Header menu link for other important links
X
Periodic flight of rotorcraft within thermal columns
Published in American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Inc, AIAA
2019
Abstract
The rotary-wing analogue of fixed-wing soaring is illustrated in this work. Periodic energy-neutral trajectories for a rotorcraft where energy is harvested from a spatially varying (de-terministic) wind field is computed as solution to an optimal control problem. The extracted energy aids in countering the losses due to drag on the rotor and fuselage. We illustrate that an updraft component in the wind field is necessary for enabling periodic motion. For this reason, thermal columns provide an ideal setting for such manoeuvres, while the wind field typically considered for fixed-wing dynamic soaring is inadequate. A non-spinning frame formulation, inspired by a six-degrees-of-freedom (6DoF) boomerang model is adopted for developing the equations of motion of the rotorcraft. Optimal periodic trajectories within a Gaussian thermal model are obtained by considering collective, cyclic and linear twist inputs for the rotor blades. © 2019 by Xin Ning. Published by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Inc.
About the journal
JournalData powered by TypesetAIAA Scitech 2019 Forum
PublisherData powered by TypesetAmerican Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Inc, AIAA
ISSN0001-1452
Impact Factor1.868
Open AccessNo
Citation Styleunsrt
Sherpa RoMEO Archiving PolicyGreen
Concepts (15)
  •  related image
    Aircraft
  •  related image
    Aviation
  •  related image
    Degrees of freedom (mechanics)
  •  related image
    Fixed wings
  •  related image
    Optimal control systems
  •  related image
    ROTORS
  •  related image
    BOOMERANG MODELS
  •  related image
    EXTRACTED ENERGIES
  •  related image
    FIXED-WING DYNAMICS
  •  related image
    Optimal control problem
  •  related image
    PERIODIC ENERGY
  •  related image
    Periodic motion
  •  related image
    PERIODIC TRAJECTORIES
  •  related image
    Six degrees of freedom
  •  related image
    Equations of motion