Scaling effects and dynamic characteristics of miniature rotorcraft

The dynamic characteristics of miniature rotorcraft, starting from a parameterized linear model developed for the identification of a Yamaha R-50 helicopter (3.04-m rotor diameter), and later applied to a smaller, more agile X-Cell .60 helicopter (1.52-m rotor diameter), are described. From this model, key flying qualities metrics are extracted and related to physical parameters. Based on these metrics, the identified data, and fundamental Froude and Mach scaling hypotheses, the effects of rotorcraft size on flying qualities and performance characteristics are analyzed and scaling trends inferred. These results are used to highlight the mechanical features and flight characteristics that are typical of small-scale rotorcraft, as well as to provide basic design guidelines for this class of vehicles.

[1]  P. D. Brace,et al.  MAXIMUM LIKELIHOOD IDENTIFICATION OF A ROTARY-WING RPV SIMULATION MODEL FROM FLIGHT-TEST DATA , 1998 .

[2]  G. D. Padfield,et al.  Helicopter Flight Dynamics: The Theory and Application of Flying Qualities and Simulation Modelling , 1995 .

[3]  Bernard Mettler,et al.  System identification modeling of a small-scale unmanned rotorcraft for flight control design , 2002 .

[4]  Marco,et al.  Modeling of Small-Scale Helicopters with Integrated First-Principles and System-Identification Techniques , 2002 .

[5]  J. Gordon Leishman,et al.  Principles of Helicopter Aerodynamics , 2000 .

[6]  Takeo Kanade,et al.  System identification of small-size unmanned helicopter dynamics , 1999 .

[7]  Bernard Mettler,et al.  Identification Modeling and Characteristics of Miniature Rotorcraft , 2002 .

[8]  E. Feron,et al.  Hierarchical control of small autonomous helicopters , 1998, Proceedings of the 37th IEEE Conference on Decision and Control (Cat. No.98CH36171).

[9]  Mark B. Tischler,et al.  Frequency-Response Method for Rotorcraft System Identification: Flight Applications to BO 105 Coupled Rotor/Fuselage Dynamics , 1992 .

[10]  Peretz P. Friedmann,et al.  Aeroelastic scaling for rotary-wing aircraft with applications , 2004 .

[11]  M. A. Mnich,et al.  Minimum-complexity helicopter simulation math model , 1988 .

[12]  R. H. Miller,et al.  A Method for Improving the Inherent Stability and Control Characteristics of Helicopters , 1950 .

[13]  Duane T. McRuer,et al.  Aircraft Dynamics and Automatic Control , 1973 .

[14]  Eric Feron,et al.  Control Logic for Automated Aerobatic Flight of a Miniature Helicopter , 2002 .

[15]  Enoch J. Durbin,et al.  Flight test manual , 1963 .

[16]  Eric Feron,et al.  Aggressive Maneuvering Flight Tests of a Miniature Robotic Helicopter , 2002, ISER.

[17]  Takeo Kanade,et al.  Vision-Based Autonomous Helicopter Research at Carnegie Mellon Robotics Institute 1991-1997 , 1998 .

[18]  Stephen P. Timoshenko,et al.  Vibration problems in engineering , 1928 .

[19]  Darryll J. Pines,et al.  Design, Analysis and Hover Performance of a Rotary Wing Micro Air Vehicle , 2003 .

[20]  Takeo Kanade,et al.  Attitude control optimization for a small-scale unmanned helicopter , 2000 .

[21]  S. K. Kirn,et al.  MATHEMATICAL MODELING AND EXPERIMENTAL IDENTIFICATION OF A MODEL HELICOPTER , 1998 .

[22]  Raymond S. Hansen,et al.  Toward a better understanding of helicopter stability derivatives , 1984 .

[23]  Johnnie A. Ham,et al.  Flight testing and frequency domain analysis for rotorcraft handling qualities characteristics , 1993 .

[24]  Jay W. Fletcher,et al.  Identification of UH-60 Stability Derivative Models in Hover from Flight Test Data , 1993 .

[25]  Mark B. Tischler,et al.  System Identification Requirements for High-Bandwidth Rotorcraft Flight Control System Design , 1990, 1991 American Control Conference.

[26]  P. Bendotti,et al.  Identification and control of a model helicopter in hover , 1994, Proceedings of 1994 American Control Conference - ACC '94.