxial helicopter rotor ( rotor 2); yawing moments
untrimmed. c,/c+ =I. 51R = 327 ft/sec.
NACA TN 2318

cQ
Figure 10.- Comparison of the theoretical and experimental static -thrust performance
of a coaxial helicopter rotor (rotor 2) with blades tapered in thickness ratio
only. cr/c+=l.