HELICOPTER DYNAMICS

SWASH PLATE
GROUND EFFECTS
AUTO ROTATION
 SWASH PLATE

A helicopter's main rotor is the most important part of the vehicle. It provides the lift that
allows the helicopter to fly, as well as the control that allows the helicopter to move laterally,
make turns and change altitude.

To handle all of these tasks, the rotor must first be incredibly strong. It must also be able to
adjust the angle of the rotor blades with each revolution they make. The pilot communicates these
adjustments through a device known as the swash plate assembly.

The swash plate assembly consists of two parts -- the upper and lower swash plates.
 The upper swash plate connects to the mast, or rotor shaft, through special linkages. As the
engine turns the rotor shaft, it also turns the upper swash plate and the rotor blade system. This
system includes blade grips, which connect the blades to a hub.

Control rods from the upper swash plate have a connection point on the blades, making it
possible to transfer movements of the upper swash plate to the blades.

The lower swash plate is fixed and doesn't rotate. Ball bearings lie between the upper and
lower swash plates, allowing the upper plate to spin freely on top of the lower plate. Control rods
attached to the lower swash plate connect to the cyclic- and collective-pitch levers. When the pilot
operates either of those two levers, his or her inputs are transmitted, via the control rods, to the
lower swash plate and then, ultimately, to the upper swash plate.

Using this rotor design, a pilot can manipulate the swash plate assembly and control the
helicopter's motion.

Collective control using swash plate:

The collective allows the swash plate assembly to change the angle of all blades
simultaneously.
The collective pitch control (or simply “collective” or “thrustlever”) is located on the
left side of the pilot’s seat and isoperated with the left hand.

The collective is used to makechanges to the pitch angle of the main rotor blades and
doesthis simultaneously, or collectively, as the name implies.

As the collective pitch control is raised, there is a simultaneousand equal increase in

pitch angle of all main rotor blades;as it is lowered, there is a simultaneous and equal
decreasein pitch angle.

This is done through a series of mechanical linkages and the amount of movement in
the collective leverdetermines the amount of blade pitch change.

Changing the pitch angle on the blades changes the angle of incidence on each blade.

With a change in angle of incidence comes a change in drag, which affects the speed
or revolutions per minute (rpm) of the main rotor.

As the pitch angle increases, angle of incidence increases, drag increases, and rotor
rpm decreases.
Decreasing pitch angle decreases both angle of incidence and drag, while rotor rpm
increases.

In order to maintain a constant rotor rpm, which is essential in helicopter operations, a

proportionate change in power is required to compensate for the change in drag.

This is accomplished with the throttle control or governor, which automatically

adjusts engine power.

Cyclic control using swash plate

The cyclic pitch control is usually projected upward from the cockpit floor, between the
pilot’s legs or between the two pilot seats in some models.

This primary flight control allows the pilot to fly the helicopter in any direction of travel:
forward, rearward, left, and right.

The purpose of the cyclic pitch control is to tilt the tip-pathplane in the direction of the
desired horizontal direction.
The rotor disk tilts in the same direction the cyclic pitch control is moved. If the cyclic is
moved forward, the rotor disk tilts forward; if the cyclic is moved aft, the disk tilts aft,
and so on.

Movements of the swash plate results in changes in blade pitch (a) collective pitch and
(b) cyclic pitch
 GROUND EFFECTS

The high power requirement needed to hover out of ground effect is reduced when
operating in ground effect. Ground effect is a condition of improved performance encountered
when operating near (within 1/2 rotor diameter) of the ground.

It is due to the interference of the surface with the airflow pattern of the rotor system,
and it is more pronounced the nearer the ground is approached. Increased blade efficiency while
operating in ground effect is due to two separate and distinct phenomena.

First and most important is the reduction of the velocity of the induced airflow. Since
the ground interrupts the airflow under the helicopter, the entire flow is altered. This reduces
downward velocity of the induced flow.

The result is less induced drag and a more vertical lift vector. The lift needed to
sustain a hover can be produced with a reduced angle of attack and less power because of the
more vertical lift vector:
 The second phenomena is a reduction of the rotor tip vortex:

When operating in ground effect, the downward and outward airflow pattern tends
to restrict vortex generation. This makes the outboard portion of the rotor blade more efficient
and reduces overall system turbulence caused by ingestion and recirculation of the vortex
swirls.

Rotor efficiency is increased by ground effect up to a height of about one rotor

diameter for most helicopters. This figure illustrates the percent increase in rotor thrust
experienced at various rotor heights:
 Maximum ground effect is accomplished when hovering over smooth paved
surfaces. While hovering over tall grass, rough terrain, revetments, or water, ground effect may
be seriously reduced.

This phenomena is due to the partial breakdown and cancellation of ground effect
and the return of large vortex patterns with increased downwash angles.
 AUTOROTATION

Autorotation is a state of flight in which the main rotor system of a helicopter or similar aircraft
turns by the action of air moving up through the rotor, as with an autogyro, rather than engine power
driving the rotor

The term autorotation dates to a period of early helicopter development between 1915 and 1920,
and refers to the rotors turning without the engine. It is analogous to the gliding flight of a fixed-wing
aircraft.

The most common use of autorotation in helicopters is to safely land the aircraft in the event of an
engine failure or tail-rotor failure. It is a common emergency procedure taught to helicopter pilots as
part of their training.
 In normal powered helicopter flight, air is drawn into the main rotor system from above and
exhausted downward, but during autorotation, air moves up into the rotor system from below as
the helicopter descends

.Autorotation is permitted mechanically because of both a freewheeling unit, which allows the
main rotor to continue turning even if the engine is not running, as well as aerodynamic forces of
relative wind maintaining rotor speed. It is the means by which a helicopter can land safely in the
event of complete engine failure.

The longest autorotation in history was performed by Jean Boulet in 1972 when he reached a
record altitude of 12,440 m (40,814 ft) in an Aerospatiale Lama. Because of a −63 °C (−81.4 °F)
temperature at that altitude, as soon as he reduced power the engine flamed out and could not be
restarted. By using autorotation he was able to land the aircraft safely.

Hovering AutoRotation

Most autototatipns are prefromed with forward speed. For simplicity, the following
aerodynamic explanation is based on a vertical autorotative descent (no forward speed) in still
air.
During vertical autorotation, the rotor disk is divided into three regions: Driven region,
driving region and stall region
Part A is the Driven region, part C is the driving region and part E si the stall region
Force vectors are different in each region because rotational relative wind is slower near
the blade root and increases continually toward the blade tip.
The driven region also called the propeller region, is nearest the blade tips. Normally it
consists of about 30% of 5the radius. The total aerodynamic force acts behind the axis of
rotation, resulting in an overall drag force
The driving region, or Autorotative regionj, normally lies between 25 to 75 percent of the
blade radius. this region produces the forces needed to turn the blades during autorotation

AUTOROTATION (FORWARD FLIGHT)

 Autorotative force in forward flight is produced in exactly the same manner as when
the helicopter is descending vertically in still air.
however, because forward speed changes the inflow of air up through the rotor disk,
all three regions move outboard along the blade span on the retreating side of the disk
where AOA is larger

With lower AOA on the advancing side blade, more of the blade falls in the driven
region
on the retreating side, more of the blade is in the stall region
A small section near the root experiences a reversed flow, therefore the size of the
driven region on the retreating side is reduced

Prior to landing from an autorotative descent, the pilot must flare the helicopter
in order to decelerate