Numerical simulation of three-dimensional rotor icing in hovering flight

Abstract

Rotor icing is a serious threat to helicopter flight safety and computational fluid dynamics technology is very useful in icing prediction. In this work, a numerical simulation method is presented to calculate three-dimensional rotor icing in hovering flight. The rotor flow fields are obtained using overlapping grids. According to Euler two-phase flow, the droplet trajectories and impingement characteristics are predicted. On the basis of three-dimensional ice accretion model, a new runback water distribution method based on shear force and centrifugal force is proposed to simulate liquid water flow and ice shape. The calculation results are compared with the experimental results under different conditions in order to verify the correctness of the method. Furthermore, the effects of blades rotation on the liquid water content distribution and droplet impingement characteristics are studied, and the effect of centrifugal force on ice shape is analyzed. The results show that the blade will influence others with the blade tip Mach number increasing, and centrifugal force will cause the ice thickness increases on leading edge and decreases at both frozen limitations.

Keywords

Rotor icing numerical simulation overlapping grid centrifugal force Euler method

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Korkan KD, Cross EJ and Miller TL. Performance degradation of a model helicopter main rotor in hover and forward flight with a generic ice shape. Report no. AIAA 84-0609, 1984. Reno, NV: AIAA.

Rosen KM and Potash ML. 40 Years of helicopter ice protection experience at Sikorsky Aircraft. Report no. AIAA 81-0407, 1981. Reno, NV: AIAA.

Flemming RJ. The past twenty years of icing research and development at Sikorsky Aircraft. Report no. AIAA 2002-238, 2002. Reno, NV: AIAA.

Frankenberger CE. United States Army helicopter icing qualification 1980. Report no. AIAA 81-0406, 1981. Reno, NV: AIAA.

Belte D. In-flight ice accretion characteristics of rotor blade airfoil sections. Report no. AIAA 87-176, 1987. Reno, NV: AIAA.

Miller TL and Bond TH. Icing research tunnel test of a model helicopter rotor. Report no. NASA-TM-101978, 1989, Washington, DC: National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

Britton RK. An overview of a model rotor icing test in the NASA Lewis Icing Research Tunnel. Report no. AIAA 94-0716, 1994. Reno, NV: AIAA.

Flemming RJ. Results of a sub-scale model rotor icing test. Report no. AIAA 91-0660, 1991. Reno, NV: AIAA.

Coffman

. Helicopter rotor icing protection methods. J Am Helicopt Soc 1987; 32: 34–39.

10.

Shaw, Robert J and Richter GP. The UH-1H helicopter icing flight test program - An overview. Report no. AIAA 85-338, 1985. Reno, NV: AIAA.

11.

Britton RK. Development of an analytical method to predict helicopter main rotor performance in icing conditions. In: 47th annual forum proceedings, Phoenix, AZ, USA, 1 May 1991, pp.1119–1126.

12.

Simpson MP and Render PM. Investigation into the effectiveness of certification and operational icing procedures for helicopters. Report no. AIAA 98-0750, 1998. Reno, NV: AIAA.

13.

Kreeger RE. Analysis of a hovering rotor in icing conditions. Report no. NASA/TM-2012-217126, 2012. Washington, DC: National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

14.

Zhang

Lin

Chen

. Numerical simulation of ice accretion and parameter effects based on Eulerian droplet model. J Nanjing Univ Aeronaut Astronaut 2011; 43: 375–380.

15.

Cao

Zhong

. Rotor icing model and trim characteristics analysis for tandem helicopter. J Beijing Univ Aeronaut Astronaut 2010; 36: 1034–1037.

16.

Wang

Zhao

. CFD simulation of airfoil effect on hovering rotor aerodynamic performance. J Nanjing Univ Aeronaut Astronaut 2012; 44: 478–484.

17.

Wirogo S and Srirambhatla S. An Eulerian method to calculate the collection efficiency on two and three dimensional bodies. Report no. AIAA 2003-1073, 2003. Reno, NV: AIAA.

18.

Myers

. Extension to the Messinger model for aircraft icing. AIAA J 2001; 39: 211–218.

19.

Palacios JL, Brouwers EW, Han Y, et al. Adverse environment rotor test stand calibration procedures and ice shape correlation. In: 66th annual forum proceedings, AHS International, 11–13 May 2010, pp.2670–2684.

20.

Brouwers EW, Palacios JL, Smith EC, et al. The experimental investigation of a rotor hover icing model with shedding. In: 66th annual forum proceedings, AHS International, 11–13 May 2010, pp.1157–1173.